Blatchington Mill pupils not all back until after half term

Blatchington Mill’s pupils won’t all be able to come back to school until after half term, the school has told parents today.

A fire at the school earlier this month completely destroyed the school’s food and design classrooms, with a large part of the rest of the school damaged by smoke and water.

A 16-year-old girl was detained under the Mental Health Act after being arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

The school was closed for two days after the blaze broke out on the evening of Wednesday, 17 January.

Since then, the school has partially reopened, with years ten and eleven being prioritised for in-school teaching but with all years being remotely taught for at least some of the time.

Some parents have been feeling frustrated with the lack of detailed updates, although others say they think the school has been doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

Today, head Kate Claydon sent a detailed breakdown of what damage has been caused and what work needs to be done to get all students back in school full time.

Before the email was sent, one parent said: “Of course this situation is going to be difficult for the school leadership, but the lack of communication is very hard.

“We don’t know when, or even whether, normal schooling will resume.

“We really need to understand how serious the situation is because the lack of communication makes us think the worst and is really stressful for our kids.”

Another said: “I think they’re doing as good a job as they can. They’ve made themselves very approachable around individual concerns.

“It must be a huge strain on them, in addition to trying to run a large school during a national education funding crisis.

“I’d rather they move with caution and absolute attention to detail and take no risks.”

The email said it had now received written reports which highlighted areas which are not structurally safe, including the stairs between the design and food rooms which need to be propped.

It said a significant part of the school east of its east reception was damaged, including the kitchen, canteen, library, design and food teaching areas.

This also means two toilet blocks, the medical room, sports hall and east gym are inaccessible.

The priority is to isolate damaged and dangerous utilities so the rest of the school’s supply of gas, water and elecricity is safe.

Once that’s done, which will hopefully be completed by the end of the half term break, about 24 classrooms and more toilets can be used, meaning all pupils can return full time.

After this, the canteen will be repaired, and then the sports hall and gym and the library.

Finally, the design and food tech classrooms will be repaired.

Ms Claydon told Brighton and Hove News: “We recognise how challenging the situation may be for our families as we navigate the difficulties posed by the damage to our school site.

“Our absolute priority is to get all our students back into school every day. We are working closely with the local authority to make this a reality as soon as possible.

“We want to be transparent with our families and are therefore keeping them updated with daily emails.

“Our Year Teams are also responding to any individual queries or concerns that families have. If any families need further clarification, we encourage them to reach out to us directly.”