Govanhill school 'left to crumble'

As previously told in the Evening Times, education bosses are at the halfway point of the 4Rs Estate Strategy, which aims to bring every school building in the city up to scratch.

But parents at Holy Cross Primary claim their school building has been dropped to the bottom of the pile.

And they want to see council action speeded up.

Grandmother Rosemary Scott has seen four generations of her family go to the Govanhill school.

Mrs Scott said: "I was up at Holy Cross recently and was horrified to see the inside of that school.

"The windows are boarded up and wouldn't open, the tiles have come off the walls so there's rough, exposed brick showing, the toilet block is a disgrace and the roof is leaking.

"I campaigned to have something done about the windows, so at least those are fixed now, but it is not good enough for our children to be educated in.

"I have emailed local councillors, the head of Education Services and Gordon Matheson but have heard nothing back so far."

Holy Cross has been identified as a C condition school. Those deemed D condition are said to be in the worst state and are being repaired first.

It is one of several Glasgow school buildings that have listed status and so any changes must be cleared by Historic Scotland.

There are 17 stages to go through to receive Historic Scotland approval and education bosses said Holy Cross is at stage 11.

In 2012, the council pledged to rebuild or refurbish every primary in the city, making a promise to spend £255m on the 4R's strategy.

This came on top of £550m spent between 2000 and 2012. The project has seen £80m of works completed with a further £9.5m under way.

A further £40m will be spent in year three of the programme.

Mrs Scott said: "I went to that school and I'm 53 now. To be honest, I can't see any improvements since the time I was there.

"The council say that it will be summer next year before any improvements are made but there could be any kind of accident between now and then - the school does not seem safe.

"This is Govanhill though. We never get the money or the investment.

"The council says it is investing this money in doing up all the schools but why were schools allowed to get in this state in the first place?

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: "Holy Cross Primary School building is in need of investment as was identified in our Estates Strategy survey.

"Because of the school’s listed building status the requisite consents are needed before work can begin.

"Holy Cross is due to undergo £1.2m refurbishment in the summer 2016.

"The quality of learning and teaching in this school is in no way being compromised by the current condition of the building and the same high standard of education is being delivered by the staff at Holy Cross."