Gas leak school to reopen today (Thursday)

On Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 200 pupils and staff were ordered to keep out from St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Newport Road.
The alert was first raised shortly after 9.10am on Tuesday and pupils were sent to nearby Winchcombe School while they waited for parents to pick them up.
Spokeswoman for Southern Gas Networks, Claire Buchanan, said: at the time: “We were called to the school this morning following reports of a gas leak. The school had already evacuated 198 pupils and 35 staff when our team arrived.
“Our engineers quickly ensured the safety of the site by turning off the main gas supply to the affected area. They’ve started to investigate the cause of the problem so that repairs can take place.”
The school remained closed yesterday while engineers capped the leak, which was found to be beneath the playground.
Yesterday afternoon Ms Buchanan said: "We have now completed our repair work at St Joseph's and the school will be able to reopen tomorrow. We would like to apologise to the pupils, teachers and parents for the inconvenience and thank them for their patience as we completed this essential work."