Legal wrangling over repairs to one of England’s largest schools has led to more than 2,000 pupils being shut out of their classrooms for more than three weeks.
Leaders of the Gosforth Group academy trust in Newcastle closed Jesmond Park Academy over fears that pupils and staff were in danger from metal panels falling off the school’s building after Storm Babet hit on 18 October.
A spokesperson for the Gosforth Group said it was taking legal advice over who was responsible for paying for repairs to the school, with the building maintained under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract.
George Snaith, the trust’s chair, told parents that “complicated legal relationships” were behind the school’s prolonged closure, and he warned of “catastrophic” consequences if the large metal fascias were to fall during school hours.
While pupils have been kept off the site, parents said that external groups have continued to use the site outside school hours for private events.
The school’s buildings are maintained under the PFI contract by Equans, a services company owned by the French multinational Bouygues, which last year had operating profits of about £2bn.
