SOME pupils at Droitwich Spa High School are still being asked to stay away from the building while traces of background asbestos are removed.

A letter from headteacher Natalie Waters to parents, apologised for the inconvenience, asking for year 10 students to stay at home on Thursday, May 14 to avoid the main classroom block where traces of background asbestos have been detected, until official exam study leave begins next Monday.

Mrs Waters said: “We have to accept that this block and its 24 classrooms are not going to be available to us for some time. We are also going to be without the front gym, which governors refused to accept for return to normal use, even though a second set of tests showed that the very low level of asbestos on some high window sills had been cleaned successfully.

“At most points in the school year the loss of these facilities would have a severe effect on our work. It is piece of good fortune, however, that A level, AS level and GCSE examinations will soon begin to take large numbers of students away from their normal timetables. This will greatly ease the situation from Monday 18th onwards. From that date we hope we will be able to meet the commitments we have to all students in all year groups.”

She went on to apologise for the disproportionate effect the partial closures have had on pupils in years eight, nine and 10 at the school, adding that they were “asking them to do this so as to protect the work of the year groups about to sit important examinations”.

Classes should return to normal at the school from Monday, May 18.