Snow comes to Norfolk.
UPDATE: Broken-down train causes 60-minute delays - and full list of school closures
Monday, February 6, 2012
7:57 AM
The weekend’s snowfall has caused the closure of more than 30 schools in Norfolk this morning, and there are delays on the trains.
Train services to and from Norwich are being delayed by up to an hour because of a broken-down train at Colchester.
Signalling problems at London Liverpool Street had earlier caused train delays of half an hour, but the train at Colchester has added to delays by leaving just one line open to Norwich.
The weekend snow has also caused the closure of more than 30 schools in Norfolk, mostly in the west of the county.
Many schools have reported unsafe conditions for staff and pupils, while heating problems have forced others to close.
Earlier on Monday, Greater Anglia, which took over from National Express East Anglia yesterday, warned that signalling troubles at London Liverpool Street were affecting the movement of trains in and out of six platforms at the station.
Train speeds, which had been reduced as a result of the snow, were returned to normal at 10am.
Norfolk Green has provided an update on its bus services, and has altered certain routes to avoid ungritted roads. In Hunstanton, the 10, 11 and Coasthopper services will use Oasis Way instead of Princess Drive, and in Dersingham the 10 will use Lynn Road instead of Station Road and Mountbatten Road in Dersingham.
The 37 service will not call at Brady Close and Nightingale Close in Denver, or the Retreat Estate in Downham Market. The 63 service between King’s Lynn and Wisbech via Tilney All Saints and Walpole St Peter is running but conditions are poor and buses are running late.
Anglian Bus said at lunchtime that all its services were running, but with several minutes’ delay where road conditions are poor.
Police have warned drivers to be careful on the roads, which may be icy, and to allow extra time for journeys. They also advised motorists to ensure all snow and ice is cleared from windscreens before driving.
Officers said the weather was a contributory factor in many of yesterday’s 34 collisions on Norfolk roads, though most were minor incidents.
A handful of schools have been closed across Suffolk – with just two schools affected across Waveney.
Blundeston CEVCP School is closed with staff reporting “no power, heating or phones.” The school is expected to reopen on Tuesday. Ashley School in Lowestoft is open to pupils travelling daily, but staff added it is closed to residential pupils from Lincoln.
Between 10cms and 15cms (4-6in) of snow fell across Suffolk over the weekend, with 80 incidents – none of them serious – reported to Suffolk police overnight between 10pm on Saturday and noon yesterday (Sunday).
The East of England Ambulance Service received 1,229 calls between 11pm on Saturday and 9am yesterday.
Full list of Norfolk schools closed:
• Ashwicken Church Of England Primary School
• Brancaster CE VA Primary School
• Burnham Market Primary School
• Clackclose Community Primary School
• The Clare School
• Duchy Of Lancaster CE Primary School
• Fairstead Community Primary & Nursery School
• Foulsham Primary School
• Great Hockham Primary School
• Heacham Infant & Nursery School
• Heacham Junior School
• Howard Junior School
• King Edward VII School
• King’s Lynn Academy
• Marham Junior School
• Mundford VC Primary School
• Norwich Road School
• Queensway Infant School & Nursery
• Redgate Junior School
• Sandringham & West Newton CE VA Primary School
• Smithdon High School
• Snettisham Primary School
• Southery Primary School
• Springwood High School (Academy)
• St Clement’s High School
• St Martha’s RC VA Primary School
• St Martin At Shouldham CE VA Primary School
• The Rosebery Short Stay School for Norfolk
• Tilney All Saints CE VC Primary School
• Walsingham Community Primary School
• Wimbotsham & Stow Community School
• For more snow pictures keep an eye on www.eveningnews24.co.uk throughout the day, and send us your snow pictures at www.iwitness24.co.uk
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24 comments
It doesn`t take much these days. School used to be better than home. Warmer, better food, pre-Thatcher milk, committed teachers. Now the infants would rather be at home playing with their i-Pods. As would their pupils.
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Mad Brewer
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Blister cause if a train becomes broken down then it takes time for something to move it out of the way, I mean you cannot just simply call out Green Flag and they will be there in under 30 mins. Also the joy of the Norwich to London Line mostly being 2 tracks and this being simple Norfolk, logistic challenges take longer than normal
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chebram71
Monday, February 6, 2012
how can something such as a broken down train create hour long delays for most of the day, when this kind of thing occurs on my journeys on southern railway it is shunted into a siding and the delays last for half an hour and then everything is back to normal,
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blister
Monday, February 6, 2012
teaching- best paid part time job in the country
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blister
Monday, February 6, 2012
But the whole point is that the Schools are usually shut because of nothing to do with teachers. If your factory that you worked in (or whatever) had to be shut because of a gas leak say - then the workforce would still be paid as it is not their choice not to be at work... As for Teachers not being able to make it in, ideally there should be some online system to allow teachers to register to work at their nearest school so it can be open - but realistically something like that would never be set up sadly.
