Newcastle school closed for three weeks over repair bill wrangling

Legal wrangling over repairs to one of England’s largest schools has led to more than 2,000 pupils being shut out of their classrooms for more than three weeks.

Leaders of the Gosforth Group academy trust in Newcastle closed Jesmond Park Academy over fears that pupils and staff were in danger from metal panels falling off the school’s building after Storm Babet hit on 18 October.

A spokesperson for the Gosforth Group said it was taking legal advice over who was responsible for paying for repairs to the school, with the building maintained under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract.

George Snaith, the trust’s chair, told parents that “complicated legal relationships” were behind the school’s prolonged closure, and he warned of “catastrophic” consequences if the large metal fascias were to fall during school hours.

While pupils have been kept off the site, parents said that external groups have continued to use the site outside school hours for private events.

The school’s buildings are maintained under the PFI contract by Equans, a services company owned by the French multinational Bouygues, which last year had operating profits of about £2bn.

Equans did not respond to questions from the Guardian about its role in the school’s closure, or why it continued to allow the buildings to be used by third parties.

Jesmond Park Academy is the latest in a string of school closures forced over safety concerns this year, including schools affected by the deterioration of “bubbly” reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), and several newly built schools abruptly shut because of construction flaws.

Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North and Labour’s shadow schools minister, said: “Every day of education matters to the life chances of young people, yet for over three weeks, 2,000 children have had their education severely disrupted.

“Following hot on the heels of the Raac crisis, this latest disruption is symptomatic of a Conservative government for whom education simply isn’t a priority.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The safety of pupils is our top priority. The Department for Education is supporting the academy, trust and local authority to ensure face-to-face learning can resume as soon as it is safe to do so.”

On Friday the school announced it was aiming for a phased reopening from next Thursday, beginning with Year 11 pupils taking GCSEs, once “protective walkways” and scaffolding had been erected to allow safe access to the building.

The initial closure was on 19 October, after Storm Babet appeared to cause a steel panel to fall from a covered walkway. But a survey by the PFI contractor was not completed until last week, leading Snaith to tell parents: “Our conclusion is that we cannot be sure the building is completely safe. The safety of our students and staff is paramount and we will not take any chances.”

Parents said the school failed to explain how long the closures could continue, and that the remote learning used as a stopgap measure has been inadequate.

Anna Abbott, the mother of a Year 8 pupil at the school, said: “The worst thing has been the total uncertainty about whether the school would be open or not the following day.”

The parent of a Year 11 pupil, who did not want to be named, said the uncertainty was “worse than during Covid”, with parents relying on texts sent by the school each afternoon, and assurances that reopening was “just around the corner”.

Year 13 pupils, who are preparing for A-level and BTec exams, have been able to attend face-to-face lessons at another school in the Gosforth Group.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The safety of our staff and students is paramount and we understand the frustrations and anxieties that students and their families are feeling, as a result of the school being closed.

“There is no substitute for face-to-face learning and we are very aware that parents desperately want their children back into the classroom. We equally want children back into school and we are doing everything we can, in challenging circumstances to ensure that that happens.”