A Stoke-on-Trent primary school has become the latest victim of the freezing weather. Sandon Primary Academy in Meir has confirmed it will be closed tomorrow (January 9) for the ‘safety of students, staff and visitors’.
Headteacher Rachel Beckett made the announcement this evening to give parents as much notice as possible to arrange childcare. The news comes as Stoke-on-Trent is set to see temperatures dip to around -6C overnight with roads likened to ice rinks.
This week has seen scores of schools across Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and the Moorlands all forced to close as snow battered the area.
In a letter, Mrs Beckett said: “As anticipated, the conditions on the school site and surrounding side streets remain hazardous. The combination of heavy foot traffic and continuing below freezing temperatures has turned what was once walkable snow into treacherous ice.
“After reviewing the overnight and mid-morning weather forecasts and warnings and a thorough risk assessment – and in the interests of parents arranging childcare, we have decided that the school will remain closed on Thursday, January 9 to ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors.
“We hope you appreciate the early notice – while it’s not always possible to make such decisions in advance, given the current conditions and feedback from site staff who have been on site since 5am, we saw the the below freezing temperatures were rapidly undoing their efforts to improve site safety.
“We understand that our decisions may not satisfy everyone, please be assured that, while we strive to minimise disruption and take all perspectives into account, our decisions are solely based on safety.”
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