School praised by minister for Raac crisis actions

Myton School faced a "tumultuous time" when Raac was discovered in 2023, children's minister Josh MacAlister said

A school has been praised for how it dealt with the Raac crumbling concrete crisis, during a visit from the government's children's minister.

Josh MacAlister spoke about Myton School's actions in 2023 during a "tumultuous time", as the education secretary outlined a timeline to eradicate Raac from schools by 2029.

MacAlister visited the school in Warwickshire and said the removal would happen "by the time of the next election, or have those schools mid-flight on a new building programme."

In England there are 22,000 schools and colleges, with 237 having confirmed their buildings contained Raac concrete, while 62 have had it permanently removed, the government confirmed.

Myton School pupils were taught with a mix of face-to-face and remote learning back in 2023, and the school is still working in temporary accommodation, two years on.

Other schools across Warwickshire were also affected, including Aylesford School in Warwick.

'Billions invested

Following MacAlister's visit to Myton last week, he noted the "massively tumultuous time they had with the Raac crisis in 2023", but was "impressed" by the head teacher's efforts during that time.

He added the Department for Education had "learnt lots of lessons" and was working collaboratively with Myton, to ensure new building work gets under way.

There is active work on design and plans for the new school building that will replace the outdated one, MacAlister added.

Since the Raac crisis, many people across Warwickshire have been campaigning for something to be done to help students and parents affected.

It has taken until now for the government to introduce the timeline for new building work.

MacAlister said "the government is working at pace on this" and and there had been "billions of pounds of extra investment" to tackle the problem in all affected schools.

"The disruption children have had, is the consequence of the government previously not investing in basic capital for the country," he added.

Minister Josh MacAlister visited Myton School recently to see the work they're undergoing

As she launched the timeline, Phillipson said Labour had inherited a "crumbling education estate" from the previous administration.

"[But] it's about more than just buildings - it's about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this government is determined to give them the best possible start in life."

Warwick district councillor Andrew Day, a Conservative, said: "Over the past four years, we've seen major new secondary schools projects delivered successfully, for example at Kenilworth, Southam, Bishop's Tachrook, as well as the new sixth form centre at Myton School."

'Minister grandstanding'

"Working in partnership with DfE, local councils have been successfully dealing with the need for modern new local schools, with hundreds of million of pounds invested," Day said.

In response to MacAlister's comments, Day criticised the minister for "grandstanding" over the plans for Myton School.

"The minister could have used the visit to push Warwick District Council, where Labour and Greens are in administration, to unlock the development potential of the two old Kenilworth School sites," Day said.

"We need the new affordable homes and the release of capital to reinvest in vital community facilities."