Junior school evacuated after asbestos scare

Published on Mon 26 May 2008

St Giles Junior School in Exhall, Warwickshire, was temporarily closed after a pupil damaged a wall tile known to contain asbestos.

200 pupils were kept away from the school while tests were done on the contaminated areas. The scare came as some pupils were due to take their Standard Assessment Tests (Sats). Those pupil were allowed into school to complete theier exams.

A spokesman for Warwickshire County Council said:

"St Giles takes the safety of its pupils very seriously and, as the incident didn't take place until later in the day, we decided to close part of the school...as a precautionary measure."

"We were relieved to hear that the air testing proved negative and the school will be open again as usual."

The scare at St Giles Junior School is is just the latest in a long string of incidents where damage to asbestos has caused disruption, and concern, to pupils, teachers and parents. Teacher's unions such as the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) are calling for all asbestos to be removed from schools. Current policy is to identify and manage asbestos.

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