TUESDAY 18th JUNE
Pupils who were present in the classroom where the fire started were asked to come into school to be interviewed by Greenwich C.I.D. with Mrs. Randerson present. Thirteen out of seventeen were interviewed between 9am and 1.30pm. A fourth year pupil was cautioned, arrested and taken to Greenwich Police Station by Police Officers. The police contacted the parents concerned as the school was unable to get a reply. A further two pupils were invited to the Police Station later.
The staff met briefly at 8.30am for an update on the current situation. Staff were directed to use the available time for preparation and departmental work. The Maths department set about planning work for the next four weeks taking account of the loss of materials.
Mike Leader visited John Thurley to give him a full briefing on the situation and collect first year reports.
The Staff Health & Safety Committee met at 1.30pm to discuss the implications of the situation, but in view of the lack of definitive information it was agreed to try and convene a site meeting for Wednesday 19th June with Terry Mackie and representatives from the Surveyor’s department, together with Senior Management, Staff Health & Safety reps and the School Keeper.
The Deputy Borough Surveyor came to inspect together with a Loss Adjuster and confirmed the earlier advice to remain closed for the week. Terry Mackie informed us that the Director was unhappy about this and thought that some pupils should be brought in by the end of the week. Staff felt that the logistics of this were not really feasible.
Mr. Walker had asked staff to estimate replacement costs for equipment and has so far received an estimate of £14,000 for the Computer Network. The Surveyor also suggested that we would be lucky to have the block re-opened before Christmas, since the Borough would want to put out tenders of a four week period. In the mean time it should be possible to reopen the rest of the school by Monday with adequate fire exits.
Mr. Leader informed Terry Mackie of the Surveyor’s comments and was told again that the Director felt that there should be some Children returning to school before the end of the week. The SMT and staff felt that this was not possible and planned to re-open on Monday with years 1 and 4 in full-time and years 2 and 3 on a rolling programme. It was possible that up to 13 classrooms would be out of action, mainly in the Vanbrugh Block which would be closed completely. Some adjoining rooms in Science and Gordon might also have to be closed until adequate fire exit arrangements could be made. He also felt that the time scale was too long and agreed to try and sort out the problem. A site meeting was arranged for Wednesday 19th June.