The parent council has been encouraged by support from Mary Scanlon of the Conservatives and Rob Gibson of the SNP, who were given a tour of the school on Friday.

Mrs Scanlon said she was shocked by the conditions at Wick High and vowed to "keep the pressure up" on the Scottish Government and Highland Council to take action.

Mr Gibson, meanwhile, commended the parent council members on their campaigning efforts and pledged to back them "all the way" to find a solution.

The bid for a new high school – or a complete refurbishment – to replace the present buildings has been gathering pace since a dossier of dilapidation was presented by the parent council to an audience of staff, parents and Lib Dem MSP Jamie Stone at the beginning of the month.

The school was slammed at the meeting as a "depressing dump", while Mr Stone claimed it was the worst in his Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency. The parent council's document can be accessed here.

After Friday's tour Mrs Scanlon said she intended to write to the schools and skills minister, Maureen Watt, to find out how bad conditions have to be before schools can be condemned. And the Tory MSP has undertaken to contact the Highland Council convener, Sandy Park, and Caithness councillors to express her concern and urge that action be taken.

The damning parent council report, also presented to Mrs Scanlon, lists a catalogue of defects at the school: rusted radiators and rotten window frames; peeling paintwork and damp patches on walls; cramped classrooms with no storage space or provision for modern equipment; an antiquated boiler which causes repeated disruption; damaged ceilings throughout; water leaks; external cladding falling off buildings; persistent diesel fumes; an "alarming" crack underneath a stairwell; and a lack of social areas, IT and toilet facilities – three toilets to serve 800 pupils.

"There are many schools in Highland in desperate need of maintenance or replacement but I can honestly say that I've never seen such bad structural cracks or dampness," Mrs Scanlon commented.

"The Highland Council has a duty of care to all pupils and staff, and it must provide a building which is fit for purpose. There's no doubt that the maintenance of the school has been neglected for years and the question now is whether the damage is so bad that it has to be replaced."

Mrs Scanlon continued: "If this school is deemed to be unsafe or not fit for purpose then the Government or the council simply has to find the money. They have a statutory obligation to provide secondary education in Wick and it is for them to provide suitable accommodation in order to educate people here."

The MSP was also anxious about the presence of asbestos in some of the school buildings and worried about the health effects that dampness could have on asthma sufferers.

Mrs Scanlon warned the parent council members, however, that they could be in for a lengthy fight and drew parallels with the successful campaign to retain the consultant-led maternity service in the town.

"There's only one way to get anything and that is to campaign," she said. "No government of any colour likes to be embarrassed. Likewise, no council likes to be embarrassed and shamed... You've got to keep campaigning, that's the only way forward."

Mrs Scanlon advised the parent council to send a copy of its report to the cabinet secretary for education, Fiona Hyslop.

Speaking after the visit, Rob Gibson applauded the campaign and said that a serious estimate of the cost of essential repairs – to make the school buildings wind and watertight – must be carried out.

He said this week that a further review is needed to find out how much money it would take to make Wick High fit for use in the 21st century, adding that he had already taken steps to contact local councillor Bill Fernie, chairman of the Highland Council's education, culture and sport committee, to seek new ways of raising the capital.

Visiting MSPs Rob Gibson and Mary Scanlon inspect part of Wick High during their tour of the school buildings on Friday. Louise Bain

Mr Gibson has also called for a probe into previous maintenance work carried out at the school, adding: "How could they [contractors] leave the place looking like it was under construction?"

The SNP MSP also believes that a direct comparison is needed with other schools in the Highlands to find out why Wick High has not been seen as a priority.

In a letter to Jamie Stone, the Highland Council's director of education, culture and sport, Hugh Fraser, confirmed there is no provision for a new school in the local authority's plans. The school was included in a refurbishment programme in which Thurso High had first priority, followed by two Nairn schools, Plockton High and then Wick.

Following the MSPs' visit on Friday, parent council vice-chairwoman Julie MacKinnon said she was encouraged by their support for the campaign.

She said: "We've got off to a really good start and hopefully it will continue. I think [the visit] will give them an idea first-hand of what the kids have to put up with rather than looking at pictures. When you actually see it in front of you, it gives you a totally different idea of how bad it is."

Ms MacKinnon added that although the campaign was in the "early stages" the group's focus had turned to an open evening at the school on April 22. The event is being held for the parents and guardians of the school's 800 pupils so they can see for themselves the extent to which the building has deteriorated.

Some campaign supporters have declared that the best option would be to demolish the school and build a new one.

Rector Alister Traill has admitted he "cringes with embarrassment" every time he welcomes visitors to Wick High.

Meanwhile, an online petition posted last week in a bid to enlist worldwide support from former pupils and other concerned individuals had received 229 responses by the time the Courier went to press last night.

Comments from those who have added their names to the petition include one from Dianne Risbridger who believes that pupils' academic success in Wick has come in spite of their environment and not as a result of it.

She writes: "Our children are the future. Instead of encouraging and supporting their progress and development, we are expecting them to reach their potential whilst working in such a disadvantaged setting. Wick High School was once a prestigious building and could be again – as a new build. This would spell a new future for the pupils and give them hope."

Another, Raymond Cooper, describes the school as a "disaster zone", while former pupil Lesley Fraser says she is concerned that an important part of the community is in such a state of neglect. "I am convinced that funds should be made available to address the problems," she adds.

The plight of the school has been raised in the Scottish Parliament by Jamie Stone, who has urged First Minister Alex Salmond to intervene.

e.mackay@nosn.co.uk

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