Five schools in south London have been found to contain a potentially dangerous type of concrete that has caused concern due to risk of collapse.

They are just a few examples of the more than 100 schools in England which are facing the possibility of closure due to safety concerns.

The concrete in question is known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), a lightweight building material that was commonly used from the 1950s to the mid-1990s.

Myatt Garden Primary School in Lewisham has been named in the list of schools that have been found to contain Raac, which was released by the Government yesterday.

The Government document states that all pupils at the Myatt Garden Primary School continue to be in face-to-face education either on site or nearby.

In south west London, more than 200 children from Corpus Christi Catholic School in Tulse Hill started their new term at St Martin-in-the-Fields Girls School, around a mile away, on Tuesday, September 5.

Parents were informed that Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils would need to temporarily move away from the school site whilst further assessments for the specific kind of concrete was carried out on its roof.

The parents of pupils at the primary school praised its actions as being “ahead of the curve”.

Children in younger age groups that are taught in the infant area were allowed to remain on site.

A sign for Corpus Christi had been installed at the gates into St Martin where the relocated pupils queued up and entered.

Meanwhile, The Link School secondary site in Beddington has been temporarily closed after this material was found in the school hall.

It is hoped that affected schools are reopened as soon as possible, with The Link School specialist secondary in Beddington aiming to reopen on Monday, September 11.

Cleeve Park School, a 11-18 mixed secondary school in Sidcup, has also been found to have this type of concrete, which poses a potential risk to the safety of the building.

According to the BBC, four classrooms, some admin offices, and the gym will be closed as a result.

St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive in Eltham has also been identified as having this kind of material in the hall, gym, canteen, drama studio, and the boys' and girls' toilets.

The school has announced that the: “school will not be able to use any areas that have RAAC in them, or any rooms below areas affected by RAAC.”

The school is making arrangements to open mobile toilet blocks and hire a marquee to serve as a space for students to eat and prepare food.

The government has not yet released a comprehensive list of all the affected schools, but it is estimated that around 24 schools have been asked to close entirely due to the presence of Raac.

Headteachers are now scrambling to find temporary teaching spaces for their students, while others are resorting to remote learning.

The Department for Education has suggested utilizing nearby schools, community centres, or empty office buildings as temporary substitutes for classrooms in order to minimize disruption.

The government has assured that pandemic-style learning, similar to what was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, should only last for a few days rather than weeks.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that 95 per cent of England's schools were unaffected by the issue, leaving open the possibility that more than a thousand schools could still be impacted.

Downing Street clarified that the total number of affected schools was expected to be in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.

The safety concerns over Raac have caused significant disruptions at the start of the autumn term.

Pupils are now facing the possibility of being taught in temporary classrooms, on different sites, or even being forced into remote lessons.

The government is working to minimize the impact on students and ensure that their education is not significantly disrupted.