Leak makes students ‘dance around buckets’

The union says art school students were forced to dance around buckets because of a leaking roof.

The National Education Association said moldy carpets and walls were found in the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) sixth form school.

She stated that she was voting on possible strike action because poor school management had also led to teachers having to face an “excessive workload”.

LIPA has been contacted for comment.

The union said there were safety and health concerns at both LIPA’s sixth form school and its associated primary and secondary school.

She added that safety failures “have the potential to harm staff and students.”

“Risk”

Regional official Bora Oktas said the “direct harm” to the school’s population “cannot be overstated.”

He said the lack of a caregiver or security meant the problems facing him were “enormous”.

“A leaking roof forces students to dance around buckets, and moldy carpets and walls pose a risk to both staff and students, potentially leading to respiratory illnesses,” he added.

The union said an indicative vote would take place later in the week, ahead of any potential industrial action in mid-October.

The sixth form is on the same campus as LIPA, the performing arts institute founded by Sir Paul McCartney in 1995.

It attracts more than 3,000 applications each year for the 250 higher education places on offer, and its former students include singer Sandi Thom, rock band The Wombats, actresses Liz White and Rachel Leskovac and dancer Thomas Carsley.

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