Bug strikes

1st December 2006, 12:00am
Aschool plagued by a mystery illness has claimed its latest victim - an Ofsted inspector.

The inspector became ill during a tour of the Meadows school in Oldbury, near Birmingham.

Since it opened in 2004, seven staff members at the state-of-the-art school have gone off sick, complaining of breathing problems.

The head, Angela Duncan, was the first to claim she was allergic to the Pounds 5 million building, almost as soon as it opened. She ran the school from a council office four miles away before resigning.

Ian Jones, Sandwell council’s cabinet member for schools, said: “We’ve investigated to see what could be causing reported problems among a small proportion of staff. So far, no definitive answer.”

The council has rejected an offer of exorcism for the school.