Schools in West Yorkshire are NOT at risk from combustible cladding.
That’s the message from experts with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to worried parents in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The issue was raised by the mother of a teenage pupil attending Cleckheaton’s new multi-million pound Whitcliffe Mount School.
In an email directed at headteacher Jennifer Templar she asked that parents be sent a letter reassuring them that the new school building had a sprinkler system, and also to confirm that if any cladding had been used “that it isn’t the same as was used in the recent London fire.”
However the email, sent two days after the Grenfell inferno which claimed 80 lives, went unacknowledged.
Alison Abbott, a retired civil servant who lives in Scholes with husband Ian and their 14-year-old son, said the Grenfell Tower disaster on June 14 had caused her to focus on the state-of-the-art development and seek reasonable assurances that it was safe.
“On September 6 my son has to go into the new school building to be shown around,” she said. “I just want someone to say ‘it’s safe’ so I know that the kids are not at risk.”
Following an approach by the Examiner, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that NO schools in the county were affected by the cladding issue.
A spokesperson said: “We have not been made aware of any issues with the cladding at the new Whitcliffe Mount School. The responsibility for assessing this lies with the person responsible for the building but we can confirm that the school is not considered high-rise as it consists of three storeys.
“To date there have been no issues raised with us regarding cladding at schools in West Yorkshire.”
