A PUPIL was left in tears and her dad fuming by her school’s last-minute withdrawal from an athletics final.

Children from Golcar Junior Infant and Nursery (JIN) School were due to compete in the Pennine Sports Partnership Sports Hall Athletics final, at The Barn, Leeds Road, on February 5.

But an hour before the competition, 25 pupils discovered the school had withdrawn because of poor weather – despite offers from the event organisers, Pennine School Sports Partnership, to delay the games until the school arrived.

The school said a minibus it was borrowing from Colne Valley High School had been unable to reach the school because of snow.

And offers from parents to ferry the young athletes to the indoor event were refused by the school because of ‘safety’ issues

Six out of eight schools attended the final with Chickenley JIN School also withdrawing.

Golcar JIN, however, attended the semi-final at The Barn on January 18 despite poor weather.

Parent and former school governor Mark Evans, who offered to drive pupils to Leeds Road, said he and his 10-year-old daughter Sophie were left waiting in the school reception only to find the minibus wasn’t coming.

Mr Evans, 42, said: “What’s really frustrated me is there was no contingency plan. This is Colne Valley and we have snow.

“Sophie was distraught. She had been practising extra for it and she was in tears.