Edinburgh schoolgirl killed by collapsed wall dreamed of being PM, says family

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/02/edinburgh-schoolgirl-collapsed-wall-dreamed-being-pm

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The family of a schoolgirl who died when a shower room wall collapsed on her said the 12-year-old dreamed of being prime minister and was looking forward to seeing One Direction in concert.

In a short statement issued through the police, which officially confirmed the name of Keane Wallis-Bennett for the first time, her family said she would be "sadly missed".

It went on: "She was our princess who dreamed of being prime minister. But failing that, a beautician. She loved her girlfriends and her days out shopping with lunches and all things girly. She recently attended her first under-18s disco and loved every second of it and was excited to be going to see One Direction in concert."

Friends said she was a "massive" One Direction fan.

Her parents, Clark Bennett, 47, a chef, and Abbie Ann Wallis, 34, who also works in catering, were too distraught to speak publicly.

As investigations into the accident at Liberton high school, in Edinburgh, on Tuesday continued, its headteacher, Stephen Kelly, said her classmates, fellow pupils and teachers were deeply shocked by the accident.

Keane was killed when a freestanding "modesty wall" in the shower area of the school changing rooms collapsed shortly before 10am on Tuesday morning, leading to emergency checks on similar partition walls in other Edinburgh schools.

Other pupils said the wall was known to be wobbly and had warned staff it was unstable.

The accident is being investigated by Police Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive.

Kelly said: "Keane was an excellent pupil who had a bright and bubbly personality and got on well with others in class. She was a popular team player, who took an active role in projects such as the Junior Awards Scheme Scotland. She showed a lot of sporting ability and was really eager to contribute to the school for example by clearing litter and planting bulbs in the school grounds.

"She had a real presence in class and her friends and my staff are deeply shocked and upset at what has happened."

The school, which is now closed to students not preparing for exams, is being given a full emergency inspection over the forthcoming Easter holidays.

Despite the pupils' allegations that the wall was known to be unstable, it was not mentioned in an official inspection report given to councillors in December 2013.

That report only identified a need to upgrade wiring, improve lighting and improve water quality in the area of the accident, the old gym. The council was fined £8,000 this year after another child suffered back injuries after falling down a lift shaft in 2011.

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary and MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, a constituency which borders the school grounds, told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme of his "shock and disbelief" at the death.

"It's hard to imagine the situation of a child going off to school on a spring day never to return, and our hearts and thoughts go out to the family and the wider community and pupils," he said.

Asked if there were concerns about health and safety at the school, MacAskill said: "I don't believe so. The school, as with many schools of that era, the late 50s early 60s, has its challenges. There was storm damage a few years back that caused considerable difficulties and the incident for which the council was fined.

"But notwithstanding the difficulties with fragmenting and fraying to the fabric, it's a good school in which the head and past head have done a remarkable job in making it a very good school for the local community."