More pupil chaos as another PFI school is forced to close

YET more parents are facing chaos next week as another PFI school in Scotland is closed over safety fears.

Some families with children at Balfron High School in Stirlingshire will be forced to find childcare for five days after issues were found with the walls of a stairwell and gym and the school atrium.

It follows a PFI scandal in Edinburgh, which saw 17 schools closed and 4,000 pupils facing journeys of up to an hour to makeshift classrooms across the city.

The Edinburgh crisis sparked school investigations across Scotland, which uncovered the issues at Balfron High.

The school will remain closed for S1 to S3 pupils until Friday, with the council trying to find alternative accommodation.

But it comes at the worst time for S4 to S6 pupils, who are set to sit their exams next week and will be found space in alternative parts of the school until the repairs are finished.

Balfron High, which was forced to shut during Storm Gertrude in January after parts of its walls blew down, was built in 2001 under a private finance initiative (PFI) project.

Stirling Council said the first wave of problems found at the school were expected within a 15-year-old building and were not thought likely to be down to bad building practices.

A parent whose children attend the school said: ‘A wall fell down at the back of the school several weeks ago. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the latest closure. It is a worry if children have been going to a school which is not safe.’

The first problems with Balfron High were found last month. Ian Muirhead, SNP councillor for Forth and Endrick, described the situation at the time as ‘extremely worrying’ and a mess left behind from the ‘toxic PFI legacy’.

Bellrock Property and Facilities Management, which reportedly runs the school’s PFI contract and facilities, could not be reached for comment last night.

A Stirling Council spokesman said: ‘The school will be closed to allow repairs to be carried out and S4 to S6 pupils who are scheduled to sit their SQA exams next week will sit these in alternative areas of the school that are unaffected.

‘Our priority is to minimise disruption and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our pupils and staff.’

Argyll and Bute Council has also ordered urgent repairs to two of its schools built with private cash, and safety checks on three others.