Students at Wednesbury school affected by crumble-risk concrete face staggered start times to new academic year
Pupils at a Wednesbury school face staggered start times to the new academic year this week after a survey revealed a building made with aerated concrete that is liable to sudden collapse.
Last week it was revealed that more than 150 schools, nurseries and colleges in England had been told by the Government to close classrooms and other buildings that contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Wood Green Academy announced that a survey of the school in Wood Green Road during the summer found RAAC in some classrooms in the Weston block and that part of the site had closed for safety reasons until remedial work has taken place.
In a letter to parents and carers, headteacher James Topham warned about potential disruption to the start of the new academic year and has now confirmed that pupils will face staggered start times.
He said structural building work in the Weston block will commence "as soon as possible", while the school is also awaiting the results from a structural survey on part of another block with classrooms and offices.
On Wednesday, the school will be open for students in years seven, eight, 11, 12 and 13 only.
On Thursday, students will only be able to attend if they are in years seven, nine, 11, 12 and 13 students and on Friday the school will only be open to year seven, 10, 11, 12 and 13 students.
In a letter to parents, Mr Topham said: "The staggered start is due to the loss of a number of classrooms in the Weston Block where structural building work will commence as soon as possible.
"We are also awaiting the results from a structural survey on part of the Newton Block which is scheduled for the morning of Monday, September 4 which affects a number of other classrooms and offices.
"Clearly, this is not the start to the new academic year that we would wish for, and we appreciate the inconvenience that this causes, but our priority has to be the safety of all our students and staff.
"We can assure you that we are doing everything we can to return all students to school as soon as possible.
"We continue to consult with both the DFE [Department for Education] and the local authority and are developing a number of plans which will be executed depending upon the results of the latest surveys.
"I will write to you again on or before Wednesday, September 6 to provide a further update and to confirm arrangements for week commencing Monday, September 11. Thank you for your continued patience and support."
RAAC is a lightweight building material used up to the mid-1980s but has since been assessed to be at risk of collapse.
The Health and Safety Executive has said the widely used material is now “life-expired” and could collapse with “little or no notice”.
