The snowfall accumulated in the courtyard of the LaSalle La Paloma subsidiary school in Madrid has forced the students to stay inside their classrooms after eating.

If it hadn't been for the 'Filomena' storm, the smaller kids would have put on their coats and went out to play, as they usually do, just at the same time the adjoining building exploded and filled the basketball courts with rubble.

Among the mountain of rubble that have covered the school campus, a bathtub and a bed stand out that were thrown from the parish residence.

"It was a miracle," express the families and those responsible for the center, "the children have been saved thanks to the snow."

The 215 students of the school returned to the classrooms this Wednesday after almost a month without face-to-face classes, first due to the Christmas holidays and then due to the damage caused by the storm.

They were nervous and happy, looking forward to seeing their friends.

The snow had covered part of the entrances and the parents' association summoned the families a few days ago to help remove the snow from the main entrances.

There were fathers and mothers working, cleaning the sidewalks with their shovels.

But the management chose not to remove the snow from the yard because it was too much and the machines could not enter.

In return, the children would have to stay in the classrooms without leaving after lunch.

That decision, which at first seemed like a bummer, has been crucial.

The damaged residence adjoins the wall of the schoolyard.

The students were in the classes facing the other street and that is why they have not suffered the effects of the explosion.

They are all good.

The 16 teachers were also unharmed.

A child in 2nd grade was treated for cutting himself with one of the windows that exploded, but the injuries are "very minor", according to the Madrid Ministry of Education.

There are three classrooms that have been damaged.

"I was in the newsroom, on Gran Vía, and I heard a colleague comment that there was an explosion on Toledo Street. 'There is my daughters' school', I told him, thinking that Toledo Street is very long . I went to Twitter to see the news, I found photos of the yard full of rubble and I was in crisis. I called one of the teachers and, fortunately, she caught me very quickly. After a few minutes that seemed like hours , He told me they were fine. I ran from Gran Vía to Toledo Street and they had already evacuated all the students. They have done very well, "says David Ramos, father of three students aged six, eight. and 10 years and editor-in-chief of Digital Content for the Ser chain.

When David and his wife met their daughters on Toledo Street, they began to cry.

A mixture of released tension and gratitude.

"It's a miracle, because the whole yard was full of debris and at the time of the explosion the students had to be in the yard. The image that I can't get out of my head is what would have happened if this happened in a normal day, "he says.

"The students have been very scared because the glass in the classrooms has exploded and the building has shaken," he adds, and highlights how quickly the center has reacted, "a very familiar school, one line per year, where everyone they know and the older students are friends of the little ones. "

Acaymo San Nicolás, one of the managers of the Lasalle school network, is also shocked by the way the snow has prevented a tragedy.

"Normally they eat in two shifts and the little ones go out to the patio while the older ones are in the dining room. Then at 3:00 p.m. school is over and the parents are already waiting to pick them up. But this time they were in the classrooms because of the snow He wouldn't let them go out. They were already preparing to go out. The shock wave has affected them less, "he says.

He explains that "there is no great damage to the school but, for the moment, the students will not be able to return."

They will have to take distance classes from their homes.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Twitter

  • sports

  • Events

EducationThe school where parents and students began to remove the snow after being summoned by WhatsApp

RelationshipsTamara Falcó: yoga afternoons at her mother-in-law's house

United Kingdom How will Brexit affect the Premier League?

See links of interest

  • Toledo street explosion

  • 2021 calendar

  • Madrid work calendar

  • 1. FSV Mainz 05 - VfL Wolfsburg

  • Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Borussia Dortmund

  • Hertha BSC - TSG Hoffenheim

  • Alavés - Seville

  • Alcoyano - Real Madrid, live