Temporary classrooms erected after school closed

Pewley Down Infants School in Semaphore Road, Guildford, was forced to close with one day of notice in October last year

Temporary classrooms have been erected by a Surrey infant school which was forced to close because of unstable concrete, the Diocese of Guildford says.

Pewley Down Infant School on Semaphore Road, Guildford, was forced to close in October after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found in the two-storey section of the school.

Six temporary classrooms were erected during February half-term at the school's sister site, Holy Trinity Juniors School, in Addison Road.

The Department for Education (DfE) has been contacted for comment regarding the timescale for RAAC repairs.

On Friday, director of education for the Diocese of Guildford, Alex Tear, told BBC Radio Surrey that Pewley Down had now received engineers' reports and approval from the DfE to appoint a contractor to undertake RAAC repairs.

Mr Tear said: "It’s difficult for us to say the exact timescale [for repairs] but I think it’s important to mention that we’ve just brought on six purpose built temporary classrooms which have been installed at the juniors site."

No time-scale has yet been set for RAAC repairs to be carried out.

Infant school pupils have been having lessons at Holy Trinity Juniors School since their site was closed in October.

Some parents told BBC Radio Surrey they had concerns about the long-term impact of their children learning away from the Pewley Down site.

One parent, who did not wish to be named, said: "I’ve really seen a visible impact on how much he enjoys school since it happened which is really hard."

Mr Tear said: "I’d like to reassure parents that we’re working hard and as fast as we can to get the work done so that we can get the school reopen."