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Police step up presence after reports of attacks at new Harris Academy

A police car outside the temporary Harris Academy in Lawton Road on Tuesday afternoon.
A police car outside the temporary Harris Academy in Lawton Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Police in Dundee have stepped up patrols outside Harris Academy as they probe an attack on the school’s new site on Lawton Road.

Stones and a drinks can were thrown through an open window into a classroom full of pupils, according to a parent.

Police have since heightened their presence in the area to help avoid further trouble, with squad cars patrolling outside the school this week.

An officer was stationed outside the school as pupils left at the end of the day.

There had been fears of trouble being sparked by Harris Academy’s move from its former premises to the old Rockwell High School, close to St John’s RC High School.

The schools agreed to alter their timetables to try to avoid confrontation between pupils, although there is currently no evidence to suggest pupils from either school were responsible for the attacks.

A police spokesman told The Courier: “The head teacher contacted local officers with concerns about items being thrown through open windows at the Harris Academy.

“Officers will be giving the area passing attention.”

The academy moved over the summer while its Perth Road building is knocked down and rebuilt in a £31 million renovation expected to last three years.

A Harris Academy parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “On Friday afternoon, stones and a drinks can of some sort were thrown into the classroom, which was packed full of pupils at the time.

“An egg was thrown at a closed window and I also heard that a stone was thrown at a Harris school bus,” he added.

The Rockwell High School site, which has been vacant since 1997, is located just minutes from St John’s.

An unnamed parent whose children attend St John’s said they were no longer allowed to go to Nicolls Bakery for their lunch, citing fears that it might lead to conflict between the youngsters, although staff at Nicolls said they had not witnessed any trouble.

A third parent who spoke to the Courier on condition of anonymity suggested that another confrontation had occurred between girls from the schools on Friday morning.

Nevertheless, she added that the academy was striving to make the transition work. She said one example was the severe consequences laid down for pupils who do not return from lunch on time.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council, which manages both schools, said: “Following an incident at the school, police were contacted.”

The temporary site, which offers Harris Academy an all-weather playing pitch and 10 modular classrooms to accommodate the 1,100 pupils, was also occupied for three years by Morgan Academy pupils after its original building burned down in 2001.