A school in Abingdon will fully reopen next week after closing due to worries its main hall had RAAC.

The John Mason School in Wootton Road closed the entire school on Monday, September 11 as investigations into the building began.

The school remained partially reopened the following day on a rota between year groups with different working arrangements for students including home learning.

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Plans were being made for temporary relocation and even a potential rebuild but the school has now received the news from a Department for Education (DfE) commissioned surveyor that no reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been identified.

The school has since announced it will return to a normal timetable from Monday, September 25.

In a letter to parents, headteacher Alaistair West said: “Every student has been affected differently by the disruption of the last two weeks.

“We are aware that some have received less face-to-face teaching than others.

“It has been difficult to deal with the impact of disruption beyond our control. What happens next is back in the control of our John Mason School community.

“We will take this opportunity to treat Monday, September 25 as another first day of term. A chance to build back on the disruption.

“It won’t happen in just a few days, but over the next 175 days of this academic year we aim to more than make up for this challenging start.”

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CEO of the Abingdon Learning Trust, Fiona Hammans, said: “Having to close a school is a deeply difficult decision but there is no option if there is any chance that students or staff may be put at risk.

“I regret the disruption to education that this has caused at the start of a new school year and thank you all for your understanding and flexibility.

“It cannot have been easy to accommodate the necessary changes to family arrangements.”

RAAC is most commonly found on flat roofs, but it has also been identified in outdoor wall panels, indoor wall panels and ceilings.

It was a low-cost, lightweight building material that was used in the construction industry between the 1950s and mid-1960s.

The latest DfE figures show that an additional 27 schools and colleges in England have been identified as having RAAC on site.

The number stood at 147 as of August 30, but it has increased to 174 as of September 14.

Around 115,000 pupils – based on the latest available school census data – are being educated across all the schools listed as being affected by RAAC.

Nearly 250 temporary classrooms have been ordered by at least 29 schools in response to the RAAC crisis – and 11 of those schools already have temporary classrooms in place, the DfE’s top official told MPs on Tuesday.