RAAC discoveries delay decision on future of six Northfield primary schools

Crumbling concrete in the roofs of at-risk Aberdeen schools has delayed a decision on their fate.

The nationwide search for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has granted city primaries a stay of execution expected to last “a couple of months”.

Bramble Brae, Heathryburn, Manor Park, Muirfield, Quarryhill and Westpark are being looked at by property bosses.

All six feed into Northfield Academy, which itself contains RAAC.

Feasibility studies on their potential closures and mergers, along with three in Bridge of Don, were launched in the spring.

Heathryburn is one of 10 Aberdeen schools built using private finance, with the city due to pay off the debt for them until 2039.

Why are the Northfield feeder schools at risk?

Consultations were held between March and June to give parents, pupils, staff and community groups the chance to have their say.

Council chiefs say falling pupil numbers are behind the Northfield shake-up, with rolls “well below” what’s available.

Numbers are expected to dwindle further over the next seven years, making the six “inefficient to run”.

D-Day loomed on Tuesday, until the latest concerns about the lightweight material came to light.

Which Aberdeen schools have RAAC in their roofs?

Westpark and Quarryhill both have the bubbly concrete in their roofs, as do Abbotswell and Cornhill schools and Hazlehead, Northfield and St Machar academies.

The closed Hazlehead swimming pool and the extension on Aberdeen Town House are the other affected city-run buildings.

RAAC’s presence forced council chiefs to pull their final recommendations on a way forward for the Northfield feeders at the last minute.

Council property chief Stephen Booth blamed the “evolving situation” for pulling the report.

“We felt until that situation was resolved and we had more information, it would not have been appropriate to discuss the report in detail.

“We would like to bring that back as soon as we can but realistically until we have all the answers to all the questions, we wouldn’t do that.

“But hopefully we will have some clarity within the next couple of months.”

Naming a date for final Northfield primary school closure decision ‘not fair to anyone’

Councillors, who had expected to take a decision based on the feasibility study, said parents had been left “very concerned” by the ongoing uncertainty.

Pressed on an exact timescale, Mr Booth said he was not sure naming a date would “be fair to anyone”.

Meanwhile, a long-awaited review of Aberdeen’s Victorian schools could be implemented as the schools and property staff are inundated with RAAC-related work.

RAAC work all-consuming for council chiefs

They were said to have worked on “RAAC and nothing else” for the last fortnight as the concerns about the lightweight concrete grew.

Structural engineers have been drafted in to all seven affected schools in the last week.

And the news, at some of the four affected primaries, is good.

“The situation has improved from initial reports we had,” Mr Booth added.

“We will be pulling information together in the next couple of days.

“Some areas previously highlighted, with further testing done in the last week, have shown they are a better type of material.

“In some schools we have done some slight remediation work.”

Further testing is to be carried out this week, with plans to formally communicate findings with school communities when bosses have worked out what is to happen next.

Information will also be shared on the council’s RAAC FAQs webpage.

• You can read more about what parents and community told the council they wanted from the Northfield feeder school shake-up here.
• Meanwhile council bosses recommended none of the three Bridge of Don schools, feeding Oldmachar Academy, close “at this time”.
• But plans for a super-school in the north of the city could be reignited.