Activated fire alarms spell disruption for exam

ANOTHER exam was disrupted by fire alarms being set off at Montrose Academy.

The school was evacuated twice yesterday afternoon – first as senior pupils were about to start their English exam then during the crucial test.

A week earlier a Higher modern studies exam was interrupted by a false fire alarm activation and the fire service issued a warning about the dangers of such incidents.

The first alarm – believed to have been maliciously activated – sounded at 2.10pm, 20 minutes before the start of the second paper for Advanced Higher English, and the second at 3.05pm, during it.

One teacher at the school, who wished to remain anonymous, told us each time there is a fire alarm it takes around 25 minutes to go through the drill – from getting pupils and staff outside to back into class.

And he warned that pupils’ anxiety about sitting exams over the next three weeks will be heightened by the worry their diets could be disrupted.

He said: “These pupils haven’t sat exams before because of the pandemic, so it makes it even harder for them.

“It will definitely affect their concentration if they are going into an exam worrying that this is going to happen again.”

The teacher claimed staff had been asked to monitor fire alarms between classes when pupils were most likely to try to set them off.

CCTV footage is being examined to try to trace the culprits, he said, but not all alarms are covered by the cameras.

Most pupils are just as fed-up as staff about the repeated false alarms – 10 so far this academic year.