THE announcement by King Henry VIII School that it will remain shut to the majority of pupils today because the boiler has broken down, has angered parents.

In an email sent to parents this morning, officials warned that the state-of-the-art new build super school, which only opened its doors last year, was experiencing heating problems on the first day back after the Christmas break, and decided to remain closed until the issue could be addressed.

The school, which cost nearly £70 million to build, has explained it has contractors on the site working to fix the issue and they are hopeful is should be business as usual tomorrow.

However, many parents feel that the fact that it happened in the first place is a “bit beyond the pale.”

One told the Chronicle, “How can this happen on the first day back in any school. Let alone a brand new one that costs so much money to build?

“In my day, you’d have a caretaker ensuring the heating was working properly during the winter break and ready for the new term. The first cold snap, and it breaks down? What’s gone wrong?”

Yet another parent revealed to the Chronicle that the school has been experiencing heating issues for some time.

The explained, “The announcement today didn’t come as any surprise to me. My kids were telling me just before Christmas that some of the classrooms didn’t have heating, and pupils were sitting there with their coats on for the lessons. It was an accident waiting to happen, and now it has. But it beggars belief that they wait for it to completely break down before they fix it! What I want to know is, where are all those emergency home schooling plans they like to brag about?”

The Chronicle has contacted MCC for a comment.