Some parents messaged me last night to express their concern about the standard of the toilets and shower facilities in the boys PE changing area in the sports hall at Woldgate school and sixth form college.

They told me that a number of parents have had serious concerns about the state of the facilities for some time and the current situation is appalling.

Despite several complaints, no improvements have been made but the school said the facilities were regularly checked.

The condition of the sanitary facilities is said to so bad that some pupils don’t use the them anymore and try to limit their drinking intake so they don’t need them. There are reports of no soap, no locks on doors, no doors, no toilet seats. Faecal matter on the floor and walls and it’s been like that for a long time with many complaints made.

During a recent visit two parents claimed the smell of urine hits you as soon as you walk into the area.

Through their newsletters the school regularly assures parents that students’ welfare is very important to them. However, the photographs below which were taken this week suggest otherwise.

For information the new sports block is scheduled to open in March 2026.

In response to my request for a statement the headmaster Mr Sloman said that Woldgate School is aware of the issues surrounding some of the facilities across the site and are working to address these prior to the demolition of the existing building and the opening of the new school.

He went on to say:

“A company has been employed to do a deep clean following the external sports fixtures, and this was already scheduled to happen this week as a priority. The toilet facilities shown were closed off for works but unfortunately doors do get re-opened and, on this occasion, this was not realised by the contractor.

We are currently in a transitional phase of closing parts of the school, reorganising and rescheduling the rota for cleaning and repairs prior to the new build works continuing on site. To improve our policies and procedures we are also investing in further staff training and a new online system for reporting repairs and cleaning during this interim period. With additional monitoring of facilities, we will also deter the small minority who are leaving the facilities in an unusable state for others, during or after school hours.

We have recently recruited an Estates and Compliance Lead who will join us in the new year. Part of their responsibility will be to oversee the transition to the new build and the maintenance of the old site in this short interim period”.