Flash Ley School opening delayed after toxic gas find
A primary school which was shut down after children fell ill from a toxic gas will not reopen in September as previously thought, it was announced today.
Staffordshire County Council confirmed levels of the formaldehyde, which was discovered at Flash Ley Community Primary School in Stafford last October, are still 'too high' and the building would remain closed for 'several weeks' longer than expected.
Education chief Councillor Ben Adams would not give a new date as to when the school on Hawksmoor Road was expected to reopen but stated there were no 'long or medium term' issues to suggest the primary would be closed permanently.
Parents were informed today that the alternative arrangements already in place for the 370 or so pupils, would continue for the new school year.
Councillor Adams told the Express & Star: "It is disappointing news. The works are going well but the processes to remove the material and gas by-product are taking longer than planned and longer than we projected. Clearly the most important thing is to make the school is safe.
"The key message is that we are aiming to get the school open as soon as we possibly can. We are not going to set a new target date as I am not convinced that is helpful.
"We share the frustration of the whole community at the time it is taking to return to Flash Ley. There is no long or medium term concern however we don't know how many weeks it will be. But it will be several weeks."
Nursery children will go to Stafford Manor and reception up to Year 6 are at the Chetwynd Centre. The Speech and Language Centre is at Tillington Manor.
Flash Ley was immediately closed last October when around 20 pupils became ill.
The council continued with the usual application process for new arrivals from September. Those parents were similarly informed of the situation today.
Parents have been promised a further update at the start of new school year.
The gas originated from foam used during a project to refloor the school. A full investigation is now underway involving the Health & Safety Executive.
The foam has been removed but lower levels still remain in the brickwork.
Councillor Adams said: "The project didn't go as planned. The material used is very commonly used in building and construction and almost every new home. But something has gone wrong and we are investigating what happened. We are looking in detail. People will want to know how and why this happened and it will be put out into the public in due course."