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JL69
Monday, February 6, 2012
@JL69 - They shouldn't be paid if they don't work. Take it as a holiday. Like the rest of society.
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Whiley Boy
Monday, February 6, 2012
What's the betting the Dersingham Infant and Nursery School would have been closed today, if the old runner bean hadn’t been visiting?
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John L Norton
Monday, February 6, 2012
Why should teachers not be paid?!? As I said it's not them closing the school most of the time! If your place of work was closed for the day for some reason I'm sure you would expect to be paid...
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JL69
Monday, February 6, 2012
I think it's wonderful that the kids get the time off school to enjoy the snowy conditions. Snowballing, Snow Angels, Sledging, Snowman building are all things that should be encouraged throughout the generations. Granted the Teachers should not be paid, but that's another discussion. Snow always has and will cause delays. Let us enjoy it while we can.
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Whiley Boy
Monday, February 6, 2012
I'm not a teacher, but I know a few and it's very rarely anything to do with them! Most times I've heard from them of days off it's been because the BUS COMPANIES can't run the school services so the school has to be shut. So, I know it's easy to blame them, but actually it's very rare for it to be anything to do with the Teachers, unless it's a small school with a few staff as someone mentions below. So you'll notice that the secondary schools that can cope with a few people not being able to get in can open, but most closures are the smaller primary schools... Anyway, like I said, I'm not a teacher but think that people should understand it's very rarely that school is shut because of them - blame health and safety and the bus companies!!!
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JL69
Monday, February 6, 2012
in most jobs if you don't turn up u don't get paid. teachers and civil servants are the exception.
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bookworm
Monday, February 6, 2012
What I find amazing is that teachers can't get in to school, but can always make it to the shops! Good job they don't take the same lame attitude to closure in the health service, power companies etc!
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smithrob
Monday, February 6, 2012
If we had another 1947 winter when there was snow on the ground from January 24th until mid March or the big freeze from Christmas 1962 until early March 1963, using the present criteria we have for closing schools our schoolchildren would have had no schooling for the best part of 2 months during those winters.
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mike smith
Monday, February 6, 2012
is the A47 ANGLIAN BUS running on time today?
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bookworm
Monday, February 6, 2012
Blame the bus companies.In the " old days" I went to one of the schools which has been amalgamated into one of those on the list above. Every winter girls would come in from Bircham and Docking etc usually on Eastern Counties buses and some by train Admittedly in the worst weather they were sometimes called out of lessons to go home early because the bus company was not sure it would be able to run later buses, but they tried.I can't remember a day when I didn't go to school because of snow-had one or two when it was tricky getting home though so I assume the fear is that kids from rural areas will be left stuck at school in the afternoon, which would be a nightmare for all concerned and a bit different to putting a bank clerk up in a b& b for the night. In the case of small schools with few teachers, many of whom may live at distance from the school, opening up may be impossible if staff cannot get in to work-not quite the same as a couple of staff missing from fifty. If no one minded one teacher supervising 60 children I am sure they would do it-but the children have to be fed and kept warm too, it is not always teaching staff to blame.The gritting routes are random-in the last cold snap I saw a route used by buses and by at least 50 households was left ungritted while a lane which only needed to be used by a couple of houses was gritted twice.
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Daisy Roots
Monday, February 6, 2012
Pathetic decision making.When I was at school age the schools rarely shut down because of snow.Infact it was good to go to school as we could bombard the teachers and thier cars with snowballs.
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wes1975
Monday, February 6, 2012
Teachers are far from lazy, the problem is the compensation culture we all live in, there's no such thing as an accident, someone has ot be blamed now a days. The truth is most parents only care about the school as long as they can drop thier kids there for the day so they can go to work. When they can't and work won't give them time off they blame the school (who I'm sure made it snow).
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KeithS
Monday, February 6, 2012
I am told that if schools open and not all the children get in, it reflects badly on the school's attendance record. Perhaps if this rule is changed then it might encourage more schools to stay open. Too many close too easily when other workers get in because if they don'r they don't get paid. Perhaps this should apply to teachers too?
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andy
Monday, February 6, 2012
Lazy teachers wanting a day off, and Health & Safety gone mad.
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Ameedog
Monday, February 6, 2012
If some parents were less inclined to seek financial compensation for little Alfie's broken ankle , I'm sure more schools would stay open in these conditions.
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Dick Turnip
Monday, February 6, 2012
Well said DaveG. Teachers are overpaid child minders.What a pension they get.
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bookworm
Monday, February 6, 2012
Teachers have got to get in their extra holidays to go shopping. Haven't they ?
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"V"
Monday, February 6, 2012
The County Council should at least make sure that the roads used by school buses are gritted. The gritting routes just look random!
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Pushbiker
Monday, February 6, 2012
I bet if the head and their teachers went to the bank or supermarket this morning and found them closed, they would complain! The children will be out and about in the snow and ice playing all day, far less dangerous to be in school where they should be
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DaveG
Monday, February 6, 2012