On Tuesday morning the winners of the S.3 Youth Philanthropy Initiative project (sponsored by the Wood Foundation) were sitting in the HT office waiting for the arrival of the Northern Scot reporter.  One of the girls turned to the local councillor, who had been a judge for the competition, and innocently asked “When will the building work be starting?”  Neither the councillor nor I could give a straight answer.  However, it was good to see the excitement and sense of anticipation as the pupils started talking about their hopes.

On Thursday there was a meeting between school and Balfour Beatty staff.  The topic was again educational projects that can take place during the construction period.  This is not the first time we have talked about this.  However, there was a sense that these issues needed to be discussed with greater urgency since they might soon be real.  Lying on the table were some designs by Art students that might be included on the hoardings around the site.  These certainly added to the reality.  Hopefully, it will not be long before I can go back to the pupils, parents and staff with a definite answer to the innocent question.