Two Kent schools fully reopen after concrete scare

St James' Primary School said the DfE confirmed on Tuesday RAAC work over the summer was sufficient to reopen

Two schools in Kent have fully reopened after they were affected by closures over unstable concrete used in buildings.

Palmarsh Primary in Hythe was closed completely on Tuesday due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

St James' Church of England Primary in Tunbridge Wells was partially closed.

Clarification and discussions with the Department for Education (DfE) has led to both fully reopening on Wednesday.

The schools had previously received letters from the DfE ordering all RAAC-affected buildings to be vacated immediately, even in cases where they were previously seen as "non-critical".

In an email to parents, St James' primary previously described the government guidance for RAAC-affected schools as "unclear".

The school says safety work carried out over the summer has now been confirmed as sufficient for the school to reopen.

'Safety first'

More than 100 schools have been partially or fully closed across the country due to the issue.

A Kent County Council spokesman said: "We do not and did not believe that any areas of these schools were in imminent danger, but the DfE letter prompted a safety-first approach.

"We advised those schools to take RAAC-affected areas out of use immediately as a precautionary measure whilst the clarification was received," he said.

"We are pleased to confirm that our original assessment of the situation was accurate and that all pupils at both schools can resume their face-to-face education."

The two schools are among seven listed by Kent County Council as having RAAC in their buildings.

The other RAAC-affected schools are Sunny Bank Primary in Sittingbourne, Godinton Primary in Ashford, St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary in Swanley, Birchington Church of England Primary, and King Ethelbert Secondary School in Birchington.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].