School security review after city's £50,000 flood bill

Published on Monday 2 June 2008 10:43

AN urgent review of school security has been ordered across the city after the damage caused by a flood at Portobello High was priced at more than £50,000.

Hundreds of children were sent home earlier this month after the flood was discovered on the sixth floor of an eight-storey building, with only senior pupils sitting their exams allowed to remain.

A sink in an art room was deliberately blocked with a sheet of perspex, and the hot water tap turned on sometime over the holiday weekend at the start of May.

Council leaders today revealed that the flood caused widespread damage to light fittings, ceiling tiles and floor coverings over all six floors, as well as damage to physics equipment, books and other teaching materials.

There were no obvious signs of forced entry, and police are still investigating the incident, which is being treated as vandalism.

They are trawling through CCTV footage, but they are hampered by an old system with no fast-forward facility.

Education leader Marilyne MacLaren has ordered a review of janitorial duties in a bid to ensure there is no repeat of the incident at any Edinburgh school.

The 50,000 bill to the council is equivalent to 160 per cent of the average yearly maintenance budget for a high school.

Cllr MacLaren said: "This was an act of vandalism. Cupboards were also kicked in and vandalised in the same room. I will be calling for more janitorial cover, because from either the Friday or Saturday morning until the Tuesday, there had been no patrols at the school. This (review] will look across all schools, because I need to see what's happening."

Cllr MacLaren said the level of damage could have happened at any school in the Capital. However, Mike Robb, vice-chairman of the Portobello parents council, said the design of the building exacerbated the problem.

The school is on the waiting list for replacement, but there is still a lack of funding.

At a full council meeting last week, Mr Robb was joined by parents from Boroughmuir and James Gillespie's high schools in calling for a way forward on the city's 165 million school rebuilding programme.

Mr Robb said: "People are beginning to question just how serious the council treats the education of its young people."

City architect Malcolm Fraser, whose daughter attends Boroughmuir High, added: "We are all very frustrated by the politics of the situation. We don't want to see a scrap (among politicians].

"We are all looking for the city council to move things forward."

Cllr MacLaren said she was committed to all five "wave three" schools – including St John's Primary and St Crispin's Special School – and will present a business case next month.

The Labour group called for local school building trusts to be set up, while the Tories want external funding models such as "pioneer" schools to be investigated.