Safety work under way after 'weak' concrete discovered at two Scottish secondary schools

The local authority has announced three phases of repairs at the high schools

Two secondary schools in the Highlands will undergo repair work during the new term following the discovery of a potentially dangerous concrete material.

The safety work will be carried out in phases at both Nairn Academy and Charleston Academy in Inverness.

They are among dozens of public buildings across Scotland that have been found to contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).

The Scotsman previously reported that staff and pupils faced disruption for months at schools where structural upgrades are needed, including Preston Lodge High School in East Lothian, as well as Trinity Primary and Cramond Primary in Edinburgh.

The UK Government has called for checks to be carried out into the use of RAAC in schools, warning it is “much weaker” than traditional concrete, raising the "risk" of sudden or gradual structural failure.

The material was used in the construction of schools, colleges and other buildings from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

The panels were generally precast offsite and used for flat and pitched roofs, eaves, floors and walls within building construction.

RAAC has low compressive strength, being around 10-20 per cent of traditional concrete, and is also "very porous and highly permeable".

Highland Council has written to parents and carers of pupils at Nairn Academy and Charleston Academy about the work required.

Officials said the council had been carrying out regular surveys of these buildings since 2019, with further studies undertaken following fresh guidance being issued by the Institution of Structural Engineers in April.

The surveys were carried out by a firm of chartered engineers, which recommended three phases of action.

The first involves a “relatively limited amount of essential works that require to be carried out prior to either some internal rooms being reoccupied, or some external areas being fully accessed”.

These works are being prioritised for completion during the remainder of the holiday period to allow both schools to open as planned, later this month.

The second phase will aim to bring the buildings “up to the revised standards and reduce risk in the future”.

The timing of these works is being finalised but it is anticipated that they will be carried out during the new school session and over the October holidays.

The third phase involves regular monitoring and inspection.

The authority said: “Highland Council has been proactive in managing this issue and reacted as soon as further guidance was issued earlier this year.

"Officers have liaised with head teachers both prior to and during the holiday period to keep them fully up to date and to agree the areas of the buildings to prioritise in order to mitigate risk and minimise disruption to pupils and staff during the new school session.”

In Edinburgh, a four-classroom, temporary unit, with toilets, will be set up for Trinity Primary pupils on the playground of neighbouring Trinity Academy for the start of the new school year, after RAAC was found in the roof.

Many new S1 pupils at Preston Lodge High School will have to stay in their former primary schools while upgrades are carried out at the Prestonpans secondary.