Workmen for Morrison Construction Ltd had just started installing 165 windows at the area's largest school as part of a Highland Council contract when the asbestos was detected on September 17.

Work had to come to a stop after the discovery in the old sealant of the windows and a specialist firm was brought in to remove the material which can potentially cause lung cancer if people are exposed to the air-borne fibres.

As a precaution classroom 14, where the absbestos was found, was sealed off until the work had been completed.

Head teacher John Tracey praised the professionalism of Elgin-based Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions who removed and disposed of all the windows and associated asbestos.

And he thanked Morrison Construction who he said had worked in close partnership with the staff to co-ordinate their works to install the modern doubled glazed windows throughout the school.

"Here's hoping nothing like this ever happens again," said Mr Tracey.

A Highland Council spokesman said that a by-product of the work had been an improvement in the appearance of the school which opened in October 1970.

He said: "The high school is a prominent building in Kingussie and we did not expect the scale of the visual improvement.

"The teaching staff are delighted with the way it has turned out and the fact that it is completed on time so that the prelims are unaffected.

"We are very satisfied with the end result. The quality of the internal environment has risen and the heating bills will also fall."

Windows in three classrooms had already been replaced before work was halted but Highland Council stressed that subsequent tests had revealed there had been no risk to pupils or staff.

Mr Tracey had sent out correspondence to parents setting out the background and reassuring them the asbestos posed no danger.

If subject to long-term exposure, inhaled fibres can cause lung cancer and other serious illness including mesothelioma and asbestosis.

It was the second setback this year to hit the school which has a roll of 446 pupils.

The school suffered significant flood damage in early June when a cleaner accidentally set off a high-powered hose when her cleaning appliance "crashed" into a fire hydrant - leading to the pupils having three unexpected days off. The hydrant in the administrative corridor burst after being struck and started disgorging thousands of litres of water which soaked through the first floor causing damage running into tens of thousands of pounds.

Kingussie High is one of 220 schools in the Highlands on the asbestos register because it was built pre-1985 before the ban on the use of the silicone based material in public buildings was put in place by the European Union.

Before the full heath dangers became known, asbestos was a popular building material because of its resistance to heat, electrical and chemical damage, sound absorption and tensile strength.

An estimated 4,000 people a year die from asbestos-related diseases. Exposure to the substance is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths and the overall total is continuing to rise.

Advice from the HSE is that if asbestos-containing material is in good condition and in a position where it cannot be disturbed or damaged, it is safer to leave it in situ and ensure that the risks are managed.

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