Porthmadog's Ysgol Eifionydd forced to close due to ice

Jan 8 2009 by Alex Hickey, Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald

A COUNCILLOR has promised to investigate why a secondary school was the only one in Gwynedd forced to close during this week’s recent cold snaps.

Ysgol Eifionydd, Porthmadog closed on Tuesday because Gwynedd Council was unable to grit the school yard.

Teachers at the school sent a letter to parents on Monday evening saying that the school would be closed the following day.

The letter said: “The county council is unable to carry out gritting of the school. Therefore in respect of the health and safety of all at the school, Ysgol Eifionydd will not be open tomorrow.”

Porthmadog county councillor Selwyn Griffiths said: “I’m looking into the matter at the moment to make sure that this does not happen again.”

However, the short notice closure angered one parent who questioned why it was the only school in the county to close because of a shortage of grit.

She said: “It was an inconvenience to a lot of parents that have to work. I just don’t understand why the yard was not gritted – all the other schools were open.

“It’s not as if the cold weather was a shock – somebody should have checked.”

Headteacher Richard Williams said: “We decided, after a risk assessment, to close the school due to the ice on the yard and car park.

“The caretaker has been gritting what he can and the county council was unable to grit the yard.”

A council spokesman said: “Like all other councils, during the current period of extreme weather conditions, the main priority for Gwynedd Council’s team of gritters has been to keep the county’s main highway routes open and safe for road users.

“When resources and conditions then allow, the second priority for the gritting teams is to attend to secondary routes and then main pedestrianised areas.

“It is only after attending to these priority routes, and only if resources allow that the teams can consider attending to and treating other locations.

“During the current prolonged period of freezing conditions parts of Gwynedd have experienced temperatures as low as minus 11 degrees Celsius.

“The council’s highways and municipal service staff were able to attend to the particular problems at Ysgol Eifionydd, Porthmadog between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Tuesday.

“This meant that the school was open as usual on Wednesday morning, and the school’s headteacher has expressed his appreciation of the very effective work carried out at the school on Tuesday evening.”

Ysgol Beddgelert was also closed due to the cold weather. Pupils were given the day off because the pipes were frozen leaving the school with no water or heating.

Ysgol Tudweiliog in Pwllheli was closed on Wednesday due to heating problems.

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