A PFI contract collapse left Stoke schools with uncompleted repairs, cold classrooms, and £24–30M in unpaid work after the contractor went bankrupt.

A 25-year Private Finance Initiative contract ending in October 2025 left Trentham Academy and other Stoke-on-Trent schools with unfinished repairs, including broken heating and a barricaded pool, forcing students to endure cold classrooms during exams. The PFI company, Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd, went into liquidation, leaving the city council responsible for £24–30 million in uncompleted work despite a £3.5 million safety fund. Reports show repair work slowed, with issues marked as fixed without actual resolution, and contractors remained unpaid.