An inconvenient snowstorm

University life was disrupted last week by two separate snow showers, the first of which fell last Sunday and then another midweek.

On Thursday the Students’ Union reported that the snow was up to “six inches” thick on campus.

A number of lectures were cancelled on Monday, and University staff were advised to go home at 3.30pm because of reports of an expected deterioration of weather conditions.

A talk due to be given by Professor Robert Winston had to be postponed “In light of the heavy snow affecting much of England”.

University sports events also had to be cancelled because of the cold weather. Almost all training sessions and fixtures were postponed due to pitches freezing over.

On Thursday, disruption was even more widespread. In the morning, the only bus service running from Leamington to campus was the number 12 bus, run by Coventry Transport. However, this was subject to significant delays. Students with Stagecoach bus passes had to pay for tickets to use the number 12 buses in the morning, whilst others decided to stay at home.

By the early afternoon, Stagecoach reported that “services in Leamington [were] running on a limited service, serving main roads only”, although the timetable went “out the window”.

Many students were left unsure whether their lectures were cancelled or not. The University released a statement saying that it was invoking “the Severe Weather Policy with effect from 7.30am”. Students were advised to “contact their departments regarding availability of lectures”.

Some departments such as English and Biology emailed their students with information about their lectures. However, others were less organised. The philosophy office told students they didn’t know whether lectures were on, often just 30 minutes before a lecture started. One Student, Russell Anderson told the Boar, “the stats department told me nothing about whether lectures were on, so I decided to take the day off”.

The Students’ Union remained open for ‘business as usual’, although there was a quiet atmosphere on campus. First year student, Ed Nottingham, said that he was “concerned that the paths to the sports centre were extremely icy”.

While some students were left frustrated at missing lectures, the majority seemed grateful for the day off and many made the most of the conditions by braving the cold and experiencing the snow. The Students’ Union ran a snowman competition and encouraged people to submit photos of their efforts to their website.