Letters to Parents & Carers

This week's Headteacher Letter

8^th January 2025

Dear Parents, 

School Closure

I am so sorry that we have had no choice but to close school for the entire week. I know that for some of you, this will have been a relief, whilst for others, it will have been extremely inconvenient. The decision to close school is never an easy one to make—in fact, it is always the most difficult, balancing safety, support, and education. Ultimately, safety—keeping your child safe, our families safe, and our staff safe—always has to come first.

The initial snowfall was deeper than anyone expected and our school site, being at the bottom of a slope and the edge of a hill, had some severe drifting. The snow had clearly been worse than predicted as we saw roads across the city blocked and bus services struggling. From closing on Monday, our initial attempts to clear the site were hampered by the state of the roads and pavement around school - problems that still persist today. However, a path was cleared on the school site but the plan to clear the site with more staff on Tuesday was cancelled following the snow turning to ice and black ice on the roads – it simply wasn’t safe.

We brought in additional help to clear the path to the Northallerton Gate and a path across the front of the school. We had an extra grit delivery and had arranged for a snowplough to visit the school and clear the drive, car park, and playground. Unfortunately, the snowplough never turned up, leaving us with a site still covered in snow, which is now solid ice which has been impossible to remove today.

So our current situation is:

• Our car park is inaccessible to most cars – staff would have to park on Otley Road (where there is no parking, large snowdrifts and abandoned cars) until we go up past the cemetery or Rees Way
• Not enough safe emergency exits for people in school if there was a fire
• Vehicle access is limited, even for delivery trucks
• The footpaths and roads leading to school are covered in ice, with some black ice
• The roads are safer to walk on, but we cannot recommend children, families and staff walking on the road
• Despite promises of gritting on Prospect Road, Westminster Road and the school entrance, the council have been unable to do this effectively enough to have any impact
• Some staff travel quite a distance to school and their streets are snowbound and dangerous.
• Continued forecasts of sub-zero temperatures

A number of schools in BD3 are experiencing the same issues: Peel Park, Byron, Killinghall, Penny Oaks. I know all the Headteachers have agonized over their decisions, too. For all these reasons, I cannot guarantee the safety of your children and of our staff, and so we will remain shut. The weather is warming up over the weekend, and we are confident that Monday will be the real start of the term for us all.

Thank you all – children, families and staff for your hard work, support and patience. God bless.

Mr. S Gallacher, Headteacher