A primary school has been forced to close for repairs after part of a classroom ceiling collapsed.

Education bosses were forced to close Hurlford Primary School in East Ayrshire after plaster fell from a classroom ceiling in the building on Thursday evening.

A contractor was called in on Friday to carry out further investigations which revealed five other classrooms may be "susceptible to similar issues".

The primary will be closed for the rest of the week and pupils decanted to another school from Monday, September 26.

Council officials say the Hurlford pupils will be moved to Loudoun Academy, where enough space has been found to "keep the entire school together and not split classes across different establishments".

It is expected the arrangements will stay in place until around June next year.

A statement from East Ayrshire Council said: "Hurlford Primary School will remain closed for the remainder of this week.

"From Monday, September 26, all pupils will be decanted to Loudoun Academy, where sufficient space has been identified.

"In response to concerns raised by parents over the weekend we have endeavoured to keep the entire school together and not split classes across different establishments.

"Free transport will be provided to take children from Hurlford Primary School to Loudoun Academy every day.

"Staff from Hurlford Primary will accompany children on the buses. School meals will be available as normal.

"Please be assured that the building is not dangerous; these are precautionary measures to ensure there is no further disruption to education provision."

It added: "The likelihood is that these decant arrangements will be in place until June 2017. This will provide continuity and a settled teaching environment for the children.

"There will be minor adjustments to the timetables of both schools to accommodate these changes, but every effort will be made to keep disruption to a minimum and to ensure a smooth transition for the younger children.

"Staff will be on hand to talk to parents during a drop in session on Thursday, September 22 at Hurlford Early Childhood Centre. Parents are welcome to attend anytime between 4.15pm and 7pm.

"Please note that Hurlford Early Childhood Centre is unaffected by these arrangements.

"There is much to be done to prepare for this decant on the part of both schools and we will provide more details over the course of the week to keep all parents fully informed of the arrangements.

"Details will be updated on the council's website."