A MONMOUTH A level student claims she has been forced to organise her own mock exams after ongoing school construction works caused them to be cancelled.

Meredith Russell, a Sixth Form student at Monmouth Comprehensive School, says she and fellow students were forced to arrange a room at youth centre The Attik for one of her mock exams when it was cancelled.

18-year-old Meredith says students were told a room would not be available for her A level mocks, and after trying to find a study area in the library she and fellow students were able to use the space at The Attik.

She also claims she was told “not to worry” about the issue as she has already received four unconditional offers for university.

Construction on the brand new £47m Monmouth Comprehensive School began on the same site as the former school last year, but according to Meredith’s father and former mayor of Monmouth Johnanthan, parents were assured the construction works would not affect students’ education.

He claims parents were promised that the building of the new school on the existing site would not affect their education and that there would be ample room with temporary buildings to accommodate all their needs.

However, he says the school has resorted to having A level classes in the canteen which have had to finish early as staff needed to set the room ready for lunch.

He also claims regular classes for all years have been held on the balcony of the sports hall, whilst others have been cancelled as there was no classroom available and PE classes have been held on Chippenham Fields.

“BTEC students in Year 13 have had classes cancelled or teachers have been put into other timetables,” he said, “or if classrooms are available, the study is student-based as there was no teacher available.”

For him, the final straw was when his daughter said she had a revision class cancelled as there was no room available. “The students also had to arrange to use a room at The Attik - the youth centre in town - for one of their mock exams when no classroom was available, aware that a teacher would probably not be allowed to attend to help as it was off campus,” he said.

“When I raised the issue of both stress and workload and lack of leadership for staff over this one exam, the head of sixth did everything she could to help, but every child should be given the opportunity to achieve to their best abilities in exams.

“I feel our young people are being let down and that teaching staff have been placed under incredible stress and professionally compromised.”

Meredith said: “I feel bad for the teachers, I know it’s not their fault, it’s not them, it can’t be their fault as they always try their best.

“My form teacher Miss Bristow is doing so much for me and helping me with my courses, but it’s lack of leadership. It’s frustrating, as it’s my qualifications and I try my best but I’m getting nowhere.

“It’s so clear that if you go to the school that no-one really has an idea of what they are doing.”

The new school is constructed under the 21st Century Schools programme, jointly funded by the Welsh Government and Monmouthshire County Council, and is due to be completed for the start of September 2018. Construction on the school is ongoing, and the main frame consisting entirely of British steel is currently being erected.

Last week Auditor General for Wales Huw Vaughan-Thomas revealed that some buildings under the programme were not meeting standards.

The Welsh Government pledged £1.5bn to build new and refurbish schools across Wales in 2009, and Band A of the programme started in 2014. Mr Vaughan-Thomas’s report said the programme was a step forward from “patching-up” buildings, but added some of the new buildings were not meeting standards.

Monmouthshire’s cabinet member for Children and Young People, Councillor Richard John said: “The 21st Century Schools and Education Programme is not just about bricks and mortar, it’s more than that. It’s also about adding value to the local community and economy through its Community Benefits Programme. Our contracting partner, Interserve Construction PLC, is working together with the council, members of the local community and the school to identify opportunities through the programme which include local projects and apprenticeships as well as training and vocational opportunities.”

When questioned about alleged disruption to exams this year, a spokesperson for Monmouthshire County Council said: “Examinations at our school are conducted in line with the regulations and conditions set out by the Joint Council for Qualifications.

“All students have been provided with information about how the examinations are conducted. This has included information about what students need to do if they have questions about the process of the examinations, or the way in which the examination has been conducted. All students are able to speak with an invigilator during the examination as well as the Examination Officer and Deputy Headteacher, Mr Bird, once the examination has finished. The school is able to communicate any concerns to the Examination Board.

“Prior to the new build and during the build, extensive planning has been carried out with Interserve and Monmouthshire County Council. Certain types of work are not permitted to be carried out during examinations in the leisure centre, construction zones (those close to the leisure centre) are also closed during the period of an examination. Mr Bird, our Deputy Headteacher, attends the start of all exams in the leisure centre with the lead engineer to check sound readings.

“Since 9th May, students have sat collectively over a hundred examinations. This is in the thousands of entries. The school has received very few concerns (fewer than 10) about the examinations during this period. The number of concerns raised is in line with previous years. These concerns range from being too warm, to noise outside of the exam room, from traffic on the dual carriageway, to student movement or noise located with construction. All concerns have been dealt with at the time and the examination board has been informed by the school.

“Please rest assured that wherever examinations are located we will continue to manage and monitor the environment on an exam by exam and daily basis.”