Forres Academy in Moray to remain closed on Monday due to 'higher risk' crumbling concrete

A high school will remain closed on Monday after an investigation found it was at a “higher level of risk” from collapse-prone concrete.

Moray Council confirmed Forres Academy will be closed on September 18 with preparations made for a partial reopening on Tuesday, September 19 and Wednesday, September 20.

A final decision will be made about 100% return for the rest of the week once the partial reopening has been assessed.

The school, which contains Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), was closed for two days this week as the first contingency plans were put in place.

The affected areas of the school span the whole of the first floor and two smaller areas of the ground floor, all of which are closed.

A number of spaces, including the social area, games halls and offices are being reconfigured into classrooms to allow the 826 pupils to return to most subjects.

However, some practical subjects won’t be available up until the October break but plans for these are being considered for the rest of the year.

Contingency plans will be put in place until October 6 when the local authority breaks for the end of term, with new plans taking over from October 23.

A letter has been sent to parents and guardians explaining the plans.

Council leader, councillor Kathleen Robertson, said: “The team at Forres Academy, our education leaders, property experts and many teams within the council have worked tirelessly to get the school back into operational use as quickly and as safely as possible. I’m extremely impressed with the response from the council and Fairhurst, who have worked well together in extremely challenging circumstances.

“I appreciate the uncertainty of what is happening and what the next few weeks will look like is difficult for many of us. I’m also a parent at the school and understand the need to plan ahead.

“I’m reassured that further communication will come from the school next week directly to parents setting out how the next few weeks will shape up. In the meantime I’d urge all parents and pupils to have a look at the information sent to them today, which goes a long way to answering a lot of the questions we know they have.”