A school was closed after dangerous asbestos material was discovered. Its governors have taken over the 900-pupil High School. The Cwmcarn School, situated in Caerphilly County, shut immediately in last October following a structural report recognized asbestos material in main block. Parents have raised concern at the long-term closure of the school. However, the foundation status of the school means the governors are able to assume complete control of school premises. Caerphilly council has expressed concern as well as frustration. The governors were asked to comment on the issue. According to the council, an independent, individual investigation into the management of asbestos at school building was being performed by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), and it would continue. The council said now the governing body would take complete liability and responsibility for that site. It said the council’s plans to commission a thorough and complete asbestos survey have been thwarted now by the school governors’ actions. Harry Andrews, the Council leader, said that their major all-time priority has been the wellbeing and health of staff and students in the school. “We have taken decisive and swift action when the problem of asbestos was found. We also planned to find out the full degree of the trouble prior to favoring a way forward. “Unluckily, the governors have now disappointed with the process by compelling that they take complete responsibility of that site. However, we wished to cooperate with them for trying and resolving the issue as fast as possible,” Andrews said. “We will write to the staff and parents detailing this decision’s implications,” Andrews added. “Our major task remains the education and welfare of students. We will closely watching the actions of the governors in the school,” he said. “Parents will be assured that council won’t allow any students to come back to a building, which poses health risk,” Andrews added. The report says heating system might have blown asbestos present in the building’s roof and airborne asbestos fibers were almost 10 times greater than the permitted levels. According to the union Unison, demolition of the building was the only safe option for pupils as well as staff. The survey found that the structure poses potentially serious health risk and must be torn down, as suggested by a former inspection. The Welsh government has asked all the schools to submit a report on levels of asbestos.
