Edinburgh school pupils given solar eclipse glasses as historic moment coincides with return to school

Pupils at an Edinburgh high school were given an extra special treat on their return back to the classroom.

Over 300 S1 pupils at Portobello High School were gifted a pair of safety-certified eclipse viewing glasses, giving them the chance to watch the historic moment.

S1 pupils at Portobello High School were gifted special safety-certified solar eclipse viewing glasses, with the historic and rare event coinciding with the return to the classroom after summer break. | City of Edinburgh Council

The partial solar eclipse, which is the biggest seen in the UK since 1999, coincided with students across the city returning to school on Wednesday, August 12.

The gift of the eclipse viewing glasses came from Professor Catherine Heymans, the Royal Astronomer of Scotland.

Professor Heymans has been working alongside pupils at the school in a space programme within the physics department.

The Royal Astronomer of Scotland, Professor Catherine Heymans gifted the S1 cohort at Portobello High School free solar eclipse viewing glasses | City of Edinburgh Council

Convenor for Education, Children and Families. James Dalgleish, said: “This is a fantastic gift for our first year students at Portobello High School.

“An eclipse is such a rare event with the last being in 1999 and the next in the UK to be in 2090. It is fantastic for our young people to be able to watch the solar eclipse safely.

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“Seeing a solar eclipse is a life event and could well inspire a whole new generation of astronomers for Edinburgh.”

All of the students in the S1 cohort won’t have been alive for the last notable solar eclipse in 1999.

The 2026 partial eclipse is also expected to be the last time for 54 years to spot the rare event in the sky.