Pupils at a RAAC-affected school had to learn in classes of 120, had no access to hot food and have seen their attainment fall behind by a full grade, a report exposing the potential impact of the crumbly concrete has revealed. Meanwhile, an Ofsted inspection at a separate school has signalled how RAAC has hampered improvement efforts and been “unsettling” for staff and pupils, affecting behaviour. Nick Hurn, the boss of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, expects to write to education secretary Gillian Keegan next week to demand allowances for GCSE and A-level pupils at St Leonard鈥檚 School in County Durham. 鈥淚f we get no response 鈥 then we鈥檒l have to look at our other options, see if there鈥檚 a legal route we could take, because we can鈥檛 do nothing and allow our children to be disadvantaged,” he told Schools Week. A report commissioned by the trust concluded that the academy鈥檚 youngsters are 鈥渁round a grade lower than expected鈥 in English and maths, having been moved to classes of 120 children. No hot food and sweltering classrooms Hurn believes secondaries like his have experienced 鈥渁bove and beyond what you鈥檇 reasonably expect to happen to a school鈥. Nick Hurn 鈥淚 expect the Department for Education to intervene and direct Ofqual and JCQ to look at us as a special case 鈥 because what鈥檚 currently in place isn鈥檛 adequate. This is massive disruption to around 300 students over an extensive period 鈥 it鈥檚 been 17 weeks now.” In a bid to convince exam boards, Hurn commissioned Durham University professors Stephen Gorard and Nadia Siddiqui to examine the extent to which education has been impacted at St Leonard鈥檚 since September. The study, published this morning, calculated that timetable changes have 鈥渞esulted in a 20-minute reduction in the curriculum time for each subject鈥. Some students 鈥渨ith free periods reported not attending school at all鈥, as there was no space to revise between classes. In some subjects, year 11 and 13 cohorts are reported as behind in curriculum time by at least three weeks. 鈥淔or half of the [autumn] term there was no hot food. Many rooms had no desks, and some had temperatures as high as 27C. 鈥淚n English and maths … pupils were taught in groups of 120 for seven weeks, with no access to specialist texts for the full first half-term. In recent internal assessments, students are reported by the school to have achieved an average of around a grade lower than expected.鈥 Pupils did not have access to specialist equipment, such as in art or science. They also had no sports hall or playing fields, which were being used as classrooms. Teacher fatigue is said to have increased, with leaders reporting 鈥渁 noticeable increase in staff absences, which have been covered by supply teachers, not always satisfactorily鈥. Second RAAC school calls for help Current guidance for special considerations [for exams] suggests an inflation of 5 per cent of marks, the report said. But it added: 鈥淕iven the length and depth of the disruption described above, the inflation could be greater (perhaps 10 per cent), and dependent to some extent on the nature of disruption for each subject.鈥 In October, Hurn enquired about potentially reintroducing lockdown-style teacher assessed grades for impacted children, who he argued shouldn鈥檛 be 鈥渄isadvantaged through this unprecedented situation鈥. His question fell on deaf ears. Bosses of Scalby High School in Scarborough 鈥 which sealed off two-thirds of its site following the discovery of the dangerous material 鈥 added to calls for a return to pandemic marking two months later. In a letter to government, seen by Schools Week, its headteacher, Christopher Robinson, stated it would be 鈥渆xtremely unfair鈥 for his pupils 鈥渢o have their life chances removed through no fault of their own鈥. Behaviour slipped as concrete issues destabilised school This comes as Stowupland High School, in Suffolk, was . The report cited the secondary鈥檚 issues with RAAC as a cause of significant disruption. They found more needed to be done 鈥渢o stabilise the staff body鈥, with this 鈥渘ot helped by the school鈥檚 buildings containing鈥 the concrete. “As a result, important sections of the site are closed. Leaders and staff haveshown determination and considerable effort to keep the school open to all pupils.However, the disruption has been unsettling for staff and pupils. This has affectedbehaviour.” It was first visited by inspectors in January last year, prior to the discovery of the dangerous material eight months later. But it was deemed more evidence was needed to come to a judgement, so inspectors returned in December. DfE: ‘Not possible’ to make other changes A spokesperson for the John Milton Academy Trust, which runs Stowupland, said 鈥渉uge efforts鈥 have been made 鈥渢o limit any disruption to pupils鈥. The chain 鈥渉as reviewed the way it supports the school and will be putting into action our plans for improvement鈥. Responding to Hurn, the DfE stressed special consideration is only used when something happens at the time of an assessment. It is 鈥渘ot possible鈥 to make other changes 鈥渢o address the impact of variable disruption to teaching for some groups of pupils鈥. 鈥淎longside Ofqual we have worked with awarding organisations to help facilitate discussions with affected schools,鈥 a department spokesperson added. 鈥淲e have asked awarding organisations to, where possible, agree longer extensions for coursework and non-examined assessment.鈥