Penryn College’s sports dome took the brunt of the weather last Thursday when high winds left a large hole in its roof.

Students who first spotted the damage feared that the whole roof was about to fly off, but caretaker Alex Cocks confirmed that this was never the case.

He said: “The wind got underneath and ripped it. The piece that ripped was flapping around and probably looked a lot worse than what it was.”

However, students were kept indoors, with Mr Cocks adding: “We kept everybody out the way because we didn’t know what was going to happen.”

The school managed to get a local company to cut down the flapping material to make it safe, revealing the hole in the roof measuring 20 metres by six metres.

Mr Cocks said the dome would be closed until the school could get an assessment of how to repair the damage and keep the weather out.

“Unfortunately the company that originally built it has gone bust,” said Mr Cocks. “We’re trying very hard to find somebody that can do it.”