Local parents will be interested to note some recent developments concerning both Portobello High School and Towerbank Primary.
Whatever you think of PPP - and I for one fundamentally disagree that this is the way we should be financing schools - few would disagree that PHS, at one time the largest secondary school in Europe, is long past its sell-by date and desperately needs to be re-built. It is very disappointing therefore that, having initially been included, we now discover that it is no longer on the list of 8 schools to be replaced in the next phase of this project.
Meanwhile, at Towerbank there seems to be some plan to sell off the annexe in Bath St to finance the re-furbishment (and extension?) of the main school. Presumably this has repercussions for Comm Ed and Towerbank Pre-School Nursery who also use the annexe.
http://news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id ... DOCUMENT=1
Local schools
I actually work in Portobello High School and most of us are really disappointed that we're not in the running. The school (once you get past the office!) is really in a dreadful state and the conditions that the kids and staff have to work in can sometimes be pretty bad (eg no ceiling tiles due to constant leaks, smelly sinks, rickety old furniture. The management team do their very best but there are limits! How the powers that be can possibly say that Holyrood needs rebuilt and Portobello doesn't is beyond belief. 
Well if I was I must have been one of the young, trendy ones!!!Jamesie wrote:Considering I left in '98 I wonder if you were one of my teachers Epykat!
Re Towerbank annexe - this isn't a new proposal, it was mooted in the early 90's too if I recall correctly, but nothing came of it.
(and that's all I'm saying on the matter!! - oh, apart from - do you know the words to Ope et Consilio???? LOL)
lIke Epycat, I too teach at Porty. Unlike him/her I've yet to speak to any teacher who isn't delighted that Porty has failed to be put forward for PPP (or PPI) rebuild. Leaving aside the prospect of working in a building site for two (at least) years, we only have to look at the experiences of teaching staff throughout Britain, to realise that we are (for the moment) lucky. The experiences of local colleagues in East lothian, currently suffering at the hands of cowboy builders, Jarvis (vide BBC 2's "Jarvis: Trouble on the Tracks" 3.03.04) would seem to confirm our luck. Perhaps Epycat's disappointment would be assuaged somewhat if he/she talked to staff at the new Royal infirmary about how the new hospital compares with the old.