No sprinklers for new schools

TWO schools in Northumberland under construction by the Department for Education will not have sprinkler systems installed due to cost considerations.

- JAMES ROBINSON

Ringway Primary School and Cramlington Learning Village will be the first new build schools in the county not to have sprinkler systems fitted in almost two decades.

More than 90% of schools built in Northumberland since 2007 have sprinkler systems to slow down any fires.

This includes both council-built schools and three DfE schools built in that time.

However, the two newest schools, which are still under construction, were deemed not to meet the criteria for sprinklers. While sprinkler systems are mandatory in Scotland and Wales, in England guidance only recommends them for special schools and buildings with a storey over 11m high. This is only guidance and is not mandatory, and exceptions are allowed via “risk assessment and cost benefit analysis” according to a council report. For new build schools in England from 2015, just 8.5% have been fitted with sprinkler systems.