Demolition of newly-built schools could cost £150m

Haygrove School was one of the sites declared unsafe

The build, demolition and rebuild of three schools declared unsafe shortly after being built could cost taxpayers at least £150m, the BBC has been told.

Schools in Somerset, Essex and Northamptonshire were condemned in August shortly after being constructed.

Labour have called on the government to be more transparent about the costs and what went wrong with the projects.

The Department for Education (DfE) said it is reviewing contracts and taking legal advice on how to recover costs.

Haygrove School in Bridgwater, Somerset, Sir Frederick Gibberd School in Harlow, Essex and Buckton Fields Primary in Northamptonshire, were built by construction company Caledonian Modular.

It went into administration after a number of failed projects, despite being selected as an approved government contractor.

School finance expert Tim Warneford said there has been a failure by DfE and the total bill for the build, demolition and rebuild of the three schools could be at least £150m.

Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow was open to students for two years

Mr Warneford said: "There was insufficient visibility over the costs.

"The buildings are not fit for purpose, this could mean a bill to the tax payer, at a a time when every penny counts in the sector."

The DfE said it will pay for the replacement schools.

New temporary buildings at Haygrove School are now being used which is allowing all the school's pupils to be educated on the same site for the first time this academic year.

The pupils have seen a huge amount of disruption since problems with the new building were discovered.

New temporary buildings at Haygrove School are in use

The closure of its new building meant some were relocated to a nearby college, while others studied online at home.

This term, 21 new classrooms plus studios, a catering hall and other rooms have been installed in temporary buildings.

Head teacher Aaron Reid said: "The building we have at the moment is much more spacious and the children are really happy with it.

"Having them all back together has made a huge difference to the culture and atmosphere."

Mr Reid said he was impressed by the new facilities

Year 11 pupil Anabella said: "It's quite exciting. Obviously, we've got all these new facilities now.

"It's obviously a lot better than what we had before."

The condemned Haygrove School building has been surrounded in scaffolding and wrapped in white plastic.

Haygrove School was surrounded in scaffolding and wrapped in white plastic

Many parents at Haygrove have been campaigning for more transparency from the DfE over what went wrong and who is to blame.

Fiona Baker is one of several who have submitted Freedom of Information requests to the department but has heard nothing back.

She said: "I want them (the government) to tell the truth, they need to identify why they picked those contractors, and who signed the school off.

"A surveyor report was done on this school, we would like to know where it is and why we cannot see it."

The DfE has not responded to a Freedom of Information request submitted in October by the BBC asking it to release surveys and safety reports.

The Shadow Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the repair costs have been "too high", both to the children's education and the nation's finances.

MP Bridget Phillipson said the situation is "scandalous"

Ms Phillipson said: "This is scandalous. We haven't been told exactly what has happened, or who is responsible.

"We also haven't had an exact figure for the cost of the rebuild.

"They should provide that figure, because it is the taxpayer footing the bill, and they need to consider all options in getting this money back."

Safety concerns had been raised about the new Buckton Fields Primary School building

Labour has tabled questions to the DfE asking for more information about the total cost of rebuilding the schools.

The DfE has not revealed which companies were responsible for signing off the project, or the specific legal advice it has received.

Minister for the School System and Student Finance Diana Barran said: "We've changed the way that we procure our schools that we build now, and also how we monitor the quality of the building work and how we sign that off.

"This kind of situation can't happen with our current approach."