Taxpayers still funding failed £14m school because building is a fire hazard

A multi-million pound school that shut down after none of its pupils passed GCSEs in maths or English will continue to cost the taxpayer money months after it closed, as the building does not meet fire safety standards.

The state-of-the-art Greater Manchester Sustainable Engineering University Technical College (GM UTC) in Oldham was closed by the government over the summer following poor exam results and a failure to recruit enough pupils.

The school cost more than £9m (€10.1m) to set up and a further a further £5m to run – including a one-off £1m set-up grant, £3m in pupil funding and £80,000 in top-up 'pupil premium' cash for poorer students – but closed after three years.

As of January 2016, the school had just 129 pupils, none of whom achieved an A* to C grade in English or maths the previous year.

The building has since been passed onto Oasis Academy to be run as another school. However, it has now been revealed a further £150,000 will still need to be spent in order to make the building safe and to fix structural defects.

According to the Manchester Evening News, an inspection of the building after it closed revealed a string of faults, including missing or damaged fire doors, broken lifts, faulty fire sealants, loose wall panels and malfunctioning electrical and mechanical systems.

Both the Department for Education and Willmott Dixon, the builders given the contract to construct the building, confirmed the school passed all statutory legal sign-off from inspectors and was declared safe to be occupied ahead of its opening in 2014.

Willmott Dixon said it will meet with Oldham council to discuss how the multi-million pound building ended up needing brought up to standards after just three years.

Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham and Royton, has also called for a full government inquiry in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

He told the MEN: "The suggestion that the building did not meet fire safety standards is shocking and parents of young people who attended the school have the right to know who was responsible.

"We have seen in a horrific way that there can be serious consequences when large buildings are not given the full fire protection they need.

"It is vital the government carry out a full investigation and make public its findings, and that those responsible are held to account."

Amanda Chadderton, Oldham council's lead member for education, added: "Oldham council has had to spend over £100,000 fixing defects on a building that cost £9m and is just three years old," she said.

"Clearly this is not acceptable and questions have to be asked of those who were awarded contracts to build and complete this building."

A Department of Education spokesperson said: "Ensuring school buildings are safe is our top priority.

"Both Greater Manchester UTC and Oasis Community Learning Trust had the required certificates to allow the buildings to be occupied.

"The Education Skills Funding Agency and its technical advisors are working with Oasis Community Learning Trust on the outstanding maintenance issues and building defects."