Leak leaves students 'dancing round buckets' - union

Union leaders claimed there were potentially health and safety risk for students and staff

Students at a performing arts school have been forced to dance around buckets due to a leaking roof, a union has said.

The National Education Union said there were also mouldy carpets and walls at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) sixth form college.

It said it was balloting members over possible strike action as poor management at the school had also led to teachers facing "excessive workloads".

The LIPA Multi-academy Trust said it was working to address the concerns raised.

The union said there were security and health concerns at both LIPA's sixth form college and its associated primary and high school.

It added that safety failures "could potentially harm staff and pupils".

'Risks'

Regional officer Bora Oktas said the "imminent harm" to the school's population "cannot be overstated".

He said the lack of a caretaker or security meant the issues faced were "massive".

"The leaking roof forces students to dance around buckets, and mouldy carpets and walls pose risks to both staff and pupils, potentially leading to respiratory illnesses," he added.

The union said an indicative ballot 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 a year for the 250 higher education places it has on offer and former students include singer Sandi Thom, rock band The Wombats, actresses Liz White and Rachel Leskovac and dancer Thomas Carsley.

A spokesperson for the LIPA Multi-academy Trust said: "We are already working to address the concerns raised and are confident that any outstanding issues will be promptly resolved."