Pupils at two North East schools to benefit from RAAC rebuilds

Creating new state-of-the-art schools for children and staff in the north east is the result of the long-running saga over reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Among schools to benefit from a rebuild is St Columba’s Catholic Primary School, Wallsend, which is currently housed in a two-storey modular building next to its old premises which will  be demolished ahead of a new school being constructed.

“We discovered RAAC in June 2022,” said Rachel Quinn, Headteacher at the school, a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.

“The school was immediately closed and remedial works were carried out to make the building safe. Children were educated off-site and split across other schools within the Trust. 

“During 2023, we returned to our old school building for the remainder of the academic year. It was decided that we would move into a temporary modular structure on our school field while we awaited our school rebuild.”

The temporary building had previously been used to house a secondary school in Nottingham, and was transported in blocks which were assembled on site. As well as eight classrooms for pupils from Nursery to Year 6, the space includes a hall, a library, two offices, a staff room, a meeting room, a group activity area, and a kitchen.

“Children and staff love the temporary building. It is clean, modern and spacious. They love the library space and access to our forest area. Children love the new water fountains. The staff are enjoying the new IT equipment and interactive screens,” added Miss Quinn.

“We allowed the whole community to visit before the children returned, and celebrated with ‘welcome back’ banners, balloons, and a special assembly.”

The Trust has two schools with identified RAAC, and both are scheduled to have replacement buildings in partnership with the government as a result. St Columba’s will be a completely new building while St John Vianney, in West Denton, will have the main building replaced, but a new block which had no RAAC will remain. Pupils are currently using a temporary building alongside the newer block.

Meetings have been held in the last few weeks, and it is hoped both new builds will be handed-over during the academic year of 2027/28.

The RAAC issue has affected more than 200 schools across the country and it made headlines in 2022 when fears were raised about the safety of the material within public buildings, including hospitals.

Used as a cheaper alternative in construction, RAAC is a lightweight material that is less durable than traditional methods and has a lifespan of around 30 years. ​