Pupils in schools whose education has been severely affected by the crumbling concrete crisis should score higher in their GCSE and A-level exams, education experts have said.
More than 150 schools across the country were forced to close completely or partially last August after they were found to contain “unsafe” reinforced aerated concrete (RAAC), just days before students were due to return to school.
The decision to close the school, prompted by the collapse of one of its columns made of lightweight material, has raised concerns about a number of public buildings built or renovated when Raac was popular between the 1950s and 1990s.
Raac has since been identified in more than 230 schools, court buildings and hospitals. As of November, only three schools had had to use remote learning for some students, while others had had to use gyms and portacabins as classrooms or use space from nearby schools.
Research from Durham University concluded that the GCSE and A-level grades of students severely affected by this summer's crisis should improve significantly by up to 10%.
The study looked at St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham, one of the best public schools in the North East. But this fall saw educational plans derailed after Raac was discovered in several buildings.
“The government, Ofqual and exam boards must devise a plan to ease the anxiety of students at this school and others like it and provide them with qualifications results equivalent to what would have happened if there had been no crisis.” The research is over.
The study's authors, Professor Stephen Gorard and Professor Nadia Siddiqui, recommended that grades be raised, saying: Danger.”
Their report said the school had to close at very short notice in September, with no classes taking place at all in the first week. Since then, online classes have started and face-to-face classes have slowly resumed, often in cramped conditions, with Years 7 and 8 taught at Ushaw College, a four-mile bus ride away.
The school playground is divided into classrooms, but the acoustics are poor due to a lack of ceiling, so students have difficulty hearing their teachers.
In English and maths, the students were taught in groups of 120 each, and a recent internal assessment found that students performed lower than expected on exams. In other exam subjects, students are said to be weeks behind the curriculum.
One science teacher told the authors: “I can’t do much lab work right now. Students now hate science because there are no experiments and laboratory activities. This will affect your academic performance.”
Principal James Smith, who is hoping to study physiotherapy at university after completing his A-levels this summer, said: “The lack of suitable space in schools is really starting to have an impact.
“The demand for space is such that students are looking for classrooms in their free time, and some are having to go to local cafes to study, or go home and return later for classes.
“None of these are effective ways to study and with exams only five months away, this is very concerning. “We urge the Government to work with exam boards to allow for the continued disruption we face.”
Meanwhile, students are aware of the stress their teachers are experiencing. One person said: “Teachers are tired and exhausted. It is so difficult to teach in the playground where teachers have to talk loudly. “But I still can’t hear clearly from the back row.”
A Year 11 student worried about how he would do at GCSE said: “Our friends at other schools have done more than us and they are way ahead of us. “I’m worried that the results won’t be as good as I want because I haven’t learned properly,” she said.
Mary Kelly Foy, Labor MP for Durham, said it was “completely incomprehensible” why ministers, regulators and exam boards were not prepared to provide “reasonable adjustments” to results after enduring a 17-week disruption to education. “He said.
Nick Hurn, chief executive of the trust that runs the school, also urged the Department for Education to reconsider, saying: “We do not accept that the Minister cannot intervene because there has been precedent during the coronavirus crisis.”
“Indeed, school and trust staff felt as if we were going through a pandemic again, but I would say we did it ourselves. We look forward to a thoughtful and reasoned response to our report.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The safety of staff and students is of the utmost importance. We have been working in tandem with schools, including St Leonards, to identify Raacs and minimize disruption to pupils’ education.
“Together with Ofqual, we have worked with awarding bodies to facilitate discussions with affected schools. We have asked awarding bodies to agree to a longer extension of the curriculum and non-examination to ensure that schools have as much time as possible to complete this important part of their students’ learning and qualifications.”
Additional reporting from PA