Four Suffolk high schools affected by concrete concerns

Four Suffolk high schools have said they have been identified as having a type of potentially defective concrete.

More than 150 schools in England have been told to close areas containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) unless they are made safe.

Hadleigh, Claydon and East Bergholt high schools said they were considering delaying reopening for the new school term or a partial closure.

Farlingaye High in Woodbridge said there would be "re-rooming of classes".

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the government was taking a "cautious approach".

It follows the collapse of a beam that was thought to be safe.

In a letter to parents and carers, Hadleigh, East Bergholt and Claydon high schools, which are all run by the Penrose Learning Trust, said they were in the process of "emergency planning".

They said surveys were being undertaken and they would communicate further "so we have more information to share".

Also in a letter to parents and carers, Farlingaye's new head teacher Peter Smith said there would be a need for a "creative approach to the use of space to find solutions to add capacity whilst some classrooms are out of action".

He said they were in the process of arranging a structural survey and he was "committed to the full return of all students for the start of term".

A total of 156 schools in England have been confirmed as containing RAAC since 2022.

Of those, 52 were deemed a critical risk, and safety measures have already put in place, while a further 104 schools with RAAC were deemed non-critical.

RAAC is a "bubbly", lightweight material that was used in roofs, floors and walls between the 1950s and 1990s.

The Health and Safety Executive says it is now beyond its lifespan and may "collapse with little or no notice".

Guidance issued by the Department for Education advised that "any space or area" with RAAC "should no longer be open without mitigations in place".

Ms Keegan said: "The plan we have set out will minimise the impact on pupil learning and provide schools with the right funding and support they need to put mitigations in place to deal with RAAC".

Newmarket Academy, Glade Academy in Brandon and Thurston Community College have had structural problems in the past but have now been fixed.

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