AN OXFORD primary school was forced to send its pupils home after its playground was flooded with sewage due to a blockage of hardened grease.

Larkrise Primary School, on Boundary Brook Road, had to close yesterday (Thursday, October 21) after the school suffered its third flood in five years.

Engineers from Thames Water said the flood was caused by a blockage of hardened cooking fat and grease in sewer pipes that run beneath the school.

Headteacher Jon Gray said he believed the situation was made worse by heavy rain overnight on Wednesday.

He told the Oxford Mail: "It has been an issue before, it is the third time this has happened in the past five years.

"I think the issue is really related to global warming. We are getting a lot more water and rainfall and then on top of that, we have got old sewage systems. Historically, [these problems have been caused] by people putting nappies down the drains. When you then get a huge amount of rain in a short space of time, it causes issues."

While the school's pupils were able to learn from home on Thursday though online teaching, Mr Gray said he felt this was not ideal given the amount of time children have been away from the classroom in recent months due to the pandemic.

He said: "Children need to be in school. It's really important. They have had so much time off. It is not very nice having sewage on the playground."

Speaking with regard to Thames Water's response, he said: "Its response was not brilliant, but I understand they have a lot on their plate but sometimes I think they should prioritise schools."

Speaking on Thursday, he added: "It has been a long night for us, but hopefully we will be open tomorrow."

A spokesman for Thames Water said it had identified the cause of the flood, saying: “Our engineers were quickly on the scene yesterday morning and found that the flooding was caused by a blockage of hardened cooking fat and grease in the sewer. This has now been removed and the pipe is flowing normally again.

“A full clean-up of the affected area is underway so the school can re-open as soon as possible.

“We urge everyone not to pour cooking fat and oils down the sink as they will eventually turn solid and build up in your pipes.

“Instead, collect them in a container like a jam jar or yoghurt pot. Leave them to cool and, once they’ve set, scoop them out and pop them in the bin.”

The school shared the news with parents online, writing: "We are extremely sorry for this announcement but after further investigation, we have discovered a significant sewage problem that is now affecting the whole school. Due to this we now need to close the whole school.”

They included a photograph showing the playground flooded.