Schools near Cheltenham keep calm and carry on

HEADTEACHERS at two Cheltenham primary schools have vowed to keep calm and carry on, despite the weather.

Hundreds of schools in Gloucestershire closed on Friday, with some remaining shut on Monday after snow wreaked havoc. However, a brave few were determined to continue..

Gotherington Primary School headteacher Ben Jordan said he toured the grounds to make sure the pupils could still get in. The school, which has 213 pupils, remained open on the day until lunchtime.

Mr Jordan said: "We tried our best to keep the school open, but we had to make sure we did not compromise on our pupils' and staff's health and safety.

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"I came into school early and we assessed if it was safe for them to come in, and the decision was to remain open.

"We didn't see any reason for it to close, and the children had a great time as well.

"We did close at lunchtime in the end because the weather was getting worse.

"We used our network of contacts to make sure the school was safe, and the local authorities were particularly useful in making sure the area was safe for all.

"The children made a few snowmen, and they are still out in the field." For Grangefield Primary School, in Bishop's Cleeve, it was a case of taking it one step further.

Assistant headteacher Hannah Gilroy contacted the school's 210 children's parents about 7.30pm to let them know the school was remaining open.

"The biggest thing was making sure all my staff and pupils could make it to school as safely as possible," she added.

"It started snowing in Bishop's Cleeve only later, and I thought we should stay open.

"The children came in and they had a lot of fun. They really enjoyed it, and they went out at the break to build snowmen and play in the field. Our caretaker worked hard to make sure the play area was clear."

Both schools had to close at lunchtime on Friday.

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