Haygrove School: Unsafe school building could be shut for months

The head of a Somerset school with a dangerous building has warned it could be months before all pupils are back.

Haygrove Secondary School's main building was constructed just three years ago - but it was declared unsafe by Government inspectors last month.

Hundreds of pupils are unable to return to school for the beginning of term.

The Department for Education (DfE) cannot say whether the school can be repaired or if the building will have to be torn down and replaced .

It is a separate issue to the 156 schools in England affected by aerated concrete.

"I'm really angry," said parent Angie Spurgeon, who demands a full enquiry into why the building was deemed safe by the DfE,

"These are our children we've been sending into this building," she added.

A spokesperson from the DfE said: "Nothing is more important than the health and safety of pupils and teachers, which is why we assess school buildings regularly to make sure they meet our high standards."

The school had made arrangements with return dates for Years 11 and 10, but no dates have been set for other year groups.

The firm that constructed the building was called Caledonian Modular. The company went out of business in 2022.

Following the company's closure, the DfE brought in inspectors to check the safety of this site and several other schools.

The DfE cannot yet say whether the school can be repaired or if the building will have to be torn down and replaced entirely.

Parent Shona Howes said: "They've put our children at risk. They've put thousands of families at risk in this building.

"And that's not the school that have done that - that is the Department for Education who actually signed this off as a safe building

Aaron Reid, head teacher at Haygrove School said they are working with the Department for Education (DfE) and said it is not going to be a "quick fix".

"We will do everything in our power to make sure that we can provide people with the best possible education throughout all that process," said Mr Reid.

Mr Reid said they were constantly reassured by the DfE that the building was safe, but some issues were becoming apparent, such as an incident a year ago where a window fell under the building.

The news of the school's defectiveness came as a surprise, and staff were only made aware of the situation in the middle of the summer holidays, said Mr Reid.

"The way that the building is held together is where the issues are," Mr Reid added, referring to the modular style of the building, comprised of blocks which are assembled in a factory and brought to the site.

Mr Reid added: "The difficulty I've got at the moment is there are things that need to be done to ensure that the site is completely safe before children return to school and they won't be returning until the site is safe - that's got to be our number one priority.

"My frustration is purely for the children. You get one go at an education, any disruption to children's education is something that we want to avoid."

The DfE said two other schools built by Caledonian Modular - Buckton Fields Primary School, and Sir Frederick Gibberd College - have been advised not to reopen because of structural irregularities.

"Following surveys conducted at our request, we have identified concerns with building work carried out at Haygrove School by a specific contractor that is no longer in business."

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