Braeview Academy will be closed to pupils on Wednesday morning following a massive overnight fire which has devastated the building.
The full extent of the damage is as yet unknown, but head of the council’s education department Paul Clancy has described it as extensive.
Firefighters fought flames well into Wednesday morning and a tight police cordon was put in place on Berwick Drive.
Devastating news that, due to fire damage, the school will be closed to all staff and pupils on Wednesday. Information will be communicated to staff, parents and carers, as it becomes available. Please keep tuned to social media and local radio for updates.
— Braeview Academy (@BraeviewAcademy) September 12, 2018
Teachers will hold a meeting early on Wednesday morning to put in place contingency plans designed for when serious events like Tueday’s fire happen.
Mr Clancy said making sure pupils could get back into a classroom was his and the council’s top priority.
He said: “The damage from the fire is extensive. We will need to have a full assessment once the police and the fire service are finished but there is extensive damage to the building which is very sad.
“The main thing for us now is to make sure the pupils’ education doesn’t suffer in any way.
“We do have contingency plans in place in the event of fires and incidents like this, so we will meet tomorrow with staff, the head teacher Lesley Elder and other colleagues in the council to put these plans into place.
“Our hope would be to have children back into a school building very shortly and we will be keeping parents informed about that. Our main priority is to have the children back in a building and have them fully educated.
“This will affect the local community, pupils, staff and even former pupils, they will all be feeling pretty sore tonight about seeing the school like this.
“Braeview is a really strong community school with a lot of good feeling and a lot of good will towards it. It has educated many people over the years, so there will be a lot of people very sad about what has happened.
“We will work very closely with all our partners to make sure these pupils’ education does not suffer as a result of this.”
