parent council calls for building to be demolished
Invitation to see ‘appalling’ Wick school
Published:
Parents of Wick High School pupils are being invited to see for themselves the “appalling” condition of the building.
The move is the latest in the new campaign being mounted to build a replacement school.
According to the parent council, the building has so many structural problems that it should be condemned.
They include rusting radiators, rotting window frames, leaky pipes, peeling paintwork, a faulty heating system, asbestos issues and a lack of any social areas.
The parent council yesterday sent letters to parents and guardians of the 860 pupils, inviting them to a tour of the school next month.
Parent council chairman Iain Baikie pulls no punches in the letter, which spells out the daily problems being faced by pupils and staff.
He states: “Every part of the school is a disgrace. If you ask your child, they themselves have called it a dump.”
Prof Baikie said fresh problems regularly emerge, with the school swimming pool having been closed earlier last week on health and safety grounds.
He adds: “Engineers’ recommendations in 2004 concerning a crack under the stairwell in the maths block have not been followed up.
“The crack is growing and another one is appearing on the opposite staircase.”
Prof Baikie says that classrooms have remained unaltered since the 60s and 70s, with the canteen and toilets inadequate for the size of the school.
The planned tour is on the evening of April 22.
Highland Council has no plans to replace the school, and it is ranked fifth in the authority’s £1million-a-year refurbishment programme.
