Pupil sues Castlebay School over teaching chaos 29/11/10
A Barra teenager is suing Castlebay School and Western Isles Council for £50,000 for allegedly making her fail her Higher English exam.
Marion Macleod says the islands’ education officials failed to provide enough teachers at Castlebay secondary to ensure her class was adequately prepared for the exam.
The 17-
There was a shock 82% failure rate in English Higher at the school with only two students out of 11 passing the crucial exam this summer.
Cameron Fyfe of Glasgow solicitors Ross Harper is preparing legal documentation which will be served on the council shortly.
The local authority will have the option of paying compensation to settle out of court. If not, the council faces a high profile battle through the law courts.
Ms Macleod embarked on the legal action after applying to colleges which turned her down for courses because she did not pass Higher English.
She gained qualifications in Gaelic, PE and geography Highers but discovered that
English was a virtually a pre-
Ms Macleod is currently working in a hotel in Fort William.
Her mother Sandra told Hebrides News that the legal action follows the controversial turmoil earlier this year when students went on strike.
Parental also campaigned against the crisis amid protests and community concern over the third consecutive critical inspection report about the main school on Barra.
The Parent Council previously called on the Scottish Government to intervene.
Parents also imposed a vote of no confidence against Western Isles Council over the issue.
In the latest damning inspection report HM Inspector Elisabeth Ritchie warned pupils were being let down by teachers stressing: “Standards of reading, writing and mathematics by the end of S2 have fallen.”
The report highlighted that progress in implementing the new Curriculum for Excellence was slow; primary pupils were being let down in writing and mathematics; secondary students were not being taught English properly: too many pupils dropped out of subjects; many were told to sit qualifications below the level they should have been at; and teaching was too slow and failed to stretch pupils.
The council previously admitted there were problems at the school at the time.
But, in the run up to the exams, students were banned from using school computers to post online complaints about the school during periods their lessons were cancelled.
Today a council spokesman said: “Qualified English staff were in place throughout the academic year.
“The council is aware there may be a legal action and, in light of this, declines to make any further comment at this stage.”