Pupils and teachers from the school and trust, along with representatives from the Department for Education and the appointed contractor, BAM, were in attendance(Image: handout)

Rebuild of Durham Raac-hit school reaches milestone as steel foundations laid

by · ChronicleLive

The rebuild of a Durham school that was closed after unsafe concrete was found has reached a significant milestone.

Pupils at St Leonard's Catholic School in Durham have been taught in temporary accommodation since dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) concrete was found at the end of last summer. Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust (BWCET) was informed it needed to immediately close three of its schools due to concerns over dangerous Raac concrete, with St Leonard’s was one of the worst impacted.

Durham County Council gave the green light for demolition of the existing school in June this year. The majority of the school's existing structures will be knocked down, with the exception of Springwell Hall and the Sixth Form building, which are unaffected by RAAC and will be incorporated into the new development.

As work progress on the new state-of-the-art building, school children were delighted to participate in a steel foundations signing, as work began on site to install the building’s metal infrastructure.

Pupils and teachers from St Leonard’s and Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust (BWCET), along with representatives from the Department for Education and the appointed contractor, BAM, took part in the celebratory signing, where children were given the opportunity to write their names on the steel foundations.

Vicky Curry, Deputy Headteacher of the school, said: “Pupils were delighted to be part of this exciting step towards our new school.”

”It really was a great opportunity for them to see how this huge building project starts and to know they have been part of history in the making and can share their experiences with generations to come.”

Pupils and teachers from the school and trust, along with representatives from the Department for Education and the appointed contractor, BAM, took part in the celebratory signing, where children were given the opportunity to write their names on the steel foundations.(Image: handout)

St Leonard’s was named as one of the schools prioritised for the School Rebuilding Programme and work is well underway by BAM, with completion of phase 1, due for Easter 2026.

Pupil Gracie said: “I really appreciated the chance to sign my name on the steel foundations of the school. It was great to be involved and see the beginnings of our new building. We’re all so excited!”

The school, alongside the trust and others in the wider school community, worked tirelessly to get children back into the classroom environment. From September 2023 pupils were taught across a range of sites. Limited parts of St Leonard's that were RAAC-free were used, whilst others were taught at Ushaw College.

While the new school is being built, the pupils are currently being educated in a temporary new facility near St Leonard’s — called Our Lady of Help — offering a range of specialist spaces including technology rooms, science labs, IT suites, art and specialist music rooms and food and textiles rooms.

Recently the school was judged outstanding by Ofsted in all areas including: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and Sixth Form provision.

The new-build project is being managed by BAM. Jason Kelly, construction manager, said: “This will be a new state-of-the-art building fitting for a leading secondary school that clearly has the very highest standards and offers world-class equipment and facilities. With our partners, we are focused on creating an impressive new building. It was a great opportunity to involve some of the pupils in the foundation process.”

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