Calls have been made for the Department for Education (DfE) to release the full list of schools that have been ordered to close over safety fears.
Pupils across the country will be forced to resume their studies either online or in temporary facilities after the government ordered more than 100 schools to close immediately following fears over a type of concrete, described as “80 per cent air” and “like an Aero Bar”.
Known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the potentially dangerous material was used to construct schools, colleges, and other buildings between the Fifties and mid-Seventies in the UK, but has since been found to be at risk of collapse.
In total, the government said 156 schools were found to contain RAAC, of which 104 require urgent action while 52 have already received repair works. Some 35 schools have been impacted in Scotland, though Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Saturday there were no plans to close schools there “at this stage”.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said the government will begin releasing the names of the schools impacted by the order, but ministers have so far refused to make the list public. Teaching unions have slammed the back-to-school chaos as “nothing short of a scandal”.
What schools are impacted?
Here is a running list of the schools in England currently on the “crumbling building” list and, therefore, may be impacted by the DfE order:
- Aston Manor Academy, Birmingham: The academy has announced a delayed start to the academic year, with students now not expected on the school site until at least September 11.
- Aylesford School, Warwick: The primary school is not affected but a significant area of the rest of the school will be closed while works continue. Only Year 7s will be taught onsite on Monday, with Year 12s returning from Wednesday.
- Buckhurst Hill Community Primary School, Essex: The school is closed until September 11 while alternative teaching arrangements are organised.
- Buckton Fields Primary School, Northampton, East Midlands
- Ferryhill School in County Durham - the secondary school is said to have a delayed start to the new academic year, according to an email sent to parents. They are expected to start a week late with the rest of the classes being taken online
- Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy in Leicester - Parents have been told to send their children to two different schools and older pupils were asked for home-schooling.
- Claydon High School, Suffolk: The school in Ipswich is considering delaying reopening or partial closure until the on-site Raac issue has been resolved.
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School in Brixton, south London - the school said in a statement the juniors will be relocated to a nearby area.
- Cleeve Park School, Sidcup: The BBC has reported that four classrooms, some admin offices and the gym will be closed.
- Crossflats Primary School in Bradford - The school has been partially closed according to Bradford Council.
- Eldwick Primary School in Bradford - Bradford Council confirmed the school will be partially closed.
- Mayflower Primary School - A Leicester city council spokesman said they are working to “arrange alternative accommodation in order to ensure in-person teaching was able to continue as quickly as possible.”
- Parks Primary School - alternative accommodation will also be arranged for pupils.
- Pershore High School, Pershore, Worcestershire
- Corpus Christi Catholic School in Brixton Hill, Lambeth was forced to shut before the start of the new term. The school website has said due to RAAC “located in the roof of part of the Junior site has led to a temporary relocation of the Junior pupils in time for the start of term.”
- Springfield Primary School, Chelmsford - According to a newsletter from July posted on the school website, the school was set to have “four junior classrooms where the roof works have been completed.” The school stated Essex County Council were giving temporary classrooms on the junior playground until the rest of the classrooms were completed.
- Ravens Academy in Essex - The school website has said it will be closed for two days next week, on 5 and 6 September.
- St Clere's School in Essex - In a letter posted on the school website, it said parts of the school will be closed with remote learning “partially implemented” as there is not “enough teaching spaces to host all pupils and students.”
- Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield started work in July to replace the RAAC in the roof over the kitchen, BBC News reports, with alternative meal arrangements now being made for pupils.
- The Billericay School in Essex sent a letter to parents on Friday confirming that a “small section” of the school’s estate contains RAAC, but added that it is “not in a position where full closure is required.”
- Canon Slade School in Bolton has closed some areas for safety reasons, according to local press reports.
- Clacton County High School in Essex has delayed the beginning of term and is using remote learning in places.
- Carmel College and Sixth Form, Darlington has been forced to close its kitchen and library, but the school remains open.
- Cockermouth School, Cumbria pupils will need to return to school a day later as Raac was found in four corridors.
- Cranbourne College, Basingstoke has had one area closed since the beginning of the year, with temporary works in place in another part of the school. However, it remains open.
- Donnington Wood Infants School, Shropshire will remain open after it had extra ceilings added.
- East Bergholt High School, Colchester is considering whether to delay reopening or to partially close.
- East Tilbury Primary School, Thurrock, Essex: Some parts of the school will be closed, with Year 1 pupils moved to share a block with Reception and Year 2 pupils relocated to the sports hall.
- Farlingaye High School, Woodbridge, Suffolk: Some classrooms are set to be out of action and it might need to delay reopening.
- Ferryhill School, County Durham will delay the start of the new school year, with new starters beginning a week late and the rest of the classes taught online.
- The Gilberd School, Colchester will remain closed until 11 September for students in years eight, nine, ten and eleven, with year seven pupils returning on 12 September.
- Hadleigh High School, Suffolk is also considering a delay to the start of the new term.
- Hatfield Peverel Junior School, Essex will be closed until mid-September at the very earliest, with temporary classrooms required.
- Haygrove School - Bridgwater
- Hockley Primary School, Essex has been closed since 11 June, with some year groups sent to other schools.
- Holy Trinity Catholic Academy, Nottinghamshire has identified issues but will remain open.
- Honywood School, Colchester will have 22 classrooms closed with immediate effect, with some required to do online learning.
