York All Saints School pupils put at risk by urinating revellers - MP

York MP Rachael Maskell has called on the government to approve a rebuilding bid for All Saints Roman Catholic School

Drunken revellers returning from York Races often put children at an historic city school at risk by urinating in its grounds, an MP has said.

Pupils at All Saints Roman Catholic School also had to endure lessons in stables "not fit for horses", York Central MP Rachael Maskell told a Westminster debate.

She urged the government to approve a rebuilding bid for the school.

A minister said an announcement would be made shortly on successful bids.

Staff at All Saints, founded in 1686 as the Bar Convent Girls School, are currently waiting to see if it has been successful in the next round of the school's rebuilding programme.

The school had struggled to refurbish its estate because its position in a conservation area meant repair costs were much higher in order to meet the required standards, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Too cold, too hot'

The stench in some of the corridors at All Saints "turns your stomach", Ms Maskell told the debate.

The Labour MP described how some of the teaching areas were in "former aircraft hangars" which were "too cold in winter and too hot in summer".

She said children also had to climb "steep steps to the hayloft at the top" for their lessons and they could only spend a few minutes in the dining room at lunch because it was so small.

The debate also heard how the school, which is split across two sites in the city, was accessible to the public, with the upper site being on the route to York Racecourse.

The MP said: "Needless to say, the behaviour of inebriated racegoers does pose a risk as they urinate on the way back to the city through the school premises. Safeguarding risks do need to be taken into account."

In response, the minister for Higher and Further Education, Michelle Donelan, said York Central had received "substantial investment" from the Department for Education to help maintain and improve the condition of school buildings and grounds.

She added that an announcement would be made soon about which schools had "passed the bar in terms of the nomination process" for rebuilding.