Galliford Try is expected to receive approval this week for plans to demolish a school where reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found and replace it with a £11m new building.
The contractor and the Department for Education (DfE) submitted a planning application in October to demolish St Francis Catholic Primary School in Coronation Road, Ascot, and replace it with a “highly energy efficient” two-storey school building.
The project was proposed after RAAC panels were found in the roof of the existing building, which the DfE’s planning agents said “rendered large parts of the school unsafe”.
The council’s Windsor and Ascot Development and Management Committee is due to consider the application on Thursday (12 February).
RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete that was used in many UK public sector buildings from the 1950s until the mid-1990s. It has an approximate 30-year lifespan, after which the risk of collapse increases, particularly when moisture has penetrated it.
The current school building was built in 1962, followed by the addition of the administration wing between 1999 and 2000. The DfE said that the main school building “has reached the end of its operational life”.
Temporary classrooms have been in place for around 18 months after “much” of the main school building was closed following the discovery of RAAC in 2023.
The school has a capacity of 210 pupils, which will not be altered after the redevelopment.
The application includes the installation of a single-storey temporary school for a period of 24 months on the existing playing field.
The council is planning to replace the building with a “highly energy efficient, net zero […] sensitively designed” building designed by Bond Bryan Architects.
The plans also include a multi-use games area, a new car park and associated hard and soft landscaping.
Galliford Try was appointed to deliver the new £11m school in October 2025.
This project is the 18th school delivered by Galliford Try under the DfE 2021 Construction Framework (medium value band).
The scheme is part of the DfE’s programme to replace RAAC-affected school buildings.
The UK government’s policy on RAAC in schools involves funding the removal, either through rebuilding programmes or grants, with a commitment to remediate all affected state schools and colleges in England by 2029.
When the DfE closed its list of English schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC on 22 October 2024, 237 institutions had that type of concrete.
If the plans are approved, completion of the new school is expected in September 2027.
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Cristina Lago