The swimming pool at a brand new £36m secondary school in Aberdeenshire will remain out of bounds to pupils today due to concerns over water quality.
Youngsters starting their new term at Ellon Academy Community Campus will also be advised not to use drinking fountains or the showers given the “technical issue”.
The pool will remain “closed until further notice” after contractors spotted the fault with its cleaning system on Monday.
Bottled water will be issued to pupils given that separate tests on the school’s drinking and showering water are not yet complete.
A council spokesman said last night they had hoped the tests would be completed in time for the new school’s opening but there had been delays.
The new campus replaces the aging Ellon Academy on Schoolhill Road.
Arrangements are being made for the existing pool at Schoolhill Road to remain open until the new pool can finally take both pupils and residents who can use the baths when not booked by the school.
Allan Whyte, head of property at Aberdeenshire Council, said: “While this is clearly disappointing news, we cannot allow the pool to be used until this technical issue is resolved.
“We made sure to keep the existing pool in operational condition in case of any issue that would prevent the new pool opening which means we’ll be able to honour all swimming lessons that have been booked.
“While it is frustrating that we can’t yet open Aberdeenshire’s newest swimming pool at this time, we are doing all we can to minimise the impact of this and make sure that the new facility can be enjoyed as soon as possible.
“We apologise for the disruption and would thank all users of the campus for their patience in the meantime.”
Ellon and district councillor Rob Merson said that mistakes on the multi-million pound infrastructure project were “bound to happen”.
He said: “While this is obviously slightly disappointing but the project has developed so well you’d expect some hiccups.
“I would rather the contractors were 100% sure that everything in the building was safe before we have people using them.
“I think the new campus will be a first class facility and an excellent place for learning.”