Edinburgh school closures: council reveals contingency plans

ALL primary and special school pupils will be back in schools by next Monday, the city council has said, as work continues to try to house high school students.
Work being carried out on Oxgangs Primary School.Work being carried out on Oxgangs Primary School.
Work being carried out on Oxgangs Primary School.

A statement from the city council on Monday evening said alternative arrangements could be in place by Wednesday.

The council said 2,000 S4, S5 and S6 pupils affected by the school closures will be accommodated in high schools in Edinburgh to ensure they are ready for their exams.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

S4, S5 and S6 pupils from Firrhill, Drummond and Royal High Schools will be able to return to their own schools on Wednesday. These three schools only had partial refurbishments as part of the PPP1 project.

An update for S4, S5 and S6 pupils at Gracemount and Craigmount High schools will be made tomorrow once arrangements are finalised.

For all S1 to S3 pupils in the five high schools work continues to identify alternative arrangements.

The council said it would be contacting parents directly.

Chief Executive Andrew Kerr said: “We have plans in place to ensure all primary and special school pupils will be back in schools by Monday of next week subject to the council getting access to the closed schools.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Our focus is very much on getting our school children back into education as soon as possible. That remains our priority, particularly for those pupils preparing to sit their exams in May.

“Edinburgh Schools Partnership are continuing with their programme of inspections which began on Friday, and have committed to providing new information as and when it becomes available.

“I fully recognise the significant inconvenience to parents caused by these closures and I want to thank them for their patience as we continue to work through this issue. I can assure them that as soon as we have new information, we will pass it on. Daily updates will also be available via the council website.

“I also want to pay tribute to the response from a number of city organisations, both public and private sector, who have come forward with offers of help. There’s been a real sense of the Edinburgh community pulling together and we are very grateful for that.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Early indications are that the issue that prompted the decision on Friday has been identified in other buildings but as yet we are not able to determine the full extent of this or the potential impact it may have.

Related topics: