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At Trentham Academy, a sizeable secondary school located in Stoke-on-Trent, pupils faced the challenge of enduring cold temperatures during their mock exams due to a faulty heating system. Meanwhile, the school’s swimming pool remains unusable, cordoned off with danger signs, highlighting ongoing maintenance problems. Esme, a student at the school, described how shivering made it difficult to concentrate during exams, saying, “It was hard to concentrate. I couldn’t stop myself from shivering while I was trying to breathe and to calm myself down while I was trying to do the exam.”
This situation is rooted in a broader issue affecting 88 schools across the area, all of which were maintained as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract entered into by the city council about 25 years ago. Under these contracts, private companies were responsible for building maintenance in exchange for profit generation rights. Stoke-on-Trent’s agreement is one of the largest among approximately 660 similar schemes across the UK, many of which were initiated under a former Labour government. Notably, this particular contract is among the first nationwide to expire.
Concerns about incomplete repairs emerged during a BBC investigation in early 2023, which found that many essential school repairs had not been finished by the contract’s scheduled conclusion. Between £24 million and £30 million worth of work was identified as necessary in the years before the contract’s end in October, but much was left undone. Following the contract termination, the firm responsible, Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd (TSSL), entered liquidation. This development left several repair jobs unfinished, contractors with unpaid bills, and the city council responsible for resolving the fallout. Although TSSL had agreed earlier in the year to “extend its obligations,” this became irrelevant with the company’s insolvency. In response, Stoke-on-Trent City Council announced it would allocate £3.5 million to ensure the schools were left “safe, warm and dry.” However, allegations surfaced that maintenance work slowed considerably in the contract’s final year, with some repairs marked as completed despite remaining unresolved.
During a BBC visit to Trentham Academy, pupils preparing for their science GCSEs were found bundled in multiple layers, including coats, as the heating malfunctioned. Some classrooms continued to rely on portable electric heaters. Students described the impact of the cold environment: Sam said, “You can’t write. You can’t hold the pencil properly,” while Kai added, “It’s simply so cold and no one wants to work.” The school has even had to send students home to learn remotely when classroom temperatures dropped too low. The nearby swimming pool, once used by local primary schools for lessons, remains closed due to leaks and structural problems first noted in 2022. Despite attempts to secure government funding for repairs, funding requests were rejected because the PFI contract was expected to cover all necessary work by October 2025.
Sharon Bates, representing the school trust, explained that repair requests “were stacking up” in the contract’s final year, despite repeated follow-ups. Throughout the contract period, schools paid regular fees to TSSL to manage maintenance and property issues. One of TSSL’s major subcontractors, Equans, operated the contract’s helpdesk but reported that TSSL imposed strict approval requirements on any work costing over £250. This led to delays and repeated chasing of jobs marked as complete without actual repairs being carried out. For example, a water fault at Smallthorne Primary School, initially reported in May 2025, was still unresolved by the contract’s end in October. Documentation showed the problem was logged under several job numbers, but the final approval to complete the repair was never granted by TSSL. Similar situations have affected other schools in the region, compounding concerns about the durability of maintenance following the contract’s collapse
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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