More than 600 schools are still to be inspected for crumbling concrete and could face closure, government email suggests
- Figures show 231 cases of RAAC have been confirmed in schools and colleges across England as of November 27
An internal Government email has suggested that over 600 schools could still have crumbling RAAC concrete.
As of mid-November this year, there were still 612 schools in England which had not been fully inspected for the aerated concrete, a Department for Education email has suggested.
It comes amid fears that children could be forced to return to lockdown style learning, while others warned that asbestos could be exposed in schools affected by the issue.
Scaffolding seen outside classrooms as repair work continues at Hornsey School for Girls in London
According to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan (pictured), all responsible bodies of settings with buildings built in the target era have now submitted a response to the RAAC survey
The latest Government figures show 231 cases of RAAC have been confirmed in schools and colleges across England, as of November 27.
Of these, 227 settings are providing face-to-face learning for pupils, 3 settings have adopted a hybrid learning system and none have yet to move to remote learning full-time.
But documents seen by The Mirror, revealed that the infrastructure in some 600 schools could still contain the substance.
READ MORE: Another 17 schools and colleges are found to have crumbling concrete: Total hits 231 as RAAC scandal grows
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While initial surveys have been completed by the November deadline, as many as 900 of these inspections came back with ‘inconclusive’ results.
Officials privately said it could be a ‘number of years’ before the RAAC crisis is resolved, according to The Mirror.
RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete which was used in construction between the 1950s and mid-1990s and is commonly found in flat roofs, floors and walls.
This means the substance could be found in any school which was built or modified during those time periods.
Meanwhile, experts have warned of asbestos exposure – which kills 5,000 people in the UK every year – could force schools to shut for months on end, with some even having to be demolished early.
The RAAC crisis has led to engineers scrambling to schools to inspect risky sites, which in turn has led to building occupiers updating their asbestos registers and trying to avoid disturbing places where the material is embedded.
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was used as a cheap post-war building material in public sector construction projects
Hundreds of schools across the country were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC, between the 1960s and 1990s
Parks Primary School in Leicester has seen the affect of both RAAC and asbestos with a ‘large proportion’ of the school being forced to shut in June.
Headteacher Caroline Evans told Channel 4 News: ‘In June we were told we had RAAC across the whole of our school and it was in a critical condition, which meant that we had to close a large proportion of our school, leaving only open the reception class and two Year 1 classes and two Year 2 classes.’
Caroline Evans, headteacher at Parks Primary School in Leicester, stands next to a taped off section inside the school
Pupils at Parks Primary School in Leicester were forced to move to an office block and a children’s centre while the older school building was demolished
She was forced to move her 485 pupils to an office block and a children’s centre, while an older school building, which also had ‘subsidence too’, was demolished.
Other schools that have recently been found to have RAAC include Basildon Church of England Primary School, Farnborough Technology College and Grantham College.
The Department for Education (DfE) has been probing the potential risk posed by RAAC since late 2018 after the collapse of a primary school roof that year in Kent.
A collapsed RAAC roof at a Kent primary school
The Institution of Structural Engineers says RAAC should be replaced only if deemed to be in a poor condition and high risk, otherwise it can be managed in place.
According to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, all responsible bodies of settings with buildings built in the target era have now submitted a response.
Some schools have adopted a hybrid learning system, but none have had to move to remote learning fulltime Pictured: Workmen at Abbey Lane Primary School in Sheffield
‘So we have 100 per cent of the questionnaires from the settings in the target era – that was the years that could have contained RAAC’, she told MPs on the education select committee.
‘All the first surveys are complete’. She confirmed that 231 currently have confirmed RAAC’.
‘Now we do expect there will be some more because as we go back for follow-up survey work we will identify a few more,’ she added.
The crisis is not just effecting schools but also public buildings including hospitals, leisure centres and police stations.
The Government has said it has invested over £15 billion since 2015 to keep schools in good working condition, including £1.8 billion committed in 2023 to 2024.
