Call on Scottish Government to help Inverness school with 'severe' problems
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The Scottish Government needs to step in and offer additional assistance to a school facing a barrage of maintenance problems a councillors has said.
Charleston Academy has suffered two pest-related incidents in recent months as work is also ongoing to address the presence of unsafe concrete in sections of the building.
The Inverness Courier reported last week how home economics lessons at the 777-pupil school had to be suspended due to an infestation of mice.
That follows a mites problem which forced the school to shut a week early for summer and a reported roof collapse due to flooding during the holiday.
Earlier this year it was also confirmed that, along with Nairn Academy, Charleston was identified as containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
That is the same material the presence of which has led to the closure or partial closure of hundreds of schools across England over the past week. It was widely used in the 1960s and 1970s but is now regarded as unsafe.
The most pressing works were carried out at Charleston during the summer holidays but continue now with pupils in situ, with further work planned for the October break.
Inverness West councillor Alex Graham visited the school last week and said the problems it faced were, in his opinion, "severe".
"The main work being carried out is to support roof panels made from the RAAC – that is extensive work to put in support beams and supports for existing beams," he said.
"The problem is particularly acute in the science rooms on the top floor."
He also detailed a problem with water entering the building through a hole in the roof, an issue he said was continuing when he visited, despite repair work having apparently been carried out.
"Education is most certainly being affected with the school's leadership team obviously moving classes round as needed," said the former Inverness Provost.
"Some classrooms in some areas are out of bounds as the roof is currently unsafe and my own view is that there is substantial disruption of day-to-day working of the school.
"The school staff are doing an heroic job to cope but there is no doubt it is having an impact."
Acknowledging that the council's capital budget for new school building is "stretched" he welcomed the fact that a replacement building for the current Charleston Academy is planned, with a masterplan vision unveiled recently.
However, he said, more needs to be done now.
The council's education committee is due to meet this Thursday and, given the impact on staff work and learning for pupils, he said the situation at Charleston should definitely be on the agenda.
He also said more support should be provided at a national level.
"I would call on the Scottish Government to get involved in this and make funding available so this school can be brought up to standard as soon as possible," he said.
Parent Marion Rennie said of last week's mice infestation: “My heart goes out to the pupils and staff at Charleston Academy over more disruption.
"Highland Council must prioritise Charleston Academy as an immediate new build."
And she added: “Highland Council has a duty of care to children to ensure that if the school has to close, appropriate alternative accommodation is available. Home-schooling is not acceptable, indeed it is damaging to our young people’s wellbeing and academic success.”
Danielle Morrall, taking to social media, was even more blunt. “That disgrace of a place needs bulldozing!!” she said.
A council spokeswoman said yesterday that practical home economics lessons at the school remained "paused" while work is ongoing with pest control and joiners.
She added that nearly all "safety critical works" related to RAAC have either been completed or securely fenced off until completed, with further "non critical" works continuing to be carried out and no recommendation to close buildings was made.
Last week, it was feared that Charleston Academy and Nairn Academy were at risk of closure after the council was forced to shut a whole block of Thurso High School altogether due to RAAC, while NHS Highland found dozens of examples in some of its buildings.