- Jerounds Primary School, Essex had Raac detected in the school’s kitchen and is now being held up by a steel structure. The school will remain open.
- Katherines Primary Academy, Essex has closed its main building.
- Kingsdown School, Essex, a special school for children aged from three to 14 years old, has closed its main building.
- Mistley Norman, Essex
- Our Lady’s Catholic High School, Lancashire is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
- Outwoods Primary School, North Warwickshire began work earlier in 2023 to install extra support as a precautionary measure, but the school remains open.
- Ramsey Academy, Essex has cleared out four classrooms, which are out of use until appropriate safety measures are implemented.
- Scalby School, Scarborough
- St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Harlow Green, Tyne and Wear
- St Bede’s Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College, Easington, Durham
- St Bernard’s School, Bolton, Greater Manchester
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Ascot
- St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, London is working to prop up the concrete with supports, but the school remains open.
- St James Catholic Primary School, Hebburn, Tyne and Wear
- St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
- St Leonard’s School, County Durham will be closed.
- St Mary Magdalene Academy, London, Greater London
- St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, County Durham will be closed until 11 September.
- St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive, London is open, but parts of the school are closed, including the hall, gym, canteen, drama studio, girls and boys toilets. The school will also need to open mobile toilet blocks.
- St William of York Catholic Primary School, Bolton
- Thameside School and Sixth Form, Essex: Expects its reopening to students to be delayed until September 11. Parts of the school have been closed, with a significant number of teaching spaces impacted.
- The Appleton School, Essex: The BBC has reported that the school’s Tower, North and South blocks are being vacated, while Years 8, 9 and 10 are set for online learning from home from Wednesday to Friday.
- The Bromsfords School, Wickford, Essex
- Thurstable School and Sixth Form, Essex: No students in school on Wednesday, with online learning from home in place. Year 7 is expected to be in school on Thursday, with Year 7, 11, 12 and 13 on-site on Friday, with remote learning for other years.
- White Hall Academy Primary, Essex told parents on Friday that there will be three non-teaching days.
- Waddesdon Church of England School, Buckinghamshire
- Winter Gardens Academy, Essex will be vacating parts of the school with immediate effect.
- Wood Green Academy, West Midlands will have some classrooms closed until October.
- Woodville Primary School, Essex will be closed until 11 September.
- Wyburns Primary School, Essex will be closed for up to two weeks.
A taped off section inside Parks Primary School in Leicester which has been affected with sub standard reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).— (PA)
This list will be updated as it becomes clear which schools are impacted.
In an interview with Times Radio on Friday, the schools minister Nick Gibb said parents can be assured it’s safe to send their children to school if they haven’t been told otherwise.
Asked how he can give assurances when not all questionnaires have been returned, Mr Gibb said: “Yes I can, because more than any other governments in the world, we have been the most proactive in dealing with this issue. It’s been around since the mid-1990s over successive governments.
“But as evidence has emerged, we have taken a very proactive approach in trying to identify in the 22,500 schools - and indeed across the public sector as a whole - where RAAC is.”
Staff at Willowbrook Mead Primary Academ, in Leicester, move equipment as they are told they must close due to the risk of RAAC in its buildings— (Joseph Walshe / SWNS)
In a separate interview with Sky News, Mr Gibb said the government will cover “all capital costs” for those schools that need to either fully or partially relocate, Mr Gibb added: “We will pay for that. We’ve made it very clear we will cover all capital costs.
“So if in the worst-case scenario, we need portacabins in the school estate for an alternative accommodation, we will cover all those costs. So there has been some speculation that we won’t cover those costs. We absolutely will.”
What other buildings are at risk?
The government is also rebuilding seven hospitals due to issues related to “extensive RAAC”, Mr Gibb revealed.
Asked on BBC Breakfast if other public buildings could be affected, he said: “Right across the public sector, we are surveying the estate.
“You’ve heard of a court closing at Harrow. We are taking action, of course, in the hospital sector as well.
“Hospitals are very large buildings and they have teams of very expert maintenance people monitoring the building the whole time.
“They use propping where they identify RAAC and also we are rebuilding seven hospitals because of extensive RAAC in those hospitals.”
How will I know if my child's school is shutting?
Schools will let parents know directly if there is any change to the start of the term.
On whether all schools affected have now been informed, Mr Gibb told Sky News: “The vast majority have. We have been calling them yesterday, but there are a few more that we’re calling today, and those schools are now talking to parents about what’s going to happen in their school.”
Mr Gibb said the government will release a list of the schools in “due course”.
What will happen if my child can’t stay at their current school?
If the school your child is attending is forced to close down, pupils may be moved to emergency or longer-term temporary accommodation on a different school site.
Mistley Norman Church of England Primary School, in Manningtree, Essex, was also forced to shut back in April, due to the presence of RAAC.
Children were being taught at Lawford Church of England Primary School, also in Manningtree for the final term, and will now move to be learning in Two Village Church of England Primary School, in Harwich, from September, a message on the school’s website said, according to the i newspaper.
What is RAAC concrete?
RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete used in schools, colleges and other building construction from the 1950s until the mid-1990s, according to a government website.
It is made from a combination of cement, lime, water, and an aeration agent. The mixture is poured into moulds and then subjected to high pressure and heat, known as autoclaving, to create a lightweight, strong, and porous material.
Read more on what RAAC is and how to tell if school buildings are at risk of collapse here.
Additional reporting by agencies.
