What a sleigh to get to school

The winter wonderland that has forced other schools to close, prevented adults from getting to work and cut off rural dwellers from towns has not defeated the pupils of Balloughry Primary, who have revelled in the joys of snowman building and snowball throwing of late with their school friends.

Despite the weather conditions and all that it entailed for parents getting their children to school, one parent who lives close to the primary school came up with the novel idea of ferrying her daughter to school by sleigh.

Little Sarah Mackey, who is five this month, and who is in P1, lives about half-a-mile from the school. She spent all of last week travelling to and from school every day on her wooden sleigh pulled by her mother, Michelle Mackey.

Indeed, Mrs Mackey said that it was the only way to make sure she got her daughter to school safely and, understandably, Sarah has been delighted with her new means of transport.

Such is the commitment of everyone at Balloughry to keep the school open, despite the snow, that other parents have been bringing their own spades and grit to clear the pathways and playgrounds.

One parent said that the children didn't want to miss school because they enjoyed it so much so they had all pulled together to make sure that everyone could make their way safely from the car park to the school building.

The principal, Mrs. Carol Campbell, said, "The snow and frost have not been a deterrent for our pupils. They are happy to come to school and attendance has been great. We have all had great fun with the snow – snowmen have been built and a few snowballs thrown!"

Mrs Campbell said little Sarah's mode of transport was the most unusual that she has ever encountered.

"The children have been having a brilliant time in the snow. Obviously the wee ones cannot get out because they might fall, but the bigger ones are really enjoying it, although I think the novelty has worn off now with some of them at this stage," she said.

Unlike many other schools, which have been forced to close due to the adverse conditions, Balloughry has remained open, and Mrs Campbell paid tribute to the parents who had turned out to perform snow clearing and gritting around the school, which, she said, had allowed the school to remain open.