Three schools that were built by collapsed offsite specialist contractor Caledonian Modular must be rebuilt over structural integrity concerns
The Department for Education has confirmed that the three schools built by Caledonian Modular must be demolished and rebuilt.
Haygrove School in Bridgwater, Somerset and Sir Frederick Gibberd College in Harlow, Essex are both secondary schools, whilst Buckton Fields Primary School near Northampton has also been slated for demolition.
The schools were initially closed after structural integrity concerns
Both Haygrove and SFG’s main buildings were closed after the Government found that there were risks of collapse.
Speaking at the time, education minister Nick Gibb told BBC Essex: “It identified issues that related to the structural integrity of the buildings, weakening its ability for example to withstand extreme events such as high winds or a big snowfall or indeed a collision from a vehicle.”
SFG had been open to students for less than two years when this was announced.
Both secondary schools were built in a single £38m deal with Caledonian Modular and the contract for Buckton Fields Primary School was around £6.5m.
All three schools were built under the Department of Education’s £3bn modern methods of construction framework.
The framework was set up in 2020 to deliver faster projects that were also more cost-efficient.
All three schools will be demolished and rebuilt; the DfE has confirmed
In a statement, minister for the school system and student finance Baroness Barran confirmed that the Department of Education will fund the rebuilding of all three schools.
She thanked parents and students for their patience and said that ““we have continued to prioritise face-to-face learning during this time and to help schools through this transition phase, we are providing each school with high quality, long term temporary accommodation.”
Caledonian Modular went into administration in March 2022.
