Shivering pupils pictured huddled around electric heater in icy classroom

Shivering schoolchildren are pictured huddled around an electric heater in a freezing classroom.

In these alarming photos, pupils are seen crowded around the cheap electrical device desperate for warmth.

Parents claim the school’s heating went on the blink two months ago and now an investigation has been launched.

One photo – taken at a school in one of Scotland’s poshest suburbs – shows five pupils wearing jumpers and jackets as they try to work around the heater in a temporary classroom, the Daily Record reports.

A parent who has pupils at the school, which we have not named, said: “It is like something out of Charles Dickens .

“You can see five lucky kids who got to sit beside the heater and they still have their coats on.

“There was a problem with the school thermostat two months ago and the heating boiler now doesn’t work at all.

“The classrooms have been set up in portable cabins outside which do not have working heating.

“The children wear jackets during class. The paint on the ceiling is peeling and falls on the desks during lessons.”

Parents at the school in the East Dunbartonshire Council area are fearful that the conditions are making children ill.

The parent added: “There are children with asthma and other conditions and this is affecting their health.”

Ann Davie, depute chief executive of education, people and business at the council, confirmed the photos were taken last week when it was discovered that there was no heating in the school’s temporary classrooms.

She said: “Engineers were called when the problem could not be resolved immediately.

“At 10am, the children were moved to the main building which was warm and unaffected by the heating problems. They remained warm for the rest of the day.

“The council’s property team work closely with the heating contractor and we are aware of other recent problems with the heating. As a result, a new heating system will be installed.

“The health and safety of pupils and staff is paramount and I’d like to assure parents and carers that at no time are children being educated in an unsafe environment.”

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