The Holmesdale School welcomes pupils from flooded St Katherine's School in Snodland
13:52, 26 July 2019
updated: 16:44, 26 July 2019
A few short weeks ago, the worst flooding in decades devastated a primary school.
Hundreds of pupils were without classrooms and it looked like every event left in the school calendar would have to be cancelled.
Ruth Powell, head teacher at St Katherine’s School in Snodland, remembers first seeing the state of flood damage on the morning of Tuesday, June 11.
She said: “The caretaker was the first in the building. Then I arrived.
“The flooding had come in from the outside but also up through the drains. We’d never seen anything like it before.”
The school was forced to close to its 630 pupils for two days as flood water damaged classrooms and equipment.
Luckily, help was just around the corner.
The Holmesdale School, a mixed secondary school just a short walk away, opened its doors to some 360 pupils aged between seven and 11.
Mrs Powell said: “We spent two days working together, amending timetables and carrying out safety checks.
“Staff and teachers at both schools were working tirelessly to make sure everything could get back to normal.”
By Monday morning, pupils from Year 3 to 6 were arriving at Malling Road ready for classes at The Holmesdale School.
“The flooding had come in from the outside but also up through the drains. We’d never seen anything like it before..." Ruth Powell, head teacher at St Katherine’s School
Younger pupils from Reception to Year 2 were able to stay at St Katherine’s.
Nicki Hodges, head at Holmesdale, said: “Luckily our Year 11 and 13 were on study leave at the time, it freed up a bit of space in classrooms.
“At first both of the schools were timetabled to be separate.
“St Katherine’s is our biggest feeder school so we buddied up our Year 7s who went there with some of the primary school pupils for the first couple of days.
“We quickly realised the children were absolutely fine together. Our students set a really good example and were really calm.
“The students in our school still find it quite cute when Year 3s are holding open doors for them.”
Mrs Powell added: “Secondary pupils can seem quite scary when you’re young, but this has really helped their confidence.
“Everyone has been really relaxed. This has been a lovely experience, out of something that started off so badly.”
