RIBA's report, ‘Building a better Britain’, warns that as well as filling schools to the ‘brim’ because of a shortage of places, a significant number of the country's 29,000 schools are in poor condition, and insufficiently maintained.
In March, the National Audit Office estimated that 240,000 new primary school places will be needed by September to meet increased demand.
The architects say that the estimated £8.5 billion backlog of repairs needed for existing schools is creating poor teaching and learning conditions and potentially exposing children and staff to health risks, including asbestos, which according to Government figures is thought to be in more than 75 per cent of schools.
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