A Durham school where pupils are still being taught in temporary classrooms nearly five months after the RAAC scandal broke has been told that allowances will not be made for its GCSE and A-level students. 

St Leonard's, in Durham, has been dubbed the secondary school "most affected" by the crumbling concrete crisis, as students are still learning in cold buildings across multiple sites, with limited hot food, desk space, specialist equipment, SEND provision, and one to one support. 

Now, after 18 weeks of disruption, Department of Education (DfE) officials have told the school that their students will not receive any exam dispensations, despite education experts advising that as much as a 10 per cent exam boost. 

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Students and parents have spoken out about the stress being caused by exam uncertainty - saying they "feel abandoned" by the government, and that "morale is at an all-time low". 

The Bishop Wilkinson trust's chief executive, Nick Hurn OBE, said the DfE was "refusing to accept the facts" about the "relentless nature of the disruption", and local MP Mary Kelly Foy said, "this isn't over - tomorrow we go again."

Mr Hurn, Ms Kelly Foy, and Kevan Jones MP attended a meeting with ministers Damian Hinds and Barroness Barran last Wednesday (January 24). 

Mr Hurn OBE said: "At the meeting Mary Kelly Foy MP and I presented, with support from Kevan Jones MP, a wide range of evidence including the impact assessment report from Durham University.

The Northern Echo: Pupils at St Leonard's in Durham have been unable to return to school properly because of RAAC

"We catalogued the relentless nature of the disruption that has occurred for all of our children but particularly those taking exams this summer, since September 2023.

"We argued that anyone who claimed with any objectivity that this has not had a negative impact on the exam chances of the students at the school is refusing to accept the facts."

Although the education ministers emphasised they were "sympathetic" to the situation at St Leonard's, they said that the current exam framework and regulations prevented any possible intervention by the Secretary of State without a change to the law.

This means that the Secretary of State will not direct Ofqual or the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) to make adjustments. 

The Northern Echo: Some students are being taught in pop up classrooms in the school's sports hall.

Mr Hurn OBE said: "We are all bitterly disappointed with this decision, despite our initial hope for additional help from the government outside of the current provision, it is not going to happen.

"The Trust, the school and its staff will continue to do everything humanly possible to help our students catch up the missed time and tuition that has been caused due to the RAAC disruption, through no fault of their own, right up until their exams."

For campaigners hoping to soothe student worries, the fight goes on. Mary Kelly Foy the MP for Durham City, posted on X: "Reflecting on the dreadful meeting with DfE regarding, St Leonard's Durham.

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"For a minister to state "they're in more difficult circumstances than anyone anticipated, then backed by officials, refuse to offer any exam mitigation is incomprehensible.

"This isn't over. Tomorrow we go again."

However, the education trust has said that there were "hopeful parts" of the meeting - such as the assurance that extra funding would be available for extra education support targeted at Year 13, Year 11 and SEND Pupils.