Shetland MSP, Tavish Scott, has urged Shetland Islands Council to end the delays to the new Anderson High School project and to get construction underway. This follows the latest school closure when repairs to burst pipes forced the closure of the school on Friday.

Tavish Scott said, “Many parents have expressed their concerns to me that the project is being allowed to slide while their children’s education is being disrupted by problems like last week’s. As a parent myself, I share their concerns.

“Questions over the site, the design and the funding mechanism have been behind the continuing delays. The Council must address these questions quickly so that work can start on building the new school. The existing buildings are no longer fit for purpose. The longer they have to be kept in use, the more leaks and other problems will disrupt the business of the school. Our children’s education is suffering.

“Even if work was starting on site tomorrow, AHS pupils would be facing several more years in the old school. Every month’s delay in getting the project moving means pupils and teachers having to struggle on for another month in the old school while it crumbles around them.”