RAAC: Mum breathes 'sigh of relief' as son achieves top grades despite concrete impact on school

A mum of a County Durham boy whose school building was largely closed due to the substandard concrete RAAC, is breathing “a big sigh of relief” after he received top A-level results after a “year from hell”.

Nicola Cook, 53, whose 18-year-old son attended St Leonard’s Catholic School in Durham, told the PA News Agency that her child achieved his results despite a year of disruption.

It is after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found in the school building, which meant students were forced to have remote lessons and in alternative venues.

Ms Cook did not name her son but said he was predicted three A*s. On Thursday 15 August, he achieved those grades in psychology and media as well as an A in music.

“Overall, it’s a big, big sigh of relief,” Ms Cook said.

According Ms Cook, the morning had been filled with “quite a lot of tears” among students “because the anxiety has been so great.”

She added: “He got that win on his absolute own merit, down to his resilience and his hard work and the exceptional hard work of the teachers in that school.

"You cannot diminish the impact that the last year has had, mentally as well as academically, on these children."

Ms Cook's son, who has autism, will now be going on to psychology at the University of York.

Throughout the year pupils at St Leonard’s Catholic School were taught in various locations around Durham, due to the presence of aerated concrete.

According to Ms Cook, these included an office building in a nearby town, a “non-soundproof” converted sports hall on the school grounds, and in a conference room at the Radisson Hotel in Durham, in which several lessons took place concurrently.

“For the first full term, the kids couldn’t even get access to their textbooks or their previous coursework, or if you had a musical instrument in the music department, you couldn’t even get that back," she added.

"The temporary accommodation to rehouse the school wasn’t usable until after Easter, so our kids have had a year from hell.

"The minute the school was closed, all children with SEND needs lost all reasonable adjustments, because it just wasn’t the environment to provide them.“

Ms Cook, a company director, spoke of how her son's mental health suffered drastically and he needed to get mental health support.

“Thankfully, the school was very aware and was able to support him because his depression and anxiety was off the scale, so it’s been a really tense time," she said.

A report by academics in January called for pupils at schools where teaching had been badly affected by the Raac crisis – such as St Leonard’s Catholic School – to have their exam results lifted by up to 10%.

However pupils in exam years who faced disruption to their learning and teaching due to RAAC were not granted this dispensation.

St Leonard’s Catholic School and the Conservative Party have been approached for comment.

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