Essex headteacher calls for army to build 'Nightingale classrooms' in schools Raac concrete crisis

A headteacher whose secondary school has been affected by the ongoing concrete crisis has called for the army to be drafted in to help install "Nightingale-style" temporary classrooms.

The majority of pupils at Honywood School in Coggeshall, in Essex, have been told to stay at home this week after half the site was found to be unsafe.

More than 100 schools across the country have been ordered to shut due to fears they were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), with more than 50 in Essex alone.

Headteacher James Saunders, 47, is now exploring ways that he can get children back on the school grounds, and said that the government should once again utilise the military to build pop-up buildings as soon as possible.

Soldiers played a key role in helping to construct Nightingale hospitals up and down the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We need a Nightingale style approach," Mr Saunders told ITV News Anglia.

"I've contacted the local authority, and I've also contacted local MP Priti Patel to ask if she's got any contacts in the MoD (Ministry of Defence).

"The army are so effective at doing these kind of things. They live emergencies and crises. You know they'll get the job done and you know it'll get done to a very high standard."

Mr Saunders, who has been a head for five-and-a-half years, also cited marquees as another possible solution which would enable children to be taught outside.

As things stand, only year seven and year 11 pupils will attend lessons in person during the opening two weeks of term, with all other age groups being provided with tablets ready for remote learning.

It means around 340 of the school's pupils will be stuck at home at one time.

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