Seagulls' attack on high school roof

The state-of-the-art school in Gunters Lane opened last autumn to replace the former Bexhill High in Down Road, and has brought fresh thinking and modern facilities to many aspects of secondary education.

Classes of up to 90 students are taught by teams of teachers and the school day runs from 8.30am to 5pm, but with the bonus for pupils that homework has become a thing of the past.

But now gulls are congregating on the school’s roofs and are using their powerful beaks to tear away chunks of the waterproof membrane used to seal them from the weather.

Mike Conn, the school’s principal, said: “We are indeed suffering from the effects of seagulls which seem able to ignore the audible bird scarers put in place to deter them.

“We are working on a possible solution that may involve some netting, but this is in its early stages.

“This is an avenue we are exploring to make sure we do not ruin the design but that we also prevent the damage currently being experienced.”

Seagulls are now a protected species, so care has to be taken not to harm them when deciding how best to protect the school from their destructive tendencies.

The birds are also responsible for generating unwelcome noise and their copious droppings are a further nuisance.