English Writing Assessment

The deep freeze left roads and pavements covered in ice, making driving and conditions for pedestrians extremely dangerous. Salt supplies are ‘stretched', while thousands of schools are shut and air and rail travel are again affected y delays. In Hartley, Essex and Leeds, officials have decided to only grit key routes, leaving many roads untreated. Motorway hard shoulders are no longer being gritted, with the government proportioning salt for the worst- affected regions. There have even been reports of some local councils removing grit bins in certain areas in an attempt to reduce salt usage.Milk deliveries have also been disrupted, with tankers struggling to reach dairy farms. Some farmers have had to dump supplies as few have large storage facilities while, in Scotland, several barn roofs have collapsed under the weight of snow. In Bristol Harbor, the temperature was low enough that the sea began to freeze over. Conditions have been so poor in places that some villages have b een cut off, including Princeton in Dartmouth. Up to 4,000 homes were without water after a main burst outside the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.Thousands of schools remain closed, with exam candidates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland warned they could have to wait five months to sit GEESE and A-level modules if weather prevents them taking them next week. Overnight, temperatures in Manchester fell to -ICC, with Glasgow reaching ICC, Cardiff -ICC and London hovering just below zero. The lowest temperature recorded this week was in the Scottish Highlands, -22. ICC while England's low was -ICC in Woodward, Cheshire. Temperatures are expected to stay around freezing throughout the weekend and forecasters say winds could make it feel even colder.Page 2 of 4 Document 2 – Extract from online forums Suffolk County Council Website Discussion Forum Mike D am furious about the school closures in my area. Wave had 3-4 inches of snow and yet local schools only a mile apart ha ve made different decisions about whether to open or close. The Government should carry out an urgent review of school closure policies. It is absolutely outrageous that teachers are still being paid when they are failing to do their job. Anonymous am a Secondary School Teacher in a school of 1,300 pupils.Unfortunately, when the weather is like it is now, school closures are a necessity. It isn't simply a matter of whether the teaching staff can get to the school or not (though that is a factor), but also how safe it is for them when they get there. Obviously, the same applies for the pupils too, many of whom do not attend he school nearest to them and would be traveling early morning when the roads are at their most dangerous. Not to mention the fact that we're at the mercy of the bus services on top of all this.In fact, only the other day I saw a bus struggling to get up a hill because the road hadn't been gritted. The fact is that its often more sensible to close the school altog ether than to risk teaching a small number of pupils in potentially unsafe conditions. Sarah P My children were at home for two days in the week as their school was closed because of the snow. We had a fantastic time making a snowman, sledging ND having a snowball fight in the park. We don't see weather like this very often; can't we let the kids enjoy it a little bit?My husband has had no real problems getting to work, and I've been walking to the local shops to get our food shopping. Apart from the fact that I've been forced to take annual leave to look after the children, is this weather really all that bad? Michelle M A lot of people seem to be complaining about school closures and teachers not being in work. Let's be honest; the vast majority of you would happily take a ‘snow day' if it was offered to you. I know I would! Having said that, the dads around my way haven't been gritted and I've already seen one accident where a driver lost control and skidded into a parked c ar.My kids' school has been closed for a few days now and my youngest has missed some Of his exams, which he's been working really hard for, but to be perfectly honest, the break has done him good. Page 3 of 4 @ Education Development International ply 201 0 TASK 1 You live on a road that is a main bus route to the local secondary school. During the cold weather, your road did not get gritted. Write a letter to the council persuading them that your road needs to be made a priority road for rioting.