Raac-affected Wakefield school to get temporary classrooms

St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School in Wakefield shut in October when Raac was discovered at the site

A school which was closed after potentially dangerous concrete was found will use temporary classrooms to allow it to fully reopen.

St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School in Wakefield was shut in October after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was discovered.

The school later reopened to Year 11 pupils, while others studied at home.

The school would now use portable buildings to allow all pupils to return, a letter to parents has said.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, four out of five year groups were set to return on 8 January, with Year 7 students attending later in the month.

A letter on the school's website said safety measures would allow the use of a middle floor of a building containing Raac.

The temporary units will provide classrooms for up to 600 students, a letter to parents said

It added that the "village" of temporary classrooms would house more than 600 pupils.

"We are also being supplied with some specialist facilities that will arrive later to enable us to provide our full curriculum," the letter continued.

"The classrooms will be large, well heated, modern units and I am sure they will serve us well while we wait for work to be completed on our main site," it added.

School leaders said they hoped the site would be included in the government's school rebuilding programme.

Raac is a lightweight building material used between the 1950s and 1990s which was considered a cheaper alternative to standard concrete.

The Health and Safety Executive warned last year that Raac was now beyond its 30-year lifespan and might "collapse with little or no notice".

More than 230 schools and colleges in England were identified by the Department for Education as containing Raac.