COUNCIL gritters may not have made it to Wrexham's Brynteg CP School last week, but staff and their families showed true grit as they strove to make their school more pupil-safe for when the school is eventually re-opened.

On their arrival on Friday they all rolled up their sleeves and helped move snow from paths and fire exits round the school, breaking up thick ice and also breaking off icicles from gutters.

Headteacher, Rachael Connell, speaking to the Leader on Friday, said: “We have been trying our hardest to keep our school open, and it can now be seen that we have cleared the site.

“The problem in Brynteg is that many of the approach roads are not clear. Staff have been working at home and are taking more work home today.

“We are concerned about the state of the roads leading up to the school, and while we appreciate stocks of salt are low we hope the roads leading to our school will be treated as soon as possible.

“We realise the LEA want schools opened, but the council aren’t gritting the roads, and we need those roads to be safe for the children.

“We are also aware of the inconvenience this has caused to parents, but at the end of the day it is the children’s safety that is paramount.”

Mrs Connell was assisted in her exploits by her husband Ian, deputy head Huw Rowlands, teachers Diana Monslow and her husband Phil, Michelle Firth, Nik Lucas, Lisa Watts and her father Mr Darlington, plus caretaker Tracy Evans, who re-gritted the paths.

Some staff borrowed 4x4 vehicles or left cars lower down in treated streets to get to the school building in safety.

The school is situated at approximately 175 metres above sea level, and as at Friday on Maesteg (the road on which the school is situated) the road and pavements were said to be completely untreated.

Chair of Governors, Neil Rogers, who lives in the area, backed the closure and advised Mrs Connell not to try to go up to school until after 11am on Friday as it was so icy.

Also a council official visited school on Friday morning and said he felt it was too dangerous for the children to attend.

Mrs Lucas said: “I fully applaud Mrs Connell’s decision to close the school for safety reasons. A few years ago we had some terrible snow and ice in my home town of Llangollen, but I felt duty-bound to get to work in Brynteg.

“I damaged my car in three separate incidents in one week trying to get there and back. It’s all very well expecting teachers to get to work but who pays for the damage to vehicles?”