Woodbridge scouts come to the rescue of Raac-hit school

A scout troop has come to the rescue of a Suffolk school that has buildings with propped-up roofs because of potentially unsafe concrete.

Scouts put up a marquee at Farlingaye High School in Woodbridge for sixth formers, after their common and study spaces had to be made into classrooms.

It is one of many temporary measures the school has had to take to reopen.

Scout leader and teacher Nicola Tooke said aiding in a crisis was what scouts did.

Farlingaye is one of four schools in Suffolk known to be built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) - a lightweight material that was used in construction between the 1950s and the mid-1990s, but which has a limited lifespan and could crumble away.

Ms Tooke, who also teaches science at the school, said she had the idea to get the scouts involved after a plea for help in a staff briefing.

She said: "It dawned on me, we [the scouts] had a big marquee that wasn't going to be needed for the camping season much longer.

"And it's traditional for scouts to help and come forward in a crisis, as they have done since they started during the wars, so it only seemed right to do what we could, so we offered our services."

The marquee, which provides a temporary common room and study area, was put up by three young leaders, who are all students, with the help of some adult volunteers.

Ms Tooke said: "Obviously, it's been a shock to the school and I think the wider community have been shocked by how vast the problem is as well.

"It's been really uplifting to see how the school as a community has come together to make things work for the students."

Temporary classrooms have been put up in the grounds too and office spaces within the school have been repurposed into teaching spaces.

Sophie, 17, one of the affected sixth formers, said: "I think it was quite a shock because considering there's only four schools in Suffolk that do have it, you'd think it wouldn't be you, but then when we did get the email it was, 'Oh, OK.'

"At that point you're not really sure what's going to happen and how it's going to be dealt with, but at the minute things are being dealt with quite well and things have been sorted for us.

"I think it's quite scary it [Raac] was there that whole time... and we were in those conditions and not knowing it. But now we know, I guess we can be a little bit safer."

Head teacher Peter Smith said it had been "all hands to the pump to get our school up and running for our students as quickly as possible".

He said the speed that temporary measures had been installed was "testament to the community response" and support was now needed from the Department for Education, to make sure work got carried out on lost teaching spaces quickly.

At a recent visit to Essex, which has the most number of schools affected by Raac in the country, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the problems with unsafe concrete would be sorted.

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