School's out for summer ..and forever

But while every school will shut down until mid-August, four primaries in the Capital will never reopen.

From today, Royston, Drumbrae, Burdiehouse and Fort primaries will be consigned to the history books after serving their communities for a combined total of more than 220 years.

As the four primaries closed their doors for the last time, the Evening News paid them a visit.

ROYSTON

Opened: 1937

Capacity: 379

Current school roll: 110

Receiving schools: Granton and Forthview

WITH vuvuzela practice under way, pupil artwork adorning the walls and smiling, cheery staff, it's hard to imagine these are the final moments of Royston Primary School.

Look behind the scenes, though, and piled-high boxes marked with teachers' names and the schools they will be sent to tell a different story.

After 73 years, this is the end.

But staff have been determined to keep things as normal as possible for the children to the end, leaving packing until after home time and insisting that all resources such white boards are left until the final bell sounds.

"Children are still learning and our children need the stability and structure, and we wanted to give them that right till the end," said headteacher Andrew Hunter

Since opening in 1937, the school has seen generations of pupils through its doors, with many taught by deputy headteacher Hazel Danskin, who has been at Royston for 24 years.

She said: "I started in the nursery and a lot of the three and four-year-olds that I had then are back with their children.

"I feel quite proud that people want to bring their own children back to the school they went to.

"The closure is sad, but life is all about changes and we have to move on.

That's the way of life."

The children, who were all given school sweatshirts last year thanks to the fundraising efforts of the parent council, have all had them signed by their classmates to mark the end of their school days at Royston.

They have also all been presented with a school photo.

With just 110 pupils on the final school roll, the photo would have looked different to the one taken back in 1937, where almost 900 pupils would have had to cram in to be seen.

Mr Hunter added: "It's always a sad time when a school closes, but the building is not the school – it's the people who make a school.

"The school always lives on in people's memories and hearts."

DRUMBRAE

Opened: 1959

Capacity: 306

Current school roll: 59

Receiving schools: Clermiston and East Craigs

"I'M heartbroken because this has been my life for 24 years."

The words of Allan Brown – one of only three janitors to have ever worked at Drumbrae – are echoed by pupils, teachers, families and the local community at the thought of losing their school forever.

As host to everything from Brownies and youth clubs to the Women's Guild and football tournaments, the closure is likely to hit all members of the local community hard.

Children and staff were in tears during the final moments of their lives at Drumbrae – which they ended with a giant conga round the school grounds – and the fall-out will be felt for years to come.

Mr Brown, who has worked under six headteachers during his time at Drumbrae, said: "It's been the centre of the community for years.

"When there was a big stair fire 20 years ago, I opened the school up and brought in the residents for tea and coffee because that's the kind of community school it always has been.

"This has ripped the community apart."

Mr Brown, who lives in the house beside the school, added: "Packing everything away is the hardest part. Old photos and trophies are going into archive at the council.

"It's going to be heartbreaking to see it demolished. There are a lot of happy memories."

BURDIEHOUSE

Opened: 1956

Capacity: 306

Current school roll: 92

Receiving schools: Gracemount and Gilmerton

ALTHOUGH it may be hard to imagine, the Burdiehouse area has its roots in the city of Bordeaux. It is said that when Mary, Queen of Scots came to Edinburgh and resided at Craigmillar Castle, her French ladies-in-waiting stayed in the Burdiehouse community, adapting the name Bordeaux House for their new surroundings.

As with the rather glamorous beginnings of the area, Burdiehouse Primary was also opened to a fanfare in 1956 by the Countess of Dalkeith.

It had a capacity for 700 pupils, but had to bring in mobile units to cope with its popularity and ended up accommodating about 1,000 children.

But despite starting out as a thriving school, it has retained only 40 per cent of its catchment children in recent years.

Myra Appolinari, who has been headteacher of Burdiehouse for almost eight years, said: "Unfortunately, Burdiehouse and Southhouse have a reputation – not the school, but the area – which has made a lot of parents send their children to other schools.

"That really has been the death knell of the school.

"In 2002, there was a regeneration of housing in the area and people moved out of the area and it never regained.

"It was still a viable school which provided high levels of support for the children and lots of space to work in – apparently we have got the largest playground in Scotland.

"Whilst we have always wanted to have more children, 160 was quite a good number to work with, but when it went down again in the past couple of years it became more challenging."

She added: "I think it will be hard for people. Parents will miss being able to come to concerts and open days and to have a local school. However, a lot of children have already been going to other schools and still feel part of that bigger community and I'm sure that will continue."

FORT

Opened: 1968

Capacity: 279

Current school roll: 80

Receiving school: Trinity

DESKS and chairs in tow, the pupils happily turned their back on their old school and headed forward to their future.

But while the big move from the old North Fort Street Primary across the street to the brand new Fort Primary back in 1968 was the start of a new chapter, today brings a sad end to more than 100 years of schooling in the area.

Parents fought to save the school – and there were rumours they would succeed – but it was condemned by the council.

Vikki Spence, of the Fighting For Fort campaign, said: "There has been a school on that site for over 100 years. People are still disappointed because the school has always been very central to the community because of the community centre and nursery all being in one place."

But headteacher Jacqueline Scott says with Fort House due for demolition, this is the right time to move forward .

She said: "We are looking at this in the way of change being a good thing. The children are excited and aren't seeing it as a negative thing – it's more the parents and the community who are viewing it that way.

"A lot of families have lived in Fort House which is also coming to the end of an era, so it's about looking forward."

Both Fort and Trinity schools have been working with pupils to promote the idea of saying goodbye and moving on, with the example of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly used in an assembly.

Children – as well as former pupils – have also been encouraged to write their favourite memories of the school on bricks and place them on a "memory wall".

Mrs Scott added: "This closure has gone as well as it possibly could. The children are all going to one school and they're excited."

It is just a memory now, but a good one

By Gina Davidson

I STILL have the red and white striped tie that saw me through seven years at Burdiehouse. I can still remember my mum tying it on my first day, the matching red ribbons in my hair.

That was 1976. Thousands have passed through the corridors since then. Yet now at Burdiehouse, at the school down the dip, the bell has finally tolled its last.

No more British Bulldogs in the playground, no more sports days in view of the glass-fronted infant classes, no more music lessons behind the stage.

It all feels incredibly sad. For a long time Burdiehouse was a forgotten place. Not poverty-stricken enough to attract the do-gooders and European monies which Craigmillar and Wester Hailes did, but a place still blighted by drugs and unemployment.

Perhaps it's a rose-tinted view, but the school seemed to rise above it. The headmaster was William Chisholm and he still wore a black cloak. "Old-fashioned" values were instilled – respect for teachers, your surroundings, yourself – and parental involvement was encouraged.

Things did change towards the end of that decade. The area received public investment, council houses were improved, flats were replaced with private homes. But the school seemed to start to fail and the roll fell.

Parental choice has played its part. Sixty per cent of parents in the area send their kids to other schools. And yet, HMI reports are good and the teachers were working hard to turn things around.

Today, on the school's Facebook page are the words: "Burdiehouse is just a memory now". For me – and thousands of others – it's a good one.