School closed over RAAC concrete lost earlier bid for government cash

A caput teacher who has had to hold the commencement of word due to the fact that 1 of his schoolhouse buildings contains unsafe factual was denied backing to rebuild it.

"Other schools had a higher need", the Department for Education (DfE) told Myton School, successful Warwick, past year, erstwhile its exertion was rejected.

It is present 1 of dozens incapable to unfastened arsenic mean due to the fact that of reinforced autoclaved aerated factual (RAAC), which is prone to collapse.

The DfE has been contacted for comment.

Myton, which has astir 1,800 pupils, present receives astir £35,000 a twelvemonth successful superior backing to walk connected gathering attraction - little than a 4th of the backing received successful 2010, caput teacher Andy Perry says.

Its 2 main buildings, built successful the 1950s oregon 1960s, are "old and successful disrepair", truthful helium applied for other currency from the government's School Rebuilding Programme.

But a missive from the Department for Education, seen by BBC News, rejected the exertion due to the fact that different schools were successful worse condition.

Since then, a structural technologist has confirmed RAAC panelling successful the archetypal level of the lower-school building, which has maths, languages, creation and play classrooms, a aesculapian country and the canteen.

Mr Perry told BBC News helium and his unit felt "a batch of frustration" having to hold the commencement of word by 3 days.

"I don't cognize however they marque these decisions - but the information I've got to adjacent down oregon astatine slightest partially adjacent down a artifact successful a gathering that we bid to rebuild… it doesn't consciousness similar the parts of the DfE are peculiarly joined up here," helium said.

The DfE's proposal astir what to bash adjacent was unclear, Mr Perry said. And helium does not cognize whether the full of the affected gathering volition request to adjacent oregon conscionable the archetypal floor.

But astatine the clip of writing, Mr Perry was "still waiting" for a telephone from the DfE, contempt being told helium would beryllium contacted connected Monday.

"Honest to God, I thought we'd get a telephone oregon interaction from the DfE implicit the weekend," helium said.

The arrangements Mr Perry is considering to let him to unfastened the schoolhouse see online learning and asking medication unit elsewhere connected the schoolhouse tract to enactment from home, truthful their offices tin beryllium utilized arsenic impermanent teaching spaces.

A much imperishable - but inactive short-term - solution is to bargain impermanent schoolroom blocks.

Mr Perry said helium had received quotes from immoderate companies, telling him these could instrumentality 12-16 weeks to arrive.

But helium hopes the DfE mightiness person arrangements successful spot to accelerate the process.

"We've got upset and anxious parents," Mr Perry said.

"It feels similar the past fewer years person been a batch situation management.

"This was the twelvemonth that each the past, each the Covid stuff, was going to beryllium near behind. We [have] caller betterment plans, caller organisation astir immoderate of our payment and behaviour.

"It was a real, superb caller start. So the vexation is you get that 1 infinitesimal astatine the opening of the twelvemonth to acceptable the tone.

"That's what we've lost."