School recovers after 75% of pupils left over Raac

Jayne Crowley said pupils had "really struggled" with how the Raac crisis had affected their schooling

One of the first schools in England identified as having crumbling concrete says it is on the road to recovery, after its pupil numbers dropped by more than 75% during the crisis.

Mistley Norman Primary School - now called Stourview CofE Primary Academy, near Manningtree - had to close its main building for almost two years when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was discovered in its ceiling.

Pupil numbers reportedly fell from 85 to fewer than 20 as both the school and individual parents moved the children to other schools.

But 21 pupils are now said to be back on the Essex site in temporary modular classrooms.

"The future is looking incredibly bright," head of school Jayne Crowley told the BBC.

When Raac was first discovered in April 2023, parents were advised to find alternative schools for their children.

An arrangement was eventually made for pupils to be transported by bus to a school in Ramsey, near Harwich - a 15-mile (24km) round trip.

"The children really struggled with the transition of having to move to different schools," Ms Crowley said.

"The fact that the Raac really disrupted the community, it's been such a sad period of time for them."

Stourview is waiting for its main building to be replaced.

The school hopes to replace its Raac-affected main building within the next two years

Carlo Guglielmi, Essex county councillor for Tendring Rural West, said there had been "uncertainty" for local families.

"Parents had to make all kinds of different childminding arrangements," he told the BBC.

"Everybody was scrambling around to understand what could be done with a very short timespan on our hands."

'Community spirit'

Canonium Learning Trust took over the school, which was renamed Stourview CofE Primary Academy, and arranged for a modular building to be installed on the original site to try and encourage pupils to return.

But Martin Hawrylak, the trust's CEO, admitted it was a difficult process.

"The children were settled in other schools, we had to get them back here again," he said, adding that the trust also had to get teachers, a leadership team and a curriculum back in place.

"We had to instil confidence in the local community to reach the point where we're at," Mr Hawrylak told the BBC.

"There's a very, very strong community spirit to get the school back to Mistley and to rebuild a school that everybody's proud of."

Martin Hawrylak said it had been important "to instil confidence in the local community"

The modular building took 10 weeks to install - including laying its foundations - and will take just days to disassemble when it is no longer required. There are two classrooms inside, with air conditioning and solar panels on the roof.

Pupils returned to lessons in the modular building in September 2025, but the trust hopes that the main building will be demolished and replaced in time for the start of the 2027-2028 academic year.

Kevin Panrucker, chief financial and operating officer for Canonium, told the BBC that pupil numbers fell from 85 to fewer than 20 as the crisis deepened, but the process for demolishing Stourview's main building and replacing it with a new one was well under way.

"We're expecting that once the new build is completed, [pupil numbers] will rise rapidly," Mr Panrucke added.

The school also opened a nursery in 2025, whose numbers are said to be increasing on a weekly basis.

"There's a thriving community there and once the new build is up and running, it'll be a thriving school again," said Ms Crowley.

Raac was a material used as a cheaper alternative to standard concrete post World War Two, but has a shorter lifespan and can crumble under pressure.

Raac was found in 237 schools and Essex was the worst affected county, with 70 of its schools having to close at least part of their site.

The government confirmed last month it plans to remove Raac from all affected schools by 2029.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "After years of neglect, we are giving every child a safe and high-quality classroom where they can focus on learning - by setting clear timelines for the permanent removal of Raac from schools and colleges.

"It's what parents expect, it's what children deserve."