ALL 17 Edinburgh schools that were closed earlier this year following the discovery of building defects have reopened ahead of schedule, the City of Edinburgh Council has confirmed.
Remedial works on Drummond Community High and The Royal High have been completed by the Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP) ahead of the new school year.
7,600 pupils were affected by the closures of the schools, which were built under the city’s PPP1 (Public Private Partnership) scheme and constructed by ESP.
An independent inquiry has already started and is expected to finish before the end of the year.
Council Leader Andrew Burns said, “I’m delighted that all of our pupils affected by the closures will be back in their own schools next week as we promised parents we would try to achieve this. We stressed to the Edinburgh Schools Partnership that they should bring forward school reopening dates where possible which has happened.
“Our priority has always been the safety of our pupils and staff and we insisted that ESP and their contractors ensure all our schools are 100% safe to reopen. All the relevant paperwork has been published on our website having been reviewed by an independent expert on behalf of the Council.
“I want again to thank parents and pupils for their patience and understanding and teaching staff for their commitment and flexibility during these difficult past few months.
“The next steps now are to establish exactly what went wrong with these schools. The Council has appointed respected construction and procurement industry expert John Cole CBE to lead an independent inquiry.
“Clear and thorough terms of reference set out exactly what we are aiming to achieve through this inquiry. We want to find out what went wrong and are determined to see what lessons can be learned, not just here in Edinburgh but across Scotland and the UK.”
