A number of local schools have announced closures ahead of Storm Eunice - including Helston College.

Schools across Cornwall have closed including Falmouth School, Hayle Academy, Marazion School, The Roseland Academy, St Ives School, among many others.

The Met Office has issued a rare red warning for Cornwall on Friday (18th) expected to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds between 7am-12pm

The Red Weather Warning for wind covers southwest coastal areas of the UK, where the most significant gusts in exposed areas could be in excess of 90mph from early Friday morning.

Further inland and within the wider Amber Warning area, gusts will still be significant and damaging for many, with 70-80mph gusts possible.

Red Weather Warnings are rarely issued by the Met Office, with the last one coinciding with Storm Arwen in November 2021, but you'd have to go back to March 2018 for the last red warning for wind before that.

The wider Amber Warning area highlights the ongoing risk of high impacts such as disruption to power, travel, and other services.

Damage is also likely for buildings and trees, with beach material being thrown providing another risk near coastlines.

In a statement, the college said the open nature of the building means it wouldn't be safe to open.

Addressing parents, Wayne Jenkins, Helston College Headteacher announced:

"We have made the difficult decision to close the College tomorrow.

"We are acutely aware of the challenges this presents and have not made this decision lightly. Please support your child in accessing the remote online learning that we will be providing via Google Classroom.

"There are some Tutorial Videos available on the Learning Portal which can be accessed via the College website. Please do not worry if your child does not have access to a computer or the internet, or if your internet connection is adversely affected by Storm Eunice.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused, however the safety of our College community will always be our number one priority."

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