Flood damage extends holiday for Hertsmere pupils

Hertsmere Jewish Primary School has been forced to extend its summer holiday by a week, following flood damage.

Parents were informed on Monday that the Radlett school will be a week late in reopening after inspectors found extensive damage across the school, following heavy rainfall in June.

As parents scrambled to find childcare, school bosses assured anxious families they were doing all they could to repair the premises in time for the later start of Monday 12 September, instead of the planned return a week earlier.

Flash floods and thunderstorms in the early hours of 23 June, as Britain lay awake watching the results of the EU Referendum, damaged hundreds of buildings across the south of the country, and brought public transport to a virtual standstill.

“This is not a decision we took lightly,” wrote headteacher Steven Isaacs. “Unfortunately this is the only feasible option under the circumstances. We understand that the delayed start will significantly impact many parents but unfortunately this is entirely beyond our control.”

The school was damaged after excess rainwater from overflowing drain pipes poured across parts of the school, including the nursery, library, corridor and ground floor classrooms.

Later inspection revealed that the scale of the damp was far worse than initially suspected.

While the school has said “an earlier opening may be possible depending on [the work’s] progress,” contractors and consultants have advised that 12 September is the “most realistic” date.