Horsham school reopens after shuting amid fears of crumbling concrete

Greenway Academy was closed at the start of the new term following fears that RAAC – reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – could be present in the building.

Scores of schools and colleges throughout the country have been told by the Government to close classrooms and other buildings that contain the concrete which could suddenly collapse.

A spokesperson for GFS Schools, which runs Greenway junior school, in Greenway, Horsham, said on Monday that no RAAC had yet been found at its premises but that the school would remain shut yesterday (Tuesday September 5) at the start of the new term.

However, the spokesperson said today that the school was now open to pupils. He had earlier said that there were areas of the school where the presence of RAAC could not be ruled out and that these would be out of use until further surveys are complete.

Horsham District Council granted planning consent in July for Greenway Academy to be demolished and replaced with a new building.

Have you read? Rare railway signal box given new lease of life in Sussex

Children’s nursery business goes up for sale in Horsham

Concerns over telecoms pole ‘twice the height’ of Horsham houses

Construction company Reds 10, on behalf of the Department for Education, was given the go ahead from the council to knock down the school and put a new junior school on a playing field within the school grounds. The council was told in a report: “The school in its current state is not fit for purpose.”

Greenway had already been identified as being in need of improvements as part of the Department for Education’s schools rebuilding programme.