Sunderland primary school latest closure due to RAAC

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School in Sunderland has become the eighth school in the North East to announce that it is closing.

This comes as more than 100 schools across England have been found to have unsafe concrete in them.

Parents across the region are finding out if their schools will open or not next week.

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Brendan Tapping, CEO of the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, made a statement after three of their schools were found to have RAAC.

He said: "The Department for Education (DfE) has recently changed its guidance to education settings on the management of RAAC to take a more precautionary approach and as a result areas with RAAC will be vacated until safety mitigations are put in place.

Read more: List of schools in England that are affected by concrete safety fears

"Three of our Trust schools are affected, and we have notified parents. The schools are St. James Catholic Primary School, Hebburn, St. John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Sunderland and St. Bede and Byron Catholic School and Sixth Form, Peterlee.

"The education and safety of our pupils remains paramount, and we are currently working with headteachers to finalise alternative arrangements and are looking to make provision for all pupils.

Read more

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"We are committed to continuing to educate pupils face-to-face or make virtual provision where this is not possible. We would like to thank our pupils, parents and staff for their understanding and patience."

RAAC has been used in construction from the 1950s to the mid-1990s.

It has been found to be prone to failure. Back in 2018, the roof of a Kent primary school collapsed and RAAC was later found to be to blame.