A Stevenage school has been forced to shut its doors and cancel its end of term performances after three of its classrooms were inundated with rainwater.

St Nicholas Church of England School lost all its electrics and phone lines today after heavy rain poured in through a roof that has just been renovated at a cost of £300,000 – half of which was raised by parents.

The roof was only completed at the end of April but today the rain gushed through gaps in the structure, causing ‘severe flooding’, and staff had to use buckets to try to collect it.

Headteacher Sarah Stevens said she had been forced to cancel two nights of performances – tomorrow and Thursday this week – which were due to be staged by Year 6 pupils before they move on to secondary school at the end of term.

She said: “It’s hugely disappointing because the school has needed a new roof for six years and when we finally managed to get it it’s not given us a functioning school.”

Ms Stevens appealed to other schools to offer a hall where the performances of the play – called Porridge and based on the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears – can be held.

The school will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, and no phone lines or internet connections are working so parents will be kept updated via text message.

Updates will also be posted on the school’s website at stnicholas120.herts.sch.uk.