Plans for a major refurbishment of Inverness High School have been lodged – just days after a pupil was hurt by a falling glass window.
The local authority has submitted an application to replace the secondary’s windows, upgrade the classroom, rewire the building and put in new lighting and heating.
The move emerged after the school in the Dalneigh area was closed to S1, S2 and S3 pupils for two days this month because glass smashed on a classroom floor when a window fell.
A male S4 pupil was taken to Raigmore Hospital for treatment on Wednesday last week after cutting his foot.
It later emerged that the incident was the second of its kind with the windows in the school this session and, although no pupils were hurt last time, the windows were checked for defects afterwards.
Plans for a revamp have been on the drawing board for years and the new application was lodged last week.
The Art Deco school building opened in 1937, and has had several extensions.
The grade B listed building still had the original steel windows, although a pilot project was carried two years ago to replace four of them.
A budget of £10million has also been set aside by the council to carry out a complete refurbishment of the school by 2019.
The design statement lodged with the application said the windows were “suffering from severe corrosion and distortion”.
Historic Environment Scotland has visited the site to inspect the four windows installed in 2014.
The plans also propose installing a new “learning wall” with storage units, a smart board and overhead projector that would fit the full width of a classroom.
Local councillor Donnie Kerr said: “This has been on the cards for some time now. The problem with the High School is that it’s a listed building.
“I’m pleased to see there is now progress. It has been dragging on for ages.
“The High School is needing some money spent on it. It’s good to see this long overdue application.”
The application would require consent from Scottish ministers.
