Bedford Modern Junior School to close for urgent repairs to replace faulty concrete

Bedford Modern Junior School is to close for urgent repairs to be carried out to replace faulty concrete that is prone to collapse.

The school’s 268 pupils will relocate to the vacant St Joseph’s and St Gregory’s site at Biddenham Turn after half-term for the remainder of the academic year.

BMS closed some areas of the school following an "urgent government directive" over reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) ahead of the current school term.

The school said it had also "repurposed certain areas as classrooms" while it investigated a permanent solution.

Acting head of the school, Andrew Whomsley, said the site on Manton Lane had several areas built in the 1970s using the material and confirmed the junior school was to close.

He said: “Further to the urgent government directive at the beginning of September we had no choice but to close those areas concerned with immediate effect.“Since then, we have been looking at how we can begin construction work on the affected areas as quickly - but most importantly, safely - as possible.

"As we are about to start work on removing and replacing a section of the Junior School roof we made the decision to relocate the Junior School completely to the St Joseph’s and St Gregory’s site on Biddenham Turn after the half term break for the remainder of the academic year.

“We are extremely grateful to Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust (OLICAT) for agreeing to rent the currently vacant site to us so that we can continue to provide a high-quality BMS education to our students in suitable surroundings.

"Such an arrangement is of mutual benefit as it will help with funding OLICAT’s ongoing development plans for the site while allowing us to minimise disruption for our students and staff.”

The Institution of Structural Engineers warned that cracking and spalling were risks in roof and floor panels made from the aerated concrete products installed between the 1960s and 1980s.

It said many roof panels were installed with insufficient bearing on structural supports resulting in a “significant risk” to the material’s integrity including “shear failure”.