14/05/02 - Evening News

Fettes fits CCTV in security blitz

Brian Ferguson

ONE of Edinburgh's most exclusive schools has announced plans to install closed circuit television in a bid to tighten security.

Fettes College - Prime Minister Tony Blair's former school - is to be fitted with a camera system hidden in Regency-style lamps.

The system, which will be the most up to date at any school in Scotland, will beam pictures directly to laptop computers of senior staff.

Seven cameras, which can home in on any sudden movements, are planned in and around the main school building. All the images will be stored on computer disc.

The technology has been devised by the company which provides the CCTV system for Murrayfield Stadium and has also been snapped up by Telford College.

But the £3797-a-term school, which was rocked by controversy recently when a 17-year-old boy was shot by a fellow pupil in the grounds, has insisted the cameras are not intended to "spy" on pupils.

Head teacher Michael Spens said their installation would be part of an "ongoing review of security".

Security guards have been in place at the school, which topped a recent league for A-level results, for the last two years, although this is the first time CCTV has been employed. Mr Spens said the cameras had not been introduced in the wake of any particular incident, but admitted the school had experienced sporadic problems with intruders.

He added: "Assuming we get permission from the council, we'll be installing seven cameras to cover the main building and the girls' boarding houses.

" Our main concern is obviously intruders and we think this will be a good deterrent.

"The interesting thing about this system is that anyone with special access codes will be able to view images from it through our in-house IT system which we spent £400,000 installing a couple of years ago.

"It means we will be able to see what's going on from any point in the school where we can plug a laptop computer into. We're planning to spend around £20,000 installing seven cameras initially, but the scheme will be extended if it works well.

"They are part of the ongoing review of security we've been carrying out since I arrived here four years ago. The idea is to provide a safe environment for our pupils, it's not about spying on any of them."

Paul Gibson, managing director of Scottish Communication Systems, the security company hired by the school, said no other school in the country was yet equipped with the technology planned at Fettes.

He added: "Since the main building is A-listed, we've had to design special Regency-style lamps which will house the cameras so that they blend in.

"It's very advanced technology and I'd say it'll be the most sophisticated CCTV system at any school in Scotland."

Judith Gillespie, development manager of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: "It certainly seems to be the way forward for schools these days to have closed circuit television cameras installed to cover dark corners but it's very regrettable that these kind of things are necessary."

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said all primary and secondary schools in the local authority area were now equipped with some kind of CCTV system.