Dangerous concrete found at one East Sussex school

The County Council say an urgent inspection is taking place to determine whether any buildings need to be closed.

Author: Cameron HallPublished 1st Sep 2023

A dangerous aerated concrete has been found at an unnamed school in East Sussex.

A County Council spokesperson said they were informed by the Department for Education that a school contained the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) concrete that has caused buildings at over 100 schools in England to be closed.

They said they were not able to name the school publicly.

An "urgent inspection" is now being carried out at the site to determine "whether any parts of the building need to be closed."

It's due to the risk that buildings made using RAAC could collapse, after Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the material, previously thought to be low-risk, was found to be unsafe.

The spokesperson added that "further details are not available until the school has informed families about any changes for the new term next week."

It comes as West Sussex County Council confirmed they were inspecting all their school buildings for the collapse-prone concrete - despite saying none of their records suggested they were constructed from the material.