SCHOOL governors in Sussex have condemned a leading construction company for failing to deliver on a contract to run a top local secondary school.
Jarvis, the company at the centre of police investigations into the Potters Bar rail crash, is responsible for buildings at Varndean School in Brighton. The company won the contract to run four local schools, including Varndean, under a £105 million private finance initiative (PFI) deal.
But the school governors’ annual report, leaked to The Argus in Brighton (July 31), says that repairs undertaken by Jarvis were “distinctly shoddy”. Problems began last year when the school had to open late after the summer holidays because building work had not been completed.
Relationships between the school, Jarvis and the local council are said to have become bitter and personalised, to the extent that Varndean’s head teacher has pulled out of monthly meetings. The governors’ report says that for some staff members “dealing with Jarvis and the council is not only completely overwhelming but also increasingly demoralising”.
Jarvis told The Argus it had gone beyond its obligations and was working hard to sort out any remaining problems But students at Varndean have joined staff and governors in criticising the construction giant. In an issue of the school newsletter one pupil says that if a window gets broken, teachers have to ask reception to telephone Jarvis for permission to clear away the glass.
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Another Brighton school run by Jarvis under a PFI contract faces closure because it is failing to attract sufficient numbers of pupils.
The closure of East Brighton College of Media Arts, however, could provide a bonus for the company. If the council goes ahead with its closure plans, it will have to pay Jarvis a financial penalty, the size of which will depend on how the college site is subsequently used. But The Argus has suggested that it could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.