Pupils who were displaced from their school by the Grenfell Tower fire more than a year ago are to move back to the site at the start of the next academic year, despite opposition from some families who feel it’s too soon to return.

Kensington Aldridge academy’s (KAA) £26m state-of-the-art building has stood empty for more than a year following the fire in June 2017. The school decamped to a temporary site just over a mile away, leaving forensic investigators to work on what remains of the tower block, which looms over the school playground.

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School leaders recognise the move back to the original building in September will be difficult for some pupils who lived in and around the tower where 72 people died. Five of their classmates were among the dead. “For some it could be very hard indeed,” the school acknowledges on its website.

It insists, however, that the site is safe and a return to the building, in Silchester Road in north Kensington, is in the best interests of the students. There will be additional support for those who are struggling with the prospect; acclimatisation visits have been running in the final weeks of term and a number of summer camps are being held at the original school building to ease pupils back in.

KAA opened with great fanfare in 2014 with a visit by the Duchess of Cambridge and was building a strong reputation in its first few years before disaster struck. The school has been rated outstanding by Ofsted, and in September a full complement of 1,200 students is expected to reinhabit the distinctive green panel-clad school in the shadow of the Grenfell Tower.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The school’s principal, David Benson. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

In order to reassure anxious parents, the school has appointed its own independent structural engineer who will have access to all the safety reports related to the site. The school is also promising an independent air quality and asbestos monitoring process, both inside and outside the academy, in addition to the Public Health England monitoring that is already taking place. The temporary school, known as KAA2, will also remain available should it be required at any point.

“Whilst we accept that it can be emotional for some students to return to our original building, and that the tower is very close to our playground, we are confident that we have the resources in place to support all students to make this return home,” the school notes in information for parents on its website.

In order to shield pupils from Grenfell, which is now sheathed in white plastic, they will no longer be required to line up in the playground beneath the tower. The school is also opening up indoor spaces at lunchtime and break, with supervised activities in the sports hall and theatre so pupils don’t need to spend time outside. Window graphics are being added to classrooms that overlook the fire-damaged tower.

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The decision to move back follows a vote by KAA governors earlier in July in favour of a return to Silchester Road after more than 90% of students and parents who took part in a poll supported the move. The chair of governors, Mick May, wrote to reassure parents: “I want to reassure you that the support, counselling and therapy will continue in Silchester Road. As governors, we recognise that a small number of students will have concerns about moving back to Silchester Road. Alongside David Benson, our principal, and all his staff, we are committed to working with every student to ensure they have the right support in place.”

For some students who watched the tower burn, the prospect of moving back is daunting. Grandmother Susan Carter, whose 14-year-old grandson lost a friend in the disaster and is worried about returning, said many in the community thought feelings were still too raw.

“My grandson doesn’t want to go back. It’s too soon. It’s too raw. There are lots of people who are unhappy about it. But the school are doing as they please. They aren’t listening. Some of those kids, their classmates died in the fire. They are still affected by that.”

A spokesman for the school acknowledged not everyone was happy about returning to the original school and that for one or two pupils it might prove impossible. “There has been some opposition. We expected that,” he said, adding that some in the community still found it hard to trust reassurances from the authorities.

“We are working closely with pupils, parents and our support and therapy teams to ensure that those who may request a move are supported. There may be a couple but it is literally a couple.”

Although the tower is expected to be demolished and the site preserved as a memorial to those who died, there are still no definite plans about how or when it will come down.

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The school has sought to reassure parents on a variety of concerns, ranging from the safety of the cladding, which is different and safer that that used on Grenfell, to the presence of asbestos (none has been detected in or around Grenfell) and the overall stability of the devastated tower (a monitoring system is in place which which can detect any movement, even less than 1mm).

The school has also sought to quash rumours about a “Grenfell cough” – a breathing condition purportedly caused by living close to the tower in its current state. “We would like to emphasise that Public Health England have been monitoring the air quality in our playground and around Grenfell for months now and have found no evidence at all that this condition or any breathing difficulties are being caused,” said the spokesman.