At Trentham Academy, a large secondary school in the city, students were forced to wear coats during recent mock GCSE exams after the school’s heating system failed. The swimming pool on site also remains closed and cordoned off with warning signs.

“It was hard to concentrate,” said student Esme. “I couldn’t stop myself from shivering while trying to calm myself down during the exam.”

Trentham is one of 88 schools covered by a PFI contract signed 25 years ago, under which private companies were paid to maintain school buildings in return for long-term profits. The Stoke-on-Trent agreement is among the largest in the UK and one of the first to expire.

A BBC investigation last year raised concerns that the contract would end before major repair work was completed. In the final years of the deal, repairs worth between £24m and £30m were identified, but not all were carried out in time.

Shortly after the contract ended in October, the company responsible, Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd (TSSL), went into liquidation. This left repair work unfinished, contractors unpaid, and the city council facing the cost of resolving outstanding issues.

Earlier, Stoke-on-Trent City Council had pledged £3.5m to ensure schools were left “safe, warm and dry”. However, there has been claims that repair work slowed significantly in the final year, with some jobs marked as completed despite faults remaining.

During a media visit, students preparing for exams were seen struggling to write due to the cold, with some classrooms relying on small electric heaters. “You can’t hold the pencil properly,” said one pupil. Others said lessons had been disrupted, with pupils occasionally sent home when classrooms became too cold.

The school’s swimming pool has been closed since 2022 because of leaks and structural issues. Government funding bids for repairs were rejected, as the PFI contract was expected to resolve the problems before its expiry.

School leaders say repair requests repeatedly went unanswered. Equans, a subcontractor working under TSSL, told that all work costing more than £250 required sign-off from TSSL, delaying even minor repairs.

Government surveys carried out in 2021 and 2024 rated the condition of the schools as “amber/red”, indicating the need for major work. In November, the council warned schools that TSSL was entering liquidation, rendering previous agreements invalid.

The council said it had withheld £8m from TSSL to ensure repairs were completed and was continuing discussions with schools. “We absolutely intend to complete the remaining works,” a spokesperson said.

Council chief executive Jon Rouse acknowledged the situation was unacceptable, describing the contract as heavily weighted in favour of the private sector. “There is a moral and ethical obligation to put this right,” he told the BBC.

Subcontractor Equans said it had completed £6.2m worth of repair work but was still owed £5m by TSSL. Meanwhile, academy leaders across the city have voiced frustration over unfinished work and the long-term impact on school infrastructure.

The full cost of repairing Stoke-on-Trent’s schools remains unclear, leaving uncertainty for pupils, staff and parents alike.