School sports hall reopens after structural safety scare

A school sports hall, which was closed amid safety fears, has now reopened.

The hall at the £12 million Community School of Auchterarder was shut in January by Perth and Kinross Council after an inspection raised concerns about a potentially serious structural fault.

The closure meant that pupils were forced to take PE lessons outdoors, while sports clubs, including the Auchterarder Gymnastics Club, had to stop using the venue.

By the end of January, the gym section of the building was partially reopened.

Yesterday, a local authority spokeswoman confirmed that the block was back in full working order.

She said: “The block was closed as a precautionary measure to allow structural investigation and initial remedial works to be carried out.

“We have received confirmation from the structural engineers that the building can be safely reoccupied. Work will need to be carried out on the block in future but timescales for this are not yet confirmed.

“We will update users as soon as arrangements for the future works are confirmed.”