The parents of pupils at a primary school forced to relocate due to concerns over crumbling concrete have praised its actions as being “ahead of the curve”.
More than 200 children from Corpus Christi Catholic School in Tulse Hill, south-west London, started their new term at St Martin-in-the-Fields Girls School, around a mile away, on Tuesday.
Parents were informed that Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils would need to temporarily move away from the school site whilst further assessments for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) were carried out on its roof.
Children in younger age groups that are taught in the infant area were allowed to remain on site.
A sign for Corpus Christi had been installed at the gates into St Martin where the relocated pupils queued up and entered.
More than 100 schools in England have been forced to fully or partially close just before the start of term, with the Department for Education (DfE) promising to publish a full list of affected schools this week.
Michael Donnelly, 46, who has a son in Year 5 at Corpus Christi, said parents had been informed of the potential issues ahead of time and the temporary change of schools was “not disruptive at all”.
He told the PA news agency: “We were told two weeks ago there was an issue and what the solution to it was, so whenever the main news headlines came out we’re already quite ahead of the curve.
“I think because the solution is so good, people aren’t particularly concerned.”
Philippa Chamberlayne, 38, from Brixton, had one child still at the infant area on site and a second in Year 3 who had been relocated.
She said: “I popped into the school [Corpus Christi] this morning and was talking to the headmaster, and he said the [Raac] survey went out some weeks ago.
“I think Corpus Christi were really on it and got it done instantly and realised there were problems, so they had the whole summer to sort the issue.”
Ms Chamberlayne said other schools “maybe sat on the survey” and that their own organisation gave them time to prepare for the alternative arrangement, with extended drop-off windows and parents’ WhatsApp groups.
She added: “As long as they’re being educated and we’re not having to struggle with home learning, which is a bit of a nightmare for working parents, then we’re happy.”
Miranda Sawyer, 56, chair of governors at Corpus Christi Catholic School, said: “We looked at lots of different options in the area and Lambeth [Borough Council] were really helpful.
“This school [St Martin]… had offloaded a lot of its pupils in April thanks to GCSEs and A-levels, so we knew it was mostly empty.
“The teachers have been working really hard to set it up so it’s a welcoming environment for all the different children, and we’re hopeful that it will work really well.”
Ms Sawyer said the school felt “pretty lucky” it had found a “very good solution temporarily”, but was unsure how long the arrangement would last long-term.
Dominic Collard, 48, from Streatham Hill, who has one child in Year 4, said the arrangement brought “a great sense of relief” and was a huge credit to Corpus Christi.
Speaking about his son’s reaction to moving, he said: “He was thrilled – he was quite excited to come back anyway to see his mates, but the fact it was a new route and is in a new building for him, it’s like going to a theme park for the day I think!”
He added: “On a personal level it’s closer to our home, so we’re not in any rush for it to go back and we’d rather wait and get the problem fixed properly rather than do a half-baked job of it.”
