Three more North East schools have been confirmed to have crumbling concrete on an official list finally released by the government.
Last Thursday (August 31) more than 100 schools and colleges were told to partially or fully close their buildings days before they were due to welcome pupils back after the summer holidays. So far 11 had been confirmed in the North East.
An official list released by the Department of Education (DfE) on Wednesday (September 6) at lunchtime confirmed three more are affected.
Read more: LISTED: The North East schools forced to close over collapse-risk concrete fears
It takes the total in the region to 14 schools.
St John Vianney Catholic Primary School in West Denton, Newcastle; St Columba's Catholic Primary School in Wallsend, North Tyneside and St Thomas More Catholic School in Blaydon, Gateshead are all affected by the crumble-risk concrete.
None of the schools have made any posts on their websites or Facebook pages confirming RAAC, as of the time the DfE list was published.
All pupils at the three schools are said to be in face-to-face education according to the DfE.
St John Vianney and St Columba's confirmed they were both affected by RAAC before the schoolm holidays and are now open safely.
A spokesperson for the Bishop Berwick Catholic Education Trust, which both schools are part of, said: "Both schools were open again before the end of term and the start of the summer holidays in July and the schools were safe for the children and staff to return this week.
"The Trust is now at the stage where it is working with the DfE on longer term solutions."
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was used in construction between the 1950s and mid-1990s and is prone to failure. Back in 2018, the roof of a Kent primary school collapsed and RAAC was later found to be to blame.
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Schools minister Nick Gibb said on Friday (September 1) that the collapse of a beam previously considered safe over the summer sparked an urgent rethink on whether buildings with aerated concrete could remain open.
Schools began informing parents of closures on Thursday with sites across the region affected as Education Secretary Gillian Keegan sought to reassure parents most schools are unaffected.
It comes just a day after the Echo revealed one school placed on a RAAC watchlist by the government was demolished seven years ago.
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