Author
Nigel Payne - Flat Roof Specialist
According to various reports by the BBC and other news providers, more that 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 refrained from releasing a comprehensive roster of the impacted schools at this time. However, BBC News is actively engaged in gathering this information directly from educational institutions. They are maintaining a continuously updated list as below.
Identifying the Schools with 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:
- 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 now being made for pupils
- The Billericay School, Billericay, Essex - some parts of the school are shut and some pupils will learn remotely - more from Essex here, where 50 schools are fitted with the concrete
- Canon Slade School, Bolton, Greater Manchester - some areas are closed for safety reasons, local press reports say
- Carmel College and Sixth Form, Darlington, County Durham - kitchen and library are closed but the school will remain open
- Clacton County High School, Clacton, Essex - start of term is delayed with some remote learning
- Cockermouth School, Cockermouth, Cumbria - pupils will return to school a day later because of RAAC found in four corridors, the library and sports hall
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Brixton, London - a statement from 18 August says juniors are to be relocated to a neighbouring school
- 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
- 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
- Donnington Wood Infants School, Donnington, Telford, Shropshire - has had extra temporary ceilings added and will remain open
- East Bergholt High School, Colchester, Essex - the school is considering whether to delay reopening or partially close
- Eldwick Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire - Bradford Council has also confirmed some buildings are closed
- Ferryhill School, a secondary in County Durham - the start of the new school year will 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"
- 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
- Hadleigh High School, Hadleigh, Suffolk - considering a delay of the new term
- Hatfield Peverel Junior School, Chelmsford, Essex - the school is closed until at least mid-September. Temporary classrooms are needed
- Hockley Primary School, Hockley, Essex - closed since 11 June, some year groups are being sent to other schools
- Holy Trinity Catholic Academy, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire - issues have been identified on site but the school will open as planned
- Honywood School, Colchester, Essex - 22 classrooms must be closed with immediate effect, with some pupils to do online learning and a rota system for year groups in school
- Jerounds Primary School in Harlow, Essex - RAAC was detected in the school's kitchen but is being strengthened by a steel structure and the school will stay open
- Katherines Primary Academy, Harlow, Essex - the main building is 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
- Mayflower Primary School, Leicester, Leicestershire - also found out it was affected before the summer holidays
- Our Lady's Catholic High School, Preston, Lancashire - closed on Monday and Tuesday
- Outwoods Primary School, Atherstone, North Warwickshire - work began earlier this year to install support as a precaution, but the school will remain open
- 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
- Ramsey Academy, Halstead, Essex - four classrooms have been vacated and are out of use until safety measures are in place
- Ravens Academy, Clacton-On-Sea, Essex - the school will be closed for two days next week, on 5 and 6 September
- St Clere's School, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex - parts of the school need to close, with some pupils to learn from home
- St Gregory's Catholic Science College, Harrow, London - work is being done to prop up the concrete, but the school is expected to open as planned
- St Leonard's School, Durham, County Durham - the school will not be able to open as planned
- St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Darlington, County Durham - closed until 11 September
- St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive, Eltham, London - open but parts of the hall, gym, canteen, drama studio, alps and girls' and boys' toilets are closed, and the school needs to open mobile toilet blocks
- Tendring Technology College, Frinton Campus, Essex - some years will start later, on 11 September
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Woodville Primary School, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford, Essex - school closed until 11 September
- Wyburns Primary School, Rayleigh, Essex - closed for possibly up to two weeks
The Department for Education (DfE) reported the presence of 156 school structures constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). According to BBC among these, 52 were deemed to be in imminent danger of collapsing, prompting swift intervention to secure them. This involved measures such as reinforcing the concrete to ensure immediate safety. (You can learn more about RAAC here.)
