Safety issues have emerged after weakened concrete was discovered at a Medway secondary school.

Holcombe Grammar School in Chatham is the latest to have confirmed the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, known as RAAC.

But the academy in Letchworth Avenue has remained open since pupils returned from the summer break.

A spokesman for The Thinking Schools Academy Trust said: “After RAAC was previously identified in a small number of areas of the school, we took immediate steps to remove the risk and make these safe, which is now the case.

“The work to make safe some sections of the DT block has not yet finished and so, as a precaution and in line with government advice we received, these limited areas will be out of use until the work is completed, which is likely to be half term.

“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and we have received assurances that the school is safe to open as planned next week for the new term.

“Teaching and learning will be unaffected, with those DT food tech lessons which would normally take place in the closed parts of the DT block being replaced with alternative DT lessons until this work is completed.”

Raac was used in the construction of public buildings between the 1950s and 1990s but only has a 30-year lifespan after which it can crumble, causing safety issues.

It has thrown the first weeks of the new term into chaos nationwide as head teachers struggle to relocate pupils into temporary classrooms.

Holcombe, formerly Chatham Grammar School for Boys, moved to its current site in the 1920s but its history goes back as far as 1812.

It changed its name in 2016 ahead of a decision to enrol girls into the sixth form.

A report in a national newspaper said only one in 20 school bodies, including local authorities and trusts, had failed to carry out checks requested by the government.

Libraries and hospitals are among other buildings asked to review the condition of their structures.

TSAT also oversees Rochester Grammar School, the Victory Academy, Chatham, Cedar Children’s Academy, Gordon Children’s Academy and All Faith’s Children’s Academy in Strood.