Schools open after class to stay full until Sunday - with Catalan police approval

Some schools opened this Friday evening after class in order to stay full until the referendum kicks off on Sunday morning. Their aim is to avoid that the police takes control of the sites which will work as polling stations on October 1 for the vote. Much has been speculated about a possible clash between officers and the school community this Friday evening, but so far there have been no violent events. Indeed, while the Spanish police hasn’t turned up on school premises so far, some Catalan police officers visited centers. Still, they let them go ahead with their activities.

The Catalan police have been ordered by the Superior Court in Catalonia to prevent the referendum from taking place. Therefore, in the cases reported by ACN, the law enforcement made sure that no activities related with the vote were taking place, then they warned the people inside that they had to be out by Sunday at 6am, and then left. The prosecutor had ordered both Catalan and Spanish corps to seal off all polling stations from Friday to Sunday, but the Superior Court overruled this decision and ordered the sites to be closed only on Sunday, for the election day.

Workshops, sports, board games, concerts, contests, storytelling, dancing, cinema, bivouac and reading sessions are some of the activities that parents’ associations or individuals have prepared for this weekend starting on Friday evening throughout Catalonia, ACN reports. Some schools have organized festivals to celebrate the beginning of the school year or the arrival of autumn. Every center is reacting differently; while some are open, other stay currently closed.