More than 150 schools in England have been identified as having a type of potentially dangerous concrete – with many now closing buildings or classrooms to make them safe.
The government has not yet published a list of which schools are affected – but BBC News is trying to find out through schools themselves. The list is being constantly updated and you can tell us about your school below.
- Do you know of a school that is affected? Share information in confidence by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
Which schools have closed buildings?
The government is not publishing a list, as it says it wants parents to hear from headteachers and principals about closures first.
So far, BBC News has learned the following schools are affected:
- Ferryhill School, a secondary in County Durham – an email to parents, seen by the BBC, said the start of the new school year would be delayed. New starters would start a week late with the rest being taught online, it said. One parent said his Year 7 daughter was apprehensive about starting school and this put them in a “difficult position”
- Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy, Leicester, Leicestershire – parents were told in a letter from the school, seen by the BBC, about complex arrangements to send children from different year groups to two different schools, and give older children home schooling
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Brixton, south London – a statement from 18 August says juniors are to be relocated to a neighbouring school
- Crossflatts Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire – the school is partially closed with pupils moved to different areas of the building. Temporary buildings are in place
- Eldwick Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire – Bradford Council has also confirmed some buildings are closed
- Kingsdown School, Southend-on-Sea, Essex – the special school for children aged from three to 14 years old was told on Thursday to close its main building. More from Essex here – where more than 50 schools reported to have it
- Cockermouth School, Cockermouth, Cumbria – pupils will return to school a day later because of RAAC found in four corridors, the library and sports hall
- Katherines Primary Academy, Harlow, Essex – the main building is closed
- Hatfield Peverel Junior School, Chelmsford, Essex – the school is closed until at least mid-September. Temporary classrooms are needed
- White Hall Academy primary, Clacton, Essex – the school is carrying out surveys and parents were told on Friday there will be three non-teaching days
- Winter Gardens Academy, Canvey Island, Essex – parts of the school are to be vacated with immediate effect
- Wood Green Academy, Wednesbury, West Midlands – some classrooms will be closed until October
- Holy Trinity Catholic Academy, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire – issues have been identified on site but the school will open as planned
- The Ramsey Academy, Halstead, Essex – four classrooms have been vacated and are out of use until safety measures are in place
- St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, Harrow, north west London – work is being done to prop up the concrete, but the school is expected to open as planned
- The Gilberd School, Colchester, Essex – the school will not reopen until 11 September for students in Year 8-11, with Year 7 pupils returning a day later
- Ravens Academy, Clacton On Sea, Essex – the school will be closed for two days next week, on 5 and 6 September
What other schools have already been dealing with RAAC?
- Parks Primary, Leicester, Leicestershire – back in May, the school had to relocate several classes and borrow rooms from other institutions after the discovery of RAAC
- Mayflower Primary School, Leicester, Leicestershire – also found out it was affected before the summer holidays
- Haygrove School, Bridgwater, Somerset – the secondary school’s headteacher has told the BBC it could be months before all pupils are back after its main building was declared unsafe by inspectors last month
- Mistley Norman Church of England Primary, Manningtree, Essex – children have been taught in classrooms at another school since April, after the aging lightweight concrete was discovered
- Hockley Primary School, Hockley, Essex – closed since 11 June, some year groups are being sent to other schools
- Abbey Lane Primary School, Sheffield, South Yorkshire – work started in July to replace the RAAC in the roof over the kitchen, and alternative meal arrangements are being made for pupils
- Donnington Wood Infants School, Donnington, Telford, Shropshire – will remain open
- Jerounds Primary School in Harlow, Essex – will also remain open. RAAC was detected in the school’s kitchen but is being strengthened by a steel structure
- Outwoods Primary School, Atherstone, North Warwickshire – works began earlier this year to install support as a precaution, but the school will remain open
- Cranbourne College, Basingstoke, Hampshire – one area has been closed since the start of the year, temporary works are in another part but the school remains open
How many schools are affected in total?
The Department for Education (DfE) said 156 school buildings were identified as having this type of concrete, RAAC (find out more about the concrete here). Of them, 52 were at risk of sudden collapse and action was taken immediately to make them safe, for example by propping up the concrete.
It was thought that the other 104 school buildings were safe to be in, but over the summer the government discovered there were cases where low-risk RAAC had turned out to be unsafe – for example a beam collapsed, schools minister Nick Gibb told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. So now these 104 are also closing those buildings to make them safe.
But more schools may be affected. Back in June, a report by the National Audit Office assessed that 572 schools had been identified where RAAC might be present. Engineers at schools across the country have been carrying out surveys to work out where the problems are.
Where are schools being checked over?
Engineers have been carrying out surveys across England to work out where the problems are. While this work affects most councils, some are also announcing how many of their schools are being surveyed:
- Hertfordshire – 120 school buildings in the county are to be surveyed at the request of the government. No school in the county needs to close currently
- Lancashire – after an initial survey of all schools, 17 schools are going to have detailed surveys done due to their age as a precautionary measure, the council says
- Nottinghamshire – the council says Carnarvon Primary School, Bingham, Nottingham needs further checks, although no immediate issues have been identified
Other UK nations
- Northern Ireland – schools in Northern Ireland are being checked for collapse-prone concrete as a matter of urgency
- Scotland – at least 12 schools have been identified with RAAC. There are five in West Lothian, two in the Highlands, two in Edinburgh and one each in Perth and Kinross, Moray and East Lothian. No school has been completely closed. Figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats in May found at least 37 schools in Scotland have buildings that contain RAAC
- Wales – schools and colleges are being surveyed for RAAC but no institutions have reported having the material
Do you know of a school that is affected? Share information in confidence by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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