A Durham school’s buildings affected by crumbling concrete will be demolished and replaced with a new campus. 

St Leonard’s Catholic School in Durham was one of the country’s worst affected by the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) crisis. Hundreds of students have been taught in temporary accommodation since the discovery in August 2023. 

The latest plans for the demolition and new state-of-the-art school were approved by Durham County Council’s planning committee on Friday. 

The majority of the school’s existing buildings will be demolished, except for Springwell Hall and the Sixth Form building, which are unaffected by RAAC, and will be retained as part of the new development.

How the new school campus will look How the new school campus will look (Image: BAM Construction)

Friday’s approval comes after an initial application to demolish unsafe disused buildings elsewhere on the site was approved in June. 

BAM Construction will build the school campus, which is scheduled to be completed and open by September 2027. 

Jim Cunnigham, the school’s chair of governors, said the RAAC-affected school is “decrepit, unsightly, and by far one of the worst teaching and learning environments I’ve witnessed in over 20 years.”

Broken windows and freezing classrooms were just some of the shocking conditions pupils and staff were faced with every day. 

Mr Cunningham told the meeting: “I was stunned at the level of deterioration across the school facilities, which aren't fit for the 20th century let alone the 21st.

“The announcement of RAAC and the closure of our school just before the start of term was incompetence personified, leading to the loss of thousands of teaching hours and a disastrous impact on those taking their exams.”

(Image: BAM Construction)

St Leonard’s officials say students must be in part of the new site no later than April 2026, and any delays will have a “catastrophic impact” on the 2026 GCSE exam cohort. 

However, residents and local councillors criticised the design and appearance of the new school. Grenville Holland, of City of Durham Parish Council, said: “It’s not appropriate for such a sensitive and closed site within the Durham Conservation Area,” he said. 

“This is the wrong building in the wrong place.” 

Nathan Hunt, a neighbour, said: “We’ve been told throughout this process that pressure from above is so severe, that the application must be approved. Is this fair and is this right? We feel totally abandoned. 

“Please do not allow my home to be collateral damage in this development.”

Meanwhile, Allan Gemmill urged the planning committee to adjourn the application so residents’ concerns could be heard.  “We believe that a short pause now would allow all parties to sit down together and investigate changes that could be made without impacting the occupation date,” he said.

Mr Gemmill also criticised the plans to fell a tree on the school grounds to provide temporary site access. “This ecological vandalism is literally North End’s Sycamore Gap,” he warned. 

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A demolition plan of the RAAC-affected siteA demolition plan of the RAAC-affected site (Image: BAM Construction)

A legal challenge was sent to Durham County Council, alleging that the planning report was ‘legally flawed’ on three issues and requested the application be deferred. However, the local authority denied the claims. 

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the new school development. Councillor Patricia Jopling said: “I think the developers have done as much as they can to mitigate the effect on residents. 

“I don't see what more they can do apart from completely redesigning the building, and then it won't be fit for purpose. For me, the positives far outweigh the negatives.”