Full list of the 231 schools with RAAC:
Abingdon and Witney College
Barnet and Southgate College
Bramhall High School
Cheadle Hulme High School
Fairfields School
Featherstone High School
Glade Academy
Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School
Hodge Hill College
Pewley Down Infant School
Royal School, Manchester
Shadwell Primary School
St James Academy
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School
St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy
St Thomas’ Church of England Primary School Stockport
Stour Valley Community School
The Oldham College
Atherton St George’s CofE Primary School
Bushey and Oxhey Infant School
Camborne College (part of Cornwall College)
Cann Hall Primary School
Cheddington Combined School
Christ Church Church of England Academy
Churchfield Church of England Academy
Crossflatts Primary School
Dean Trust Rose Bridge
Dixons Broadgreen Academy
Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy
Elm Hall Primary School
Exmouth Community College
Golden Flatts Primary School
Gordano School
Greenway Junior School
Havant Academy
Kings College Guildford
Knuzden St Oswald’s Church of England Primary Academy
Links Academy
Manningtree High School
Newmarket Academy
Peterborough College (part of Inspire Education Group)
Priory Primary School, Bicknacre
Shelley College, A Share Academy
Shoeburyness High School
Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
Southview School
Spring Meadow Primary School & School House Nursery
St Aloysius RC College
St Anne’s Catholic Primary School
St Bernard’s RC Primary School, Bolton
St Edward’s Catholic Academy
St Mary Magdalene CofE Primary School
St Mary’s Priory RC Infant School
St Stephen and All Martyrs’ CofE School, Lever Bridge
Stowupland High School
Thameside Primary School
The Grove Primary Academy
The Magna Carta School
Watford Grammar School for Boys
Westside School
Winchmore School
Ark John Keats Academy
Avenue Centre for Education
Baildon Church of England Primary School
Baskerville School
Buttsbury Junior School
Colyton Grammar School
Eldwick Primary School
Farlingaye High School
Farnborough College of Technology
Grantham College
Kingsbury High School
Marling School
Marple Sixth Form College (part of Trafford College Group)
Maryvale Catholic Primary School
Merrylands Primary School
Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College
Myton School
Ortu Corringham Primary School and Nursery
Ravens Academy
Selworthy Special School
St Joseph’s Catholic Voluntary Academy
Steeple Bumpstead Primary School
Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School
Surrey Street Primary School
The Link School
The Macclesfield Academy
Westlands School
Abbey Lane Primary School
All Saints C of E Primary School
Altrincham College
Anglo European School
Ark Boulton Academy
Arthur Bugler Primary School
Aston Manor Academy
Barnes Farm Junior School
Batley Girls High School
Baynards Primary School
Beehive Lane Community Primary School
Bentfield Primary School and Nursery
Birchington Church of England Primary School
Bishop Douglass School Finchley
Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School
Brandhall Primary School
Broomfield Primary School
Buckhurst Hill Community Primary School
Canon Slade School
Carmel College
Cherry Tree Academy
Chipping Ongar Primary School
Clacton County High School
Claydon High School
Cleeve Park School
Cockermouth School
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School
Cranbourne
Danetree Primary School
Denbigh School
Donnington Wood Infant School and Nursery Centre
East Bergholt High School
East Tilbury Primary School
Elmstead Primary School
Eversley Primary School
Ferryhill School
Godinton Primary School
Great Leighs Primary School
Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Hadleigh High School
Harlowbury Primary School
Harwich and Dovercourt High School
Hatfield Heath Primary School
Hatfield Peverel St Andrew’s Junior School
Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School
Hillhouse CofE Primary School
Hockley Primary School
Holcombe Grammar School
Holy Trinity Catholic Voluntary Academy
Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Eight Ash Green and Aldham
Hornsey School for Girls
Hounsdown School
Jerounds Primary Academy
Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport
Katherine Semar Infant School
Katherine Semar Junior School
Katherines Primary Academy and Nursery
King Ethelbert School
Kingsdown School
Lambourne Primary School
Langney Primary Academy
Lubbins Park Primary Academy
Markyate Village School and Nursery
Mayflower Primary School
Mersea Island School
Mistley Norman Church of England Primary School
Myatt Garden Primary School
Northampton International Academy
Our Lady’s Catholic High School
Outwoods Primary School
Palmarsh Primary School
Park View School
Parks Primary School
Petroc
Pippins School
Prince Albert Junior and Infant School
Redhill School
Roding Valley High School
Royal College Manchester (Seashell Trust)
Sale Grammar School
Sandbach School
Scalby School
Seven Mills Primary School
Shawfield Primary School
Sir Thomas Boughey Academy
Springfield Primary School
St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, Over Hulton
St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Harlow Green
St Bartholomew’s Catholic Primary School, Swanley
St Bede’s Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College
St Benet’s Catholic Primary School, Ouston
St Clere’s School
St Columba’s Catholic Primary School, Wallsend
St Elizabeth’s Catholic Voluntary Academy
St Francis’ Catholic Primary School
St Francis Catholic Primary School, South Ascot
St Gregory’s Catholic Science College
St Helena School
St Ignatius College
St James’ Catholic Primary School, Hebburn
St James’ Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland
St John Catholic Primary School
St John Vianney Catholic Primary School, West Denton
St John Vianney RC Primary School
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
St Lawrence Church of England Primary School, Rowhedge
St Leonard’s Catholic School, Durham
St Mary and St John Junior and Infant School
St Michael’s Catholic School
St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Thames Ditton
St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School
St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School
St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon
St William of York Catholic Primary School
Stanway Fiveways Primary School
Sunny Bank Primary School
Tendring Technology College
The Appleton School
The Billericay School
The Bromfords School
The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School
The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls
The FitzWimarc School
The Gilberd School
The Holy Family Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy
The Honywood Community Science School
The London Oratory School
The Palmer Catholic Academy
The Ramsey Academy, Halstead
The Thomas Lord Audley School
Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy
Thurstable School Sports College and Sixth Form Centre
Thurston Community College
Waddesdon Church of England School
Wallingford School
Water Lane Primary Academy
Welbourne Primary School
Wells Park School
White Court School
White Hall Academy and Nursery
Widford School
Winter Gardens Academy
Wood Green Academy
Woodkirk Academy
Woodville Primary School
Wyburns Primary School
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