A ROW has broken out over school pupils sheltering at lunchtimes in a local shopping centre.

Education bosses and the management of Springburn Shopping Centre both said they are working together to resolve the issue.

But shoppers said they are worried about large numbers of young people being present when physical distancing rules are in place.

And pupils said Springburn Academy had left them with no choice but to go to the local mall as they aren't allowed to eat food indoors.

One resident said: "This is no criticism of the pupils.

"The vast majority are well behaved and you have to feel sorry for them being stuck outside in all weathers.

"It wasn't too bad in the late summer weather, it's got worse in the past few months of autumn and no we are into winter and it's been raining and freezing cold.

"There are problems with some bad behaviour but in the main they are good kids and they need shelter."

Schools have been forced to come up with creative ways to ensure pupils are kept as safe as possible during the pandemic.

One of the strategies is to minimise the number of pupils using dining halls at any one time and have staggered breaks.

Another is to have young people outside as much as possible as the virus transmission is lower outdoors.

Youngsters who leave school premises at break time head to Springburn Shopping Centre to buy food.

But due to Covid-19 restrictions, people are not allowed to eat food inside the centre - meaning young people are stuck outdoors.

Locals have also complained that pupils are not wearing masks when they are in shops.

But teenagers have taken to social media to hit back at the situation.

One said: "We have been sitting in the shopping centre for years so what’s the problem with it now?

"The only reason half the shops are still open is us buying our lunch out of there.

"We’re not allowed to go into the school with our food so where we supposed to go?"

Another said:"Escorted off the premises multiple times for standing in the shopping s centre that we purchase food from.

"W clean up our belongings after we are done eating the shopping centre purchased food, the school refuses to let us eat inside so where are us kids supposed to go?"

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “The school and the local shopping centre have enjoyed a good relationship for many years and we were not aware of any changes in their policies to allow pupils to eat the food purchased in the shopping centre.

“We are trying to keep everyone as safe as possible at the moment and following the government’s advice and guidelines - that’s why we need to manage the number of pupils in the dining area at different times.

“We’ve always promoted healthy eating in the school – this is not a new policy and we will work to find a solution with the shopping centre for those pupils who want to eat outwith school.”

Harry Devine, Centre Manager at Springburn Shopping Centre, said: "We are aware of some issues arising by pupil use of Springburn Shopping Centre and have contacted both the school and the Director of Education regarding this in the past.

"We work closely with Springburn Academy in addressing any issues that arise."