Greater Manchester primary school to DELAY term start after dangerous concrete detected

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A Greater Manchester primary school has announced it will delay the start to the new school year after dangerous concrete was detected in its buildings.

St Bernard's RC School in Bolton announced it would not be able to open to pupils on Monday in a letter to parents and carers on Saturday (September 2).

School leaders called the decision 'bitterly disappointing', but said they were doing 'everything we can to secure the full opening of school as soon as possible'.

The school is one of around 100 in the UK built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). The type of concrete has been classed as an immediate safety risk as it has the potential to suddenly collapse. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features The letter, from headteacher Mrs Doodson and chair of governers Mr Ashcroft said the school would aim to open on September 7 - but some classrooms would need scaffolding in place temporarily. "A structural RAAC survey was conducted during the holidays due to the age of our schoolbuilding, this was the directive from the DfE (Department of Education)," it read. "We are following all recommendations to put scaffolding/acrows in place in affected areas to support the RAAC beams in the ceilings.