It’s little wonder that many schools are “crumbling” (Pupils in England sent to churches and village halls as crumbling schools close, 29 June). In the early 2000s, the Labour government required local education authorities (LEAs) to draft capital asset management plans based on detailed surveys of school condition.
Many “crumbling” schools had had temporary additional classrooms built cheaply to house the extra year created by the raising of the school leaving age to 16 in 1972. Large amounts of money were channelled via local authorities, who then repaired and renewed long-neglected school buildings.
