Edinburgh to build £43m Curriculum for Excellence school

THE first school to be built around the principles of Scotland’s new education curriculum has been given the go-ahead as part of a £42 million campus project.

THE first school to be built around the principles of Scotland’s new education curriculum has been given the go-ahead as part of a £42 million campus project.

The new James Gillespie’s High School in Edinburgh will feature open spaces to encourage collaborative working between different classes and specially-designed “learning gardens”.

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Edinburgh city council said the school – which will be built on the site of the present James Gillespie’s High – had been designed to complement the Curriculum for Excellence, the teaching framework introduced in 2010.

The school, which is being part-funded by the Scottish Government, is part of a larger campus development which is expected to include an extension to a nursery and improvements to James Gillespie’s Primary.

Planning approval for the new secondary school comes after consultation with staff, pupils, parents and residents.

The school, which is due to open in 2015, will include a number of open spaces where pupils studying different subjects will be able to take part in cross-curriculum learning.

There will also be covered “learning gardens”, as well as “collaborative research spaces”, presentation areas and an “innovation hub” for teachers and pupils to collaborate and discuss new ideas.

Councillor Marilyne Mac-Laren, Edinburgh’s education leader, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that this exciting project has finally been given the planning go-ahead.

“The new high school will provide a modern and inspiring environment, with a number of pioneering design features that I think will lead the way for contemporary school buildings throughout Scotland.

“We progressively developed the plans based on feedback we received from the community to make sure that the new school reflects the positive characteristics of the surrounding area.”

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Headteacher Donald MacDonald added: “I am looking forward to leading our school community through this rebuilding programme and, in a few years, taking ownership of what will be a first-class educational facility that is ideally suited to achieving the aspirations of a Curriculum for Excellence.”

The introduction of the curriculum had to be delayed for a year to make sure teachers and schools were fully ready and its early days saw it plagued by criticisms that it was too “woolly”, with calls for more textbooks and more training for teachers.