Investigations are ongoing into a "rotten egg" smell which closed a high school and Sixth Form for three days in a row.
People started reporting a "weird" and "funny" smell in the Roughwood Drive area of Kirkby on Wednesday, January 17. The smell led to emergency services, including Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Cadent, heading to All Saints High School at around 10.57am.
The unknown smell led to the school being evacuated, before they released a statement later the same evening to reassure parents there was no major concern and the school would reopen as usual on Thursday. However, on Thursday January 18, the school sent a second message to parents informing them children would be sent home for a second time due to the smell.
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A decision was made on Thursday evening by headteacher, Mr T McGuinness, to keep the school closed on Friday, with the "hope" of reopening on Monday, January 22, following testing from Knowsley Council, Environmental Health, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.
A statement to parents said: "As you will be aware, pupils and staff were sent home early again today. We were advised by Merseyside Fire Service to evacuate the building due to a recurrence of the same unpleasant smell that entered the school yesterday. Rather than keep staff and pupils waiting outside in the cold weather for an undetermined amount of time whilst further testing was carried out, I took the decision to send everybody home.
"The safety of all the pupils and staff who work in All Saints is my paramount concern, and I can assure you that closing the school is not a decision that I take lightly, but the advice that I have been given by our engineers is that we have been particularly affected by this issue in the atmosphere due to our location and the way the school’s heating system operates.
"In addition, after further discussions this afternoon with representatives from Knowsley Council, Environmental Health, Merseyside Fire Service and our Buildings Maintenance Team, to allow further testing to take place, school will not be open for pupils and staff tomorrow, Friday 19th January 2024.
"I want to reassure you all that on both occasions, when Merseyside Fire Service have tested the air quality in the building, the readings have been well within recognised safety limits. I also wish to reiterate that the smell has come from somewhere in the local area, and The Council’s Environmental Health team are working hard to establish its source.
"Once testing has concluded tomorrow, I will be able to provide a further update, and I hope to report that school will reopen on Monday 22nd January as usual. Although school will be closed on Friday, pupils in Years 7-9 are expected to work from their Knowledge Organisers, and revise for next week’s assessments.
"Pupils in Y10 & 11, and 6th Form students will have work provided for their usual lessons on the Google Classroom platform. Thank you again for your cooperation and understanding."
Cadent, the gas emergency service, has found no evidence of any issues on the gas network, with possible causes being given as factory discharges, aviation fuel and docks activity. Knowsley Council continued its enquiries into the smell today and found no odours had been detected today and All Saints Catholic High School will reopen on Monday.
A spokesperson for Knowsley Council said: “Officers from Knowsley Council’s Environmental Health team alongside Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and United Utilities this morning attended the areas where smells have been reported in the past two days, including at All Saints Catholic High School in Kirkby.
“No odours have been detected today. None of the tests carried out by a range of agencies this week have identified any public health concerns. All Saints Catholic High School will reopen to pupils on Monday morning (January 22, 2024).
“Work is ongoing with the Environment Agency to identify the source of the odours experienced in recent days, and all agencies will continue to monitor the situation.
“Gas emergency service Cadent has not found any evidence of an issue on the gas network which could have caused the reported odours. The public are reminded that they should continue to ring the gas emergency service on 0800 111 999 if they smell gas, suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, or notice damage to gas pipes.”
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