Why pupils at Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in Preston will soon be renting high-tech lockers

Archbishop Temple Church of England High School in St Vincent's Road, Fulwood, announced to parents this week that traditional school lockers in corridors throughout the Grade II-listed building would be scrapped in favour of modern, managed, outdoor lockers that pupils can rent using an app on their phone.

A letter states: "Our current school locker provision has presented us with a number of concerns that conflict with our ability to keep children safe.

"Whilst looking to improve our locker provision we have come across a much better solution that will allow lockers to be placed outside, located where our pupils spend non-lesson time.

"This improved provision, more details attached, is what we wish to provide from September 2022. The new lockers will be secure, located in covered open spaces, cleaned annually and in an emergency, school will be able to gain access to them."

What does the school say?

Head teacher Ivan Catlow told the Post the safety concerns relate to the school's ability to safeguard children and not any specific, experienced or ongoing issue.

He said: "It’s a safeguarding issue for the children. We have not had one of these occasions, but you hear about them nationally where contraband items are brought into schools.

"If this happened, we would be able to get to them (the new lockers) before we would with the older lockers."

He added that every child in the school is issued with an iPad, and that the new lockers will providemore secure storage, and were part of an overall upgrading and modernisation of the school.

They would free up space in narrow corridors, and be more conveniently located in the playground areas, for easier access for all.

What happens now?

Children will be able to reserve the same locker from years 7-9 and from years 10-11, and parents who have previously paid for the hire of lockers for the full five years will have the option to use the balance against the cost of the new locker; to transfer it to the child's dining account; transfer it to a current trip; or to donate it to the New Futures Trust.