Schools fail fire safety checks in wake of Grenfell blaze

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Grenfell tower — Image caption In the wake of the Grenfell fire, schools have been asked to check the fire safety of their buildings

Cladding on the two schools so far tested following the Grenfell fire has failed combustibility tests, according to the Department for Education.

The department has now ordered all schools and colleges in England to carry out fire safety checks.

Cladding on a secondary academy and a primary special school, both in London, was found to be “not of limited combustibility”, says a DfE statement.

Both buildings have been declared safe after extra checks, it adds.

“As a precautionary step, both schools have already been inspected by the fire and rescue service, who confirmed appropriate measures are in place to mitigate the risks from potential fire, and the buildings have now been declared safe for continued use,” says the statement.

The cladding, at London Enterprise Academy, in Tower Hamlets, and The Bridge primary school, in Islington, was of similar type and structure to the aluminium composite cladding used at Grenfell, said a DfE spokesman.

However, fire experts have been into both schools to ensure systems are in place for evacuation.

They had also advised that the design of these buildings meant the risk was not of the same order as that of housing, said the spokesman.