Ashburton College Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Ashburton College has closed for the day following a power outage.
A social media post said students were sent home at about 10am due to a lack of heating, lighting and internet.
Students who used school buses were asked to remain at the school if they could find another way home.
"We thank everyone for their understanding in this unexpected event," the school said.
Electricity Ashburton general manager Pete Armstrong confirmed the outage was limited to the school and did not affect the wider network.
Ashburton College prinicpal Simon Coleman said the school experienced a failure, due to an issue with the school's newly installed power system, but power was restored at 3pm.
"Contractors were on site throughout the day, working to diagnose and repair the fault," he said. "The outage affected several of the school's older concrete classroom blocks, which were left without heating or lighting.
"These blocks have ongoing challenges related to a lack of insulation and appropriate heating, which makes it difficult to maintain optimal learning temperatures for students and staff.
"As a result, in the interest of health and safety, students were sent home."
The college will open as usual on Tuesday.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
