Dozens of teachers strike over state of new school building

UP to 40 teachers went on strike this week because they are exasperated at the state of their school building following millions of pounds of refurbishment work. Staff at St Aloysuis College in Hornsey Lane, decided to stage strike action on Tuesday bec

UP to 40 teachers went on strike this week because they are exasperated at the state of their school building following millions of pounds of refurbishment work.

Staff at St Aloysuis' College in Hornsey Lane, decided to stage strike action on Tuesday because they claim work which was carried out as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has left them with a school which is unfit for the present, never mind the future.

Paul McAuley a teacher and governor at the Catholic boys' secondary said: "The school is unfit for purpose in certain subjects including science, DT and art.

"We have our first year of sixth formers starting in September but there's no room for them so they'll have to be taught in temporary accommodation."

According to Mr McAuley, staff have been unable to teach the national curriculum in science because there is no storage room for chemicals and in DT because the desks are dangerously close to machinery. He claims boys have also been unable to have showers after PE because the changing rooms are too small and they have to get changed in the shower area.

A council spokeswoman said: "An independent inspection took place to ensure that St Aloysius met all the relevant health and safety standards before it was handed over to the local authority.

"We have facilitated several meetings between governors and unions and solutions have been offered to address the specific health and safety concerns raised by the unions. The governors are very willing to resolve these matters and we will continue to offer assistance in helping to end this dispute so that any further strike action is avoided and students' education is disrupted as little as possible.