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IN FULL: The letter pupils sent education minister about concerns over ‘damp’ school

John Swinney
John Swinney

Pupils sent a letter to Scottish education minister John Swinney outlining their concerns about the “state of Broadford Primary School”.

In it they say: “We think the building needs replacing. One of the worst things is the damp. There are lots of damp patches around school.

“In some places it rains in as well. There are quite a few people who have asthma which is made worse by the damp. They have found that their asthma isn’t as bad in the holidays.

“Some people have developed asthma since moving to this school and some people’s asthma has gone since they left to go to high school.

“In addition we believe the ceiling has asbestos which may also contribute to asthma and other breathing and lung conditions like asbestosis.

“As the school is constantly in need of fixing there is a lot of maintenance work going on all the time which can be very disruptive and makes us more worried that the asbestos will be disturbed and we’ll have health problems.

“Also, because of the state of the external doors which don’t close properly, they can’t lock which means safety issues for pupils. People come into the school who shouldn’t be there and pupils could also get out of the school.

“We don’t think the school is good for people with disabilities as there are steps at most of the doors.

“If someone was to come to our school in a wheelchair we don’t know if they would be able to get around the school or through the doors into classrooms and into the toilets.

“There is a problem with the water at the school. It isn’t drinkable so we can not clean our teeth after lunch.

“The heaters in the classrooms are very loud and so the classes don’t have them on as it would distract them. The rooms are cold without heaters they’re not insulated well, so the classes have to plug in heaters.

“So as you can see there are lots of problems with our school.

“We would like a hall/canteen which is big enough for us all to be in together and the school doesn’t feel like two different schools, one for Gaelic medium and one for English medium. This is important for us all to feel part of the same school.

“We would like a gym that has gym equipment on the walls for us to use and changing rooms that are big enough for us all.

“Living so remotely we think it’s super important to have access to these facilities as there are so few facilities in the community for us to use.

“We are proud to be pupils of Broadford School but we want a school we can be proud of too and not one that makes us worry about our health, our safety and feeling left out or like they’re not being included.

“We would very much like you to come and meet with us and some parents. Kind regards Broadford Pupil Council.”