Forres Academy students are being bussed to Elgin and Lossiemouth for practical subjects due to RAAC in upper floor of their own building
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SENIOR students at a local school are being bussed to neighbouring towns for lessons due to their classrooms being unfit for use.
Forres Academy pupils studying practical subjects have been informed that Lossiemouth High School, Moray College, Elgin High School and Elgin Academy will host the classes for the foreseeable future due to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete in the upper floor.
A Forres Academy spokesperson said: "Our school timetable has been reconfigured to match both subject requirements and available capacity in host schools and Moray College UHI.
"The structure of the school day will change slightly for seniors travelling for practical work."
The school day has been altered for affected students so that trio period blocks are proceeded by a 30 minute lunchtime from Monday to Thursday to provide extra time for travel.
All pupils return by bus to Forres Academy with their class and teacher at the end of lessons in other towns.
Lossiemouth High School is hosting: Biology National 4/5; Biology Higher; Biology National 5; Chemistry National 4/5; Science Tech Higher; and Practical Cookery National classes.
Elgin Academy has: Practical Woodwork National; Applications Science National; Physics Advanced Higher; Furniture Making; Chemistry National 5; Practical Woodwork; and Chemistry Higher.
Moray College is the site for: Biology Higher; Chemistry Advanced Higher; and Chemistry National 5.
And Elgin High School is welcoming Practical Cookery National 4/5 students.
Under the arrangements, a Forres Academy spokesperson admitted there will be a 20 per cent reduction in teaching time for award-bearing practical classes.
The spokesperson said: "Three of the allocated five periods given to a senior phase subject are to be undertaken at a host location for the equivalent of two periods of practical work. One of the five periods has had to be allocated to the travelling time for this to work. Subject teachers are confident that this is a workable option for the stage that courses are at."
She added: "We will look at how we pay back the lost period - this might be from some of the core PE/PSE time or study time a pupil currently has."
