Mansfield school remains closed after work begins to fix 'major' water leak
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Staff at King Edward Primary and Nursery School on St Andrew Street, Littleworth, returned to school on Monday morning to find a significant amount of water running down their main playground, which had frozen overnight.
Parents received an urgent message on Monday January 17 that school would close at 1pm that day to allow emergency work to be undertaken by Severn Trent, and the school has now announced that it will remain closed until Thursday morning at the earliest.
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Hide AdThe major water leak, which is believed to be emitting 200 litres of water per hour, is coming from pipework under the school grounds, meaning that a huge task is currently underway to dig up parts of the school to locate and fix the leak.
Headteacher Sue Bridges explains: “We wanted to say thank you to the school’s parents, carers and children for their understanding on this matter.
"The location of the leak is under a built-up area of the school site and is taking some digging down to get to it.
"We are providing regular information via email and text message to our families as contractors update us on their progress.”
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Hide AdChildren are being tasked with work to undertake from home, and laptops have also been provided to families who need them, meaning the children’s education should face minimal disruption – something Mrs Bridges says the pandemic has at least helped staff and children to prepare for.
“It is so frustrating to have to close the school, but we are pleased that so many families are engaging with their home learning” she continued.
"This is a positive aspect of learning from the pandemic.”
The school will remain closed on Wednesday January 19 as there are no toilet, handwashing or kitchen facilities currently on site.
Once the leak is located, contractors will be able to provide the school with an indication as to how long the repairs will be expected to take and when the school can reopen.
