Student halls of residence across the country are reviewing fire safety because they are clad in the same or similar materials to those used on Grenfell Tower, BuzzFeed News has learned.

Accommodation blocks at Nottingham Trent, Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Edinburgh Napier universities all have similar cladding to that used on Grenfell Tower, where at last 79 people are believed to have died in a fire two weeks ago. Essex University is also testing cladding on one of its halls but says the material is different to Grenfell's.



Some have begun removing cladding already, while others are still conducting tests and checking other fire safety measures. In Nottingham, some students have already been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Grenfell Tower had aluminium cladding with insulation that was combustible. Many student halls are also clad with aluminium and tests are under way to discover which include flammable insulation.

Frightened students worried about the risks involved in staying in their halls have contacted the National Union of Students in the wake of the disaster. The NUS is now calling on the government to check all halls of residents.

The NUS's Shelly Asquith told BuzzFeed News: “Following the tragic disaster at Grenfell Tower, students have contacted us concerned about the safety of their halls of residence. We are demanding the government takes immediate action to ensure all halls are included in fire safety checks.

“This needs to happen urgently to reassure students due to enrol in September. We also call on the government to reverse cuts to the fire service which so many of our members rely on."

Three of seven blocks at Nottingham Trent University’s Byron House halls are clad with the same Reynobond panels that have been blamed for the fire on Grenfell Tower spreading so quickly. The panels have now been pulled for sale worldwide.

In a joint statement, Nottingham Trent University and UPP, which owns and manages the building, said: “The safety of our staff and students is of paramount importance to the University and its accommodation partner UPP. As such, the University and UPP – which owns and manages the Byron House accommodation – initiated an immediate review into the type of materials used on this building.

“This review showed that three of the building’s seven blocks were clad using Reynobond ACM. As a precautionary measure UPP and NTU re-accommodated a small number of remaining students in these blocks into alternative rooms while further tests were carried out to determine the exact version of this product.

“Tests have since shown that these three blocks are clad using Reynobond (PE). In light of this, NTU and UPP are liaising with the fire service as a matter of urgency to agree an appropriate course of action.”



Byron House was opened in 2013 and includes fire alarms and sensors in every room and a 24/7 concierge.