More schools closed as temperatures plummet

3 days ago

Rachael McMenemy

News image — Marham in Norfolk was the coldest place in the UK, recording a low of -12.5C (9.5F) overnight, the Met Office said

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Marham village sign, with paintings of a plane, house, field and church. It stands next to a road and snowy fields, with sheep grazing. — Marham in Norfolk was the coldest place in the UK, recording a low of -12.5C (9.5F) overnight, the Met Office said

Snow and freezing temperatures have prompted school closures in the East of England.

More than 30 schools in Norfolk and five in Suffolk were affected on Tuesday, with reasons cited including dangerous road conditions, frozen pipes and broken heating.

The disruption came as temperatures plummeted overnight, with -12C (9.5F) recorded in Marham, Norfolk, according to the Met Office.

John Neenan, headteacher of Drayton C of E Primary School near Norwich, said it was "absolutely not a decision" he wanted to make to close, but he was concerned about the health and safety of pupils and staff.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC John Neenan is wearing a thick coat with the collar turned up and a suit with a red striped shirt and tie. He is standing in a school corridor painted with murals. — John Neenan said it was "incredibly frustrating" to close his primary school on the outskirts of Norwich

The building was left without heating or hot water after a boiler fault on the first day of the new term following Christmas.

"The school is going to get very cold very quickly and so isn't a suitable place to have children in," said Neenan.

"We appreciate it's a difficult situation for our families and puts added pressure on them."

He said that while it was "incredibly frustrating" to shut the doors, he hoped they would reopen on Wednesday.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A 1960s/70s single-storey school building with an apex roof. It has blue double doors at each side of the school hall, and a car is parked in the car park, which is covered in snow. There is a plastic bike shelter in the car park, too. — Problems with the boiler system at Drayton C of E Primary School, on the outskirts of Norwich, forced it to shut on Tuesday

It is the second day the cold snap has hit classes after a handful of schools in the two counties were closed on Monday.

The Bridge Easton School, near Norwich, remains closed for a second day while Reedham Primary and Nursery School, on the Broads, has announced it will be closed until Thursday due to heating issues.

There is a complete list of closures in Norfolk on the county council's website.

It said most affected schools were fully closed but some were holding lessons online or opened later on Tuesday morning.

In Suffolk, schools in Bungay, Lowestoft, Sudbury and Ipswich are closed due to the weather.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC The back of a yellow gritter lorry, with a yellow and red striped sign that says "Spreading". It is at a T-junction, with the verges mostly covered in snow. — Gritting lorries were sent out twice on Tuesday morning due to the extremely low temperatures

As temperatures dipped across the region, gritting lorries were sent out twice in the morning in Norfolk to treat roads.

Damien Jeffries, from Norfolk County Council's highways department, said the measure was "very unusual".

"We took that decision based on the road surface temperatures that have dropped considerably further than what was anticipated in yesterday's forecast," he said.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.