Moray Council issue Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) update for Forres Academy

WORK has begun this week to remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) from Forres Academy, Moray Council has confirmed in an update to parents and carers.

The update comes after the council's initial letter on August 10, which revealed that RAAC had been discovered within the school building.

External engineers found that a small number of upstairs classrooms, located on the science and art corridors, were at risk from with RAAC.

These classrooms have been “locked with no access” since, so repairs can take place.

The lightweight concrete which was often used in flat-roofed buildings built between the 1950s and 1990s has been the subject of recent media attention, and has been identified in a number of public sector buildings across Scotland and England.

Forres Academy is the only school in Moray to include the material, with work to remove the concrete expected to be completed in around four weeks time.

The material has also been discovered in the roof of one of the wings of UHI Moray.

Found during a survey of the building, the college has closed the affected part of the campus as a precautionary measure to protect staff and students.

The roof remains intact and students and staff based in the affected wing are being relocated across the campus and senior management are working to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum.

David Patterson, principal of Moray College UHI said: "We were checking paperwork regarding our campus buildings and came across a brand name we didn’t recognise - Siporex slabs being used in one of our roofs. We thought we’d better check out what it was.

"It was exactly what we feared - RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete). A surveyor arrived late on Friday afternoon, and by the end of the evening had confirmed RAAC in our Speyside wing.

"We needed to close that building immediately, maybe indefinitely.

"Our estates and registry teams then did what UHI Moray staff have done so brilliantly recently. They worked across the weekend to take the drama out of a crisis. They re-timetabled all our Semester 1 provision to create space to move the affected classes, and to find temporary accommodation on campus for all the displaced staff, including me and my senior team."

The Moray College campus, which opened in 1971, consists of a number of distinct buildings as expansions have taken place over the last 50 years, and the presence of RAAC does not pose any threat to the adjoining buildings.

Further surveys are due to take place in the coming days to confirm the extent of the issue and what other mitigations can to be put in place.