Burnside High school in Christchurch has closed for two days after a seismic assessment revealed two classroom blocks failed earthquake protection standards.
Those same blocks passed engineering tests in 2014 - but that was before new quake guidelines were introduced in 2017.
On Thursday, more than 2000 students are studying at home, and for the rest of the term the school will need to juggle classroom space.
Ministry of Education head of property Sam Fowler spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
