A SECONDARY school remains closed this week after the discovery of asbestos in the rubble of a demolished building on site.
The King Edmund School in Rochford was closed on Tuesday, November 15 after builders discovered “traces of asbestos”.
The following day, headteacher Jonathan Osborn wrote to parents informing them the school would be closed for “two to three days”.
But parents have now been informed the school will remain closed this week.
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Pupils will continue to be assigned work via on online platform usually used for homework.
Only sixth form pupils will receive teaching via Microsoft Teams.
The asbestos was discovered on Monday by workmen who were preparing to begin construction on a new 30-classroom school block, replacing an old building which was demolished in May.
The Department for Education, responsible for the works, says surveys were carried out before the demolition by a previous contractor, which came back safe, however a recent survey undertaken by a new contractor raised concern about potential asbestos in the rubble of the old building.
The DfE is awaiting further testing of the samples before issuing a further update.
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