Parent power was to the fore when a group of mothers and fathers banded together to clean up the grounds of a Caithness school a day before the start of the new term – because Highland Council failed to do so.
Residents in Keiss picked up shovels and used power washers to rid the area of overgrown moss, weeds and grass on Monday.
Stone slabs which had broken off from a crumbling wall around the school also had to be cleared away, and one parent used wood chippings to fill in two gaping holes left exposed after the recent installation of a new entrance gate.
It is understood the council was alerted to the issues on Monday morning and that a team of grass cutters showed up just after the 30 villagers- including schoolchildren – had finished their work.
Council workers have since filled in the holes with cement.
Chairwoman of Sinclair Bay community council Kimberley Spiers, whose four-year-old daughter Aurora started primary one yesterday, said that the villagers put in about 120 man hours as they mucked in between 10am and 2pm on Monday.
The 25-year-old said: “It’s the last thing you want to do on the last day of the holidays. It’s just a shame and it’s embarrassing. It’s the council’s responsibility to maintain schools and we pay our taxes.
“There were a lot of kids there helping out. It showed the amazing pride that they have in their school and the fact they wanted to help and make their school presentable. I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who was there and helped out and pitched in”.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “The council does have arrangements in place for ground maintenance through the use of contractors and school janitorial staff. The council is looking into concerns raised by parents in relation to ground maintenance at Keiss Primary School. In allocating resources for maintenance of schools, the council takes account of need across the entire school estate, urban and rural.”
