Schools scandal sees kids so cold in temporary classrooms they can't hold pens
The scandal of this country’s crumbling schools has seen children left working in conditions so freezing that they can barely hold their pens.
Schools are desperately in need of repairs as many were built with a concrete that experts have described as a “ticking time bomb”. This has led to such a dire state in some schools, that children and their teachers are forced to work in makeshift buildings where the temperatures plunge well into single figures.
However, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is just the tip of school’s problems, as they face countless more issues plaguing the nation’s youth. These have left youngsters wearing their coats and gloves in a desperate effort to stay warm at school.
The Mirror was amongst the first to sound the alarm on the extent to which reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete would pose a multi-billion pound problem to the country. Reporting on how widespread it was at use in the NHS, we revealed how at first 34 separate NHS buildings were afflicted by the concrete which has a structure like “chocolate aero”.
Since then, ahead of the new academic start last year, it was shockingly revealed that a number of schools were also built with RAAC - leading to partial or full temporary evacuations. In light of this, BBC Panorama launched an investigation into the state of the RAAC-afflicted schools and how some are failing to keep children warm inside.
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Some students had to keep on their coats and gloves in glass - but found it made it difficult to grip their pens (BBC)One primary school in Devon sees temperatures fall so low, that kids keep their gloves and hats on during lessons. The headteacher told the BBC that parts of the school were impossible to heat - but that they didn’t qualify for any extra money for repairs.
In secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway, draughty, cold windows were taped together with sticky labels. And another school in North Yorkshire, has been forced to teach in a series of marquees held in their playground after the majority of their building became unstable after the discovery of RAAC.
Russell Scott Primary School in Denton, Greater Manchester needs urgent repairs (Russell Scott Primary School)Not all are RAAC however, other schools suffer from just poorly made buildings, or even asbestos ridden structures. Eight-year-old Sebastian told Panorama: "I'm really cold. I have to wear gloves and it's really hard to use a pencil or a pen when you've got your gloves on,".
Hettie, 10, said: "When it's so, so cold, you start shivering, so your writing goes really wobbly when you're actually writing it because our hands are shaking so much." One headteacher said: “This is supposed to be 21st century Britain … it’s the future of our students we’re talking about.”
Flood damage is pictured at Russell Scott Primary School (Russell Scott Primary School)Elsewhere in the chilling documentary it highlighted the dire state of the nation's schools, and how bad things had gotten for the next generation. Across the board it painted a terrifying picture of just how bad the condition of so many schools had gotten.
The Mirror, early last year, first revealed how widespread RAAC was across the NHS. At first it was known to be present in 34 buildings, but in October, amid semi-regular surveys, this figure rose to 42.
Seven of these hospitals are built almost entirely with RAAC - meaning the entire building needs replacing, landing the NHS, and government, with a vast, multi-billion pound bill.
Schools are in desperate need of repair due to issues like RAAC, asbestos and other problems (BBC)Hospitals built ‘entirely’ with RAAC
Airedale General Hospital
Frimley Park Hospital
James Paget Hospital
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Leighton Hospital
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
West Suffolk Hospital
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
A Department of Education spokesperson said: "The safety of pupils and staff is paramount. This Government compiled the largest and most comprehensive surveys of school building conditions in Europe– the first of its kind - to significantly improve the condition of the school estate, targeted to where it is most needed.
“We have allocated £15 billion of capital funding since 2015 for essential maintenance and improvements, including almost £470 million through the Condition Improvement Fund in 2023 to address school buildings in need of immediate support as quickly as possible. This comes on top of the School Rebuilding Programme which is transforming 500 schools over this decade."
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