Headteacher says school closure 'embarrassing' as £32m building dogged by problems since day one

Pupils had to be sent home as soon as they arrived on Monday morning

The headteacher of a £32m school dogged by problems since it opened says its closure today was 'embarrassing' and another clear sign that it's in desperate need of repair.

Pupils were sent home from Blessed John Henry Newman RC College, in Chadderton, Oldham, as soon as they arrived on Monday morning as there was no heating and no hot water.

Headteacher Glyn Potts was alerted at 7am on Monday and told that a radiator leak and subsequent drop in boiler pressure was to blame, but it hadn't triggered an alarm that would have alerted them sooner.

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The alarm is in place because of the number of incidents that have affected the school since it opened in 2011, after being built under a partnership between Oldham council and a PFI contractor owned by Balfour Beatty, as part of the national ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme.

Since then Mr Potts says it has never been without problems. In 2021 we reported how it had become the norm for pupils and staff to experience one or two incidents a week, with dozens of buckets often spread around the building because of numerous leaks.

The head says that Equans - previously part of Engie Ltd - who manage and clean the school on a daily basis, and Amber Infrastructure, who look after it more widely, simply 'pass the buck' between one another about who is responsible for what.

When things do go wrong with the Balfour Beatty-owned building, penalty payments are made as part of the contract, but the majority goes to the council rather than the school.

Mr Potts said: "If it had just been the heating we could have put our coats on, but it would not have been ideal. But when it's the hot water and affects hand washing and cleaning, we have no choice.

"It's embarrassing and parents will be furious, I get that. Some have called to voice their complaint and I would love to be able to give them answers, but I can't."

He says the school is in need of a new roof and says Oldham Council's chief executive and director of education are 'very much on board' and helping to move things forward.

"We've had roof repairs for two years non stop but we're going to need to have the roof replaced which will mean decamping to temporary accommodation so it's not an ideal solution," said Mr Potts. "For now we've got two temporary classrooms coming in January to replace two of the classrooms that leak constantly, even when the weather is dry.

"We've got a meeting in the new year to discuss the next course of action. There hasn't been a year when we haven't had disruption from buildings faults and it's the pupils who suffer from that.

"Whatever solution is provided needs to be considered alongside the children and their experience as they've been disrupted enough."

A Freedom of Information request showed that Oldham Council received £749k in penalty payments between 2012 and 2019.

The FOI response said 'a proportion' of the money is 'used to directly support the maintenance and management of the contract for the college', but wouldn't disclose how much.

While the college does receive some penalty payments, Mr Potts previously explained how these had been 'heavily impacted on due to Covid' and any enhancements they would wish to make 'would be futile in an environment where they will be damaged by the building'.

Oldham Council's cabinet member for education and skills Mohon Ali said: “I sympathise with Mr Pott’s frustration at having to close Newman RC College. It’s of course unacceptable to have no hot water or heating. I know other schools have faced similar challenges during recent weeks which has caused a number of issues.

“The problems they’ve faced have been going on for far too long. So, as a council we are doing everything we can to support them. They have our full support and I hope that we can find a lasting resolution as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Amber Infrastructure said: "This morning the heating system at Newman RC College suffered a loss of pressure. Engineers attended site promptly, identified the fault and restored heating to the school before midday."

The Manchester Evening News has also approached Equans and Balfour Beatty about the ongoing problems with the building.