Harlaw Academy problems should have been tackled years ago

I was shocked and disappointed to read about the latest report by school inspectors on Aberdeen’s Harlaw Academy.

If that was my reaction, I can only imagine the feelings of parents and pupils there. The first, damning report by inspectors came in 2019.

Now it’s been discovered there have been very few improvements since then. That’s a scandalous situation which should never have been allowed to drag on for so long. Much of the blame for the ongoing “weak’ schooling has been laid at the feet of the now departed head teacher, Ross McLaren, an acting head, Stuart Craig, having been helicoptered in.

What an appalling situation for any school, let alone one with such a proud history both as the old High School For Girls and the later comprehensive, is stunning granite building in line for an £8.6million facelift next summer.

Harlaw students deserve the best possible education the city council can provide, not so many years in a wilderness of failings,

Mr McLaren took over in 2020 with a mission to turn around the fortunes of the secondary and bring it up to acceptable standards.

Why on earth wasn’t it until June this year that the inspectors discovered so little progress had been made, the school and its ill-fated pupils continuing to languish?

During those four years, why did no one in the education department identify the lack of progress, ongoing teaching problems, low morale and Mr McLaren’s weaknesses?

One of his failings was apparently lack of communication. The same can obviously be said for those who were supposed to be overseeing his work and standards at the school.

The quality of a secondary is one of the most decisive things in shaping the lives of our young people. It is heartbreaking and deeply concerning to discover so many have been so badly let down at Harlaw for so long.

Moreen Simpson is a former assistant editor of the Evening Express and The Press and Journal and started her journalism career in 1970.