Storm Agnes sparks closure of Bridgwater school with dangerous building
A school which has a dangerous building is having to close entirely due to Storm Agnes, which is forecast to bring 60mph winds.
Haygrove School in Bridgwater was told it could no longer use its main building, which was only completed in 2020, shortly before the start of the September term.
It came after the Department for Education discovered the building had "issues with structural integrity".
The issue at Haygrove School is not related to Raac - a weak type of concrete which is causing schools to crumble - but is linked to a contractor which has since gone bust.
The issues mean the school's main building is closed and has to be wrapped in scaffolding to make it safe. Some students are being taught off-site at a nearby college while others are in temporary classrooms at the Haygrove School site.
The school has now confirmed it will be closed on Wednesday 27 September due to Storm Agnes.
It adds: "The main school building is closed due to issues with structural integrity, which could potentially be impacted by adverse weather conditions.
"The health and safety of our students and staff is our absolute top priority, which is why we must close the full school site on Wednesday to ensure we are taking every possible precautionary measure as part of our robust health and safety procedures during this unprecedented situation.
"We are very sorry for the challenges this temporary closure will have on the families of students who are currently attending classes on our site, we realise this is far from ideal."
The school confirmed this will not happen every time there is bad weather as work which is underway to scaffold and wrap the building will mitigate the risk in future. It is not yet known when that work will be completed.
Students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 will receive remote learning for Wednesday through the school's website.
Year 10 students will be able to attend the Haygrove Campus at Bridgwater and Taunton College (BTC) as usual.
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