School shuts after storm damages heating system

A school has announced it is closing with immediate effect after damage from Storm Chandra left it without heating.

In a letter to parents, Danesfield Church of England Middle School in Williton, Somerset, said it would shut between Wednesday 4 and Friday 6 February.

Head teacher Jo Smith said: "Unfortunately, despite the earlier repair, the [heating] system has failed again, leaving us without hot water across the site.

"With the wellbeing of pupils and staff as our highest priority, we have had to make the very difficult decision to close the school."

Smith said the school's maintenance team was expecting spare parts to arrive by Friday and that the building could reopen as normal on Monday.

In the meantime, classes would move online, and the school was providing packed lunches for collection for families entitled to free school meals, she said.

The school was also offering provision for key worker families who could not source childcare at another site in Minehead, she added.

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