Harris Academy Parent Council

Last night I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Harris Academy Parent Council.  This was an important meeting because it was the first after the school had moved back to the Perth Road and also the first after the closure of Menzieshill High School.

Any new building would suffer from teething problems and there are a few at Harris Academy, there are issues about heat in some of the rooms for example.  The council is looking at solutions to these.  I will be keeping a close eye on the actions of the council, because whilst teething problems are inevitable they also cannot get in the way of the education of the young people at Harris Academy.

There are some travel issues, one of which is the perennial issue of people's behaviour outside of schools.  Parents, carers and others picking up pupils need to act in a responsible and safe manner.  This is true at Harris, just as it is at St John's and at Blackness Primary and at Victoria Park, St Joseph's and Balgayhill. There are some issues around buses and I have raised these with the bus company and with council officers.

I want to congratulate the office-bearers of the Parent Council on their re-election last night and also point out that they have done a marvelous job in recent weeks visiting the school on a regular basis to see for themselves what is happening.  Staff have been putting in a huge effort to make the opening of the new building a success as well.

If any parents or pupils have any issues which they think can't be solved by the school I am happy to hear from them.

We all know that there will be issues around the new school but I am keen to work with parents, pupils and the school to make the new Harris a success.