Fifteen schools at 'serious' fire risk

A total of 50 serious risks were also identified in the previous academic year

Fifteen schools in Jersey have been flagged as at "serious risk" of fire, the island's government has said.

It said assessments had been carried out over the past 18 months to identify risks and to "put mitigations in place and improve the working environment" of Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) buildings.

Work includes fitting new emergency lighting, clearing obstructions and adding mats and handrails.

Deputy Inna Gardiner, the minister for children and education, said the work would be completed by the start of the new term.

A total of 50 serious risks were identified in the previous academic year, with 22 of them mitigated.

The government said last month that 28 risks across CYPES buildings needed "additional mitigations", including Highlands College.

Ms Gardiner said those 28 were "on track to be mitigated by the start of the autumn term", and other works were ongoing.

She said: "CYPES and Jersey Property Holdings – as landlord – needed to do additional work, which is due to be completed by the end of this week.

“Because the work is ongoing, I do not have a final figure for the cost, however, I will provide an update on this in due course."

Other mitigating works included replacing PCs with laptops to minimise risk from computer suites housed in corridors and installing walls around staircases to reduce the risk of fire spreading.