A senior staff member at a top north-east school has been forced to apologise following remarks he made to parents and pupils at an end-of-year ceremony.
George Esson, chairman of the board of governors at Albyn School, was addressing the audience during an event at the Music Hall last night.
During his speech looking back on the past year, Mr Esson turned his attention to an Education Scotland report, published yesterday, which warned the school must urgently address child protection issues and its relationship with parents and pupils.
Mr Esson said the organisation’s inspectors were “like mosquitoes who spoil a good holiday”.
The comments caused uproar among some parents in attendance, who have since criticised Mr Esson and the senior management for making a “farce” of the report.
One parent, who did not want to be named, said: “I really think Mr Esson’s comments were abhorrent and many parents feel the same.
“He was basically saying the leading authority in Scottish Education was irrelevant and should be swatted away like annoying little insects – it’s absolutely outrageous they should be identified in this way.”
Another added: “They’re making a farce of the inspectorate, he thinks he’s bigger than the inspection report.”
The school’s head teacher Ian Long also drew the ire of some families in attendance at the upper school event, who claimed he blamed a group of disruptive parents for some of the problems outlined in the report.
Speaking last night, Mr Esson insisted he did not intend to trivialise the report.
He said: “This was meant to be a light hearted and humorous remark. If any parents consider my comments to be inappropriate, I apologise and would be very happy to do so in person.
“As chairman, I can assure all parents that the board and the management take our responsibilities to the whole school community very seriously. I fully support the comments of our headmaster, Dr Long, who said that we will work closely with Education Scotland, staff, parents and pupils to strengthen the areas highlighted within the report, in order to continue to take the school forward.”
Education Scotland declined to comment on Mr Esson’s remarks.