Strand students will get ‘three day extension’ to assignments due to Holborn fire

ARTS and Humanities and SSPP students at Strand will get a three day extension to their assignments because of disruption caused by the two-day fire in Holborn.

Assessment deadlines for coursework occurring between now and 2 May will be extended by three days, King’s admin chief Ian Barrett told students this morning.

The extension was due to the Holborn fire and “the subsequent building, library and campus closure”, Ian said in an email to students.

“If this results in a revised deadline occurring on a weekend (Saturday/Sunday), the deadline will instead be extended to the following Monday, or in the case of a bank holiday, the following Tuesday,” he added.

All submission times remain the same as on the original deadline date. In due course the dates on the Turnitin submission areas will be amended to reflect this change, and show the new deadline.

The email was sent to all students taking Arts and Humanities modules this year.

The electrical fire underneath the pavement on Kingsway caused powercuts in the area, forcing whole of the Strand Campus to close.

The Strand Buildings, including the Maughan Library and Somerset House East Wing, have now opened as normal.

The Virginia Woolf Building on Kingsway will open again at 2pm this Sunday.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated on 1 April shortly after smoke was seen pouring out of a manhole cover on Kingsway.

Six fire engines and 35 firemen arrived at the scene to combat the fire, increasing to 70 later on.

Police now think the fire may be linked to the Hatton Garden jewel heist.

Update at 15:21:

When asked why the cut off for extensions was May 2, a King’s spokesperson told Roar: “Students should have received emails from their faculties or their departments which set out the relevant information about extensions, as mentioned on Keats.

“They should contact their departments for confirmation about extensions to assessments, following the Holborn fire. If students have not heard anything yet then they should contact their department for advice.”