Parts of Forres Academy will be closed off when it reopens for the 23/24 school year after the discovery of potentially hazardous building materials used in its construction.
The limited durability of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) roofs and other RAAC structures has long been recognised; however the problem may be more serious than previously thought.
Moray Council has written to parents and carers of pupils at Forres Academy regarding RAAC.
The letter states:
“We hope you have had a good summer and your children are looking forward to returning to school on 15 August.
“You may be aware of press coverage of late regarding public buildings across Scotland that have been reported as having Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) structures. As per expectation, regular surveys, over a number of years have been undertaken across the Moray Council property portfolio. We have one school which has RAAC components and this is Forres Academy.
“In April of this year we received further guidance issued by the Institution of Structural Engineers and as a result an invasive inspection took place over the summer period by a firm of Chartered Engineers who have the required expertise and experience to undertake RAAC assessments.
“The inspection has resulted in the following course of action:
- The engineer has identified an area where initial work will be carried out this week so that the school can operate on Monday (for staff) and Tuesday (for pupils) allowing access to fire exits and flow within corridor areas
- Secondly a very small number of classrooms in the Science and Art and Design areas will be locked with no access to allow for works to be carried out over the course of the first term to bring the structures up to the required standards and to reduce risk in the future. This work will commence as soon as is practical and will be prioritised to take place after school hours and over weekends to minimise disruption to the school. We are working closely with the Head Teacher who is currently reviewing the timetable and pupils will be notified of any changes on Tuesday when they return. There may be slight modifications to fire exit procedures and pupils will be briefed on this so that they are aware of any changes to current practice.
- We provide you with the reassurance that regular monitoring and inspection will be undertaken as part of the ongoing property maintenance and management programme.
- You will be updated on progress by the Head Teacher as part of ongoing communication.”