Edinburgh schools under threat

[bobjefferson]

Parents of children at, or due to attend, Wave 3 schools in Edinburgh, i.e. those most in need of renewal - Boroughmuir, St John's, St Crispin's, James Gillespie's are warned that the actions of a group in Portobello opposed to the re-build of Portobello High School on 'green space' now threatens a further 2 year delay for PHS (at a cost of millions of pounds to tax-payers due to re-tendering and maintenance costs) with knock-on effects for other schools. CEC may not be eligible to bid for further funding from the Scottish Government. I am part of a parent group in Portobello, which is pleading with PPAG to drop their appeal so that 1400 local children can finally get the new school they so desperately need and have waited so long for. This is really important for all of us and I would urge you to sign our petition and visit our Facebook site at www.facebook.com/new.phs.park

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have on the matter. I'm not a mum. Hope that's OK?

Why can't the exiting Portobello shool building be repaired, knocked down and rebuilt on the same site or something? This is a genuine question, I no longer live in the area so am not affected but I do remember the park as being a wonderful local facility and I don't understand why it has to be lost when there is an area where the school could be rebuilt on?

Good question, and if only that were possible then I wouldn't be up past midnight working on the campaign to build it on the park! The simple answer is that the current site is far too small. To rebuild onsite would inevitably result in another towerblock design with no space for playing fields. Children are currently bussed to Jack Kane for their PE. By the time they get their and get changed they are lucky to get a 15 minute lesson before it's time to head back again. It would also cost millions of pounds more and result in a 2 year decant of 1400 children to goodness knows where. I don't know what the park was like in your day, but very few people use it now. A handful of local dog-owners really.

What's the plan for the existing site of PHS?

Rebuilding on the same site is a nightmare - what do you do with the school/pupils while it's happening?

What is the council proposing to do with the old school site?

The old school site should be made into a park but I'm sure the council will try to flog the land for more useless 1/2 bed flats.

I bet you £50 that the council wants to turn it into overpriced "luxury" one bedroom flats.

You'd have to be really, really stupid to take that bet. You really would.

ECC is so seriously corrupt.

I wouldn't trust them with a building project bigger than a garden shed.

(I live in leith incase anyone thinks I live across from the park in portobello)

I feel sorry for the pupils. They're in a building which is too small as well as falling apart, have to travel for PE. Where would you put 1400 school kids daily while you rebuild on the site? How many buses would that put on the road to get the kids to the decanted site?

My sympathy then goes to the poor people who will be affected by the hold up at their children's school too.

As I understand it it's only part of Portobello Park that's to be built on and in spite of rumours to the contrary the golf course is to be untouched.
I know Holy Rood High rebuilt onsite but they had a much larger area to begin with and were able to build on the exisiting school grounds so no pupils had to be decanted for years or work in portacabins which would have been the case if the Portobello High current site was to be reused.

Re the existing site, I note the cynicism but the truth is that the Council has made no decision about it. St John's is next in line to be re-built and is currently on a site that is far too small so they will require some of the site to expand into. The Council then has the choice of a) returning the remaining land to green space or b) selling it for development (almost certainly housing), in which case the receipt would be ring-fenced for the school rebuilding programme and St John's would be first to benefit. The tender for PHS came in several million pounds below budget but if the Council is forced to re-tender because of delay caused by the appeal, then it is unlikely that they would get such a good deal. Ideally, PPAG drop the case, the contract is awarded, PHS is re-built, allowing St John's to be re-built and the Council is able to bid for further funding for the remaining Wave 3 schools.

Back to the existing site, let's say it's worth £3.5M to a developer. Do we really need more open space so close to Figgate Park? What would it be used for? A local playpark I might support, but not just another dog toilet. And that money would go a long way toward building a new primary school. But that's a decision for another day. Right now we need PPAG to drop the appeal so we can build the new high school. Please sign our petition and support local children.

www.gopetition.com/petitions/dear-ppag-please-drop-the-appeal.html

I would have signed your petition if you had stated that the old site was definitely being turned into a park. We need to protect green spaces in a city instead of chipping away at them. So sorry, I won't be signing.

The local kids need a new school; the existing PH is not fit for purpose. The situation is desperate. I'm all for keeping green space too but the proposed site, as BJ says, is underused and poorly kept. Nearby, there is the marvellous Figgate Park, Rosefield Park, Brighton Park, the park at Peffermill, not to mention Holyrood. Using green space wouldn't be anyone's first choice but there is no alternative site. I have signed the petition.

Where do the children go while they rebuild a school out of curiosity?

Mani83 some of the primary schools which have been rebuilt were decanted out. Juniper Green for example went to the old Dumbryden School until it was rebuilt. Canal View used the Dumbryden School before JG. The Dumbryden school has now been demolished.

Bonaly and St Thomas of Aquins used the old Darroch School at Tollcross.

If they built Portobello on the current planned site, the pupils would stay at the current high school until the new school was ready. Forrester High School and St Augustines were rebuilt on their playing fields. Once the old schools were demolished then the playing fields were then built on the land the schools had been on. I believe Craigmount was the same.

Decanting a secondary would be a nightmare. Much easier to rebuild on a new site.

Not craigmount. The new school was built on the playing fields. The old school demolished and the site and surrounding land used for housing. Adjoining greenfield sites built on too as part of a wider scheme for the area.

What I said Parrish was that craigmount was built on new space before old one was demolished.

This happened with Broughton Secondary too. It appeared to work well.

Portobello high School doesn't have the option on rebuilding onsite.
Doesn't have playing fields for a start