Corby school principal praises students after gas leak evacuation

The principal of a Corby academy has praised his pupils after the school had to be evacuated because of a suspected gas leak today (September 10)

Children at Corby Business Academy had been evacuated after being told it was a drill - but they were not allowed back into the building and waited for an hour outside.

Some parents had been contacted to collect their children from the Gretton Road site after all of the students had been accounted for.

Simon Underwood, principal of Corby Business Academy, said: “This morning we carried out a short evacuation of our school due to a suspected gas leak.

"Specialist engineers inspected the building and students and staff re-entered at 1pm. I was very pleased to see that the evacuation process of the building and the academy’s health and safety alert systems operated with efficiency and with high levels of quality, keeping our staff and students safe.

"The conduct and understanding of our students was excellent and we could not be prouder of their diligence and behaviour throughout the evacuation.

"I would like to thank parents and carers for their co-operation and support."

The school will be open to pupils as usual on Monday morning.

Mr Underwood added: "The academy will be open as usual on Monday, September 13, when we look forward to the continuation of an excellent start to the academic year.”

Earlier in the day one parent had been messaged by their child to say that they had been evacuated. An hour later she saw the whole school standing outside on the astroturf, later being contacted to collect her daughter.