April 28, 2014: London: A Sikh school in Britain has reassured its students and their parents that its premises are completely safe after it was claimed that the school was constructed on contaminated soil, media reported on Monday.
Diggers at the Khalsa Secondary School, a free school in Stoke Poges in southeast Britain, were reportedly found to be taking up turf of contaminated soil during re-development work on the premises, the Trinity Mirror reported on Monday.
It has been claimed by the nearby local village residents that the site is a possible threat to pupils and staff as the soil is severely contaminated.
The school site used to house the Fulmer Research Institute, which opened in the 1950s. It tested types of metals as well as asbestos, cosmetic emulsions and glass, before closing down in the early 1990s for its premises to become offices.
The Department for Education, principal Rose Codling and chairman of Slough Sikh Education Trust, Nick Singh Kandola released a statement on the school's website last week to allay parents' fears, the report stated.
The Department of Education said it was not unusual to find contaminants in soil and it was decided to remove the soil from the site as a "precautionary" measure.
It added that it wanted to reassure people that there was no disruption to students education and no children were put at risk.
Vice chairman of Stoke Poges Parish Council, Saera Carter, said: "Why do the digging now when the children have been there all this time? I just do not understand it."
An application for the Khalsa Secondary Academy to stay at its Stoke Poges home beyond its permitted one-year agreement, which runs out in September, was rejected by South Bucks District Council in January.
Free schools were introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government making it possible for parents, teachers, charities and businesses to set up their own schools. These are an extension of the existing academies programme.
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Ref: Rumours and media surrounding contaminated soil Dear Staff, Parents and Pupils I am writing with reference to certain rumours on social media spread by the anti-school campaigners opposing the school, as well as a recent article in the Slough Express about “contaminated” soil at the Khalsa Secondary Academy. Prior to the purchase of Pioneer House last year, the DFE carried out soil checks for any contamination because they knew this was the former site of a research institute. The conclusion of these checks by specialists was that there were “very low levels of contamination” that it was not unusual to find this level of contamination in soil in similar sites up and down the country, both in former industrial areas as well as some residential areas. Despite this, we asked the DFE for reassurance around the safety of the site for both pupils and adults and they issued the following statement: “On the specific issue about the safety of Pioneer House: I can confirm that the Department conducted appropriate and detailed environmental site investigations at Pioneer House to inform the decision about whether to acquire it or not. The results of the investigations did not raise concerns about the safety of the site, hence the decision to acquire it. As you know, the safety of children is of paramount importance to the Department and we would not have acquired Pioneer House if there was any evidence that it would be unsafe for use”. We were therefore reassured and continue to be reassured that there is no risk to the safety of the pupils or staff at the school. However, despite this reassurance we wanted to remove all areas identified no matter how slight by carrying out the removal of some small areas of soil as a precautionary measure. Yesterday, the DFE have also issued the following statement: “While specialists have advised that it is not unusual to find contaminants in soil, as an extra precautionary measure work was carried out to remove identified soil in affected areas from the site over the Easter holidays. This meant that there was no disruption to pupils’ education and no children were put at risk at any point.” If any parent needs any further reassurance please contact us directly. Yours sincerely, Nick Singh Kandola ... Rose Codling Slough Sikh Education Trust Khalsa Secondary Academy |