Students will return to CedarBridge Academy today for the first time since a mould outbreak shut it down two months ago.

However, five teachers who claim the mould caused them health problems will stay away in the absence of satisfactory proof that the school is safe, according to their lawyer.

A $4 million clean-up operation was sparked after CedarBridge suddenly closed its doors on November 1 due to reports of sickness among staff.

Students were sent to the old Berkeley Institute site for lessons in the run up to Christmas while classrooms were disinfected.

Following a declaration from scientists at the Pan-American Health Organization / World Health Organization that CedarBridge is safe — with the exception of the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium which requires further work — around 100 teachers went back yesterday to prepare for the new school term.

One told The Royal Gazette: “The teachers were happy to be going back.

“ The general feeling was relief that they were no longer at Berkeley. That was stressful because it was crowded and dilapidated.”

But the educator, who did not want her name published, said they found Bermuda’s largest public school in a state of disarray.

“We spent the day trying to find our belongings. Filing cabinets and phones had disappeared along with computers,” she said, explaining that cleaners who moved equipment did not know the right places to return it to.

“I am still looking for my computer and my phone. The rooms were totally stripped. Piles of papers were combined with other people’s papers.”

Asked if this would affect teaching today, she replied: “It’s horrendous. Some people are in better shape than others.”

The teacher said she had not noticed mould problems at the school before it was closed, but welcomed a move by the Ministry to provide a dedicated point of contact for staff and students to register health-related concerns.

A member of the Health Department will now collate information on this to assess the scale of the problem, she said.

The teacher also revealed that new policies have been put in place at CedarBridge to counteract future mould growth in the nine-year-old building.

“They don’t want us to have plants that release moisture into the atmosphere and there are designated places for eating food because the cleaners found evidence of food stuff here and there,” she said.

Although the Academy’s 850-plus students are due to flood back through the gates this morning, Gerald Swan, chairman of the Parent Teacher Student Association, refused to comment on how parents feel about their children returning. However, one mother who has a son at CedarBridge told The Royal Gazette: “I can’t wait until they go back. I think the school is operable and ready.”

While staff and the Ministry of Education reported few absences among CedarBridge staff yesterday, a lawyer representing five female teachers who claim the mould made them ill said they did not return. Paul Harshaw plans to press ahead with claiming compensation from the Government for his clients, two of whom are currently in the US having medical tests. He claimed the Ministry had failed to address the concerns of the teachers who report symptoms including nose and ear infections and respiratory problems.

“My clients are not willing to accept the mere public statement of the Government that the building is safe. My clients have been made ill by that building,” he alleged. Shadow Minister of Health Louise Jackson claimed students had also been made sick by the mould, but their parents could not afford to seek legal advice. She said parents were sending their kids back today “and hoping for the best”.

Education Minister Randy Horton has previously disclosed that CedarBridge principal Kalmar Richards and the school’s board of governors first received a complaint about mould four years ago. Although he could not be reached for comment yesterday, Mr. Horton promised before Christmas that an independent report on the CedarBridge crisis would be completed within weeks.

Mrs. Richards was also unavailable for comment. A Ministry of Education spokesman said she would give a public update along with the Minister tomorrow.