£30m 'centre of excellence' set to unite star pupils in city

A NEW £30 million secondary school in one of Edinburgh's most deprived housing estates is being earmarked as a "centre of excellence", attracting pupils from across the city.

The city council has today confirmed that the replacement and expansion of Craigmillar's Castlebrae Community High School will definitely go ahead, after months of uncertainty.

And the city's education leader, Marilyne MacLaren, revealed that the council has big plans for the school to excel in a specific area, though the subject is yet to be decided.

One option is that the new school, which has not yet been named, will have health-based expertise as its proximity to the ERI would allow links to be created with the hospital.

Other options could involve the school, to be built on a site off Niddrie Mains Road, specialising in IT or music and drama.

Councillor MacLaren said: "We want this new school to be successful, so we have this idea that as well as being a school embedded in the community, we would also make it a centre of excellence.

"But we have not yet decided what that subject area would be, and this is for children and families (department] to decide.

"We are going to work together with our partner agencies to find something – maybe IT or health, with its proximity to the ERI.

"It is more aspirational than actual. We will provide the skills and staff and we will promote that school in that particular area of excellence.

"We hope with all that going for it, it would attract the right pupils and get the achievements."

Building work on the school and public library is set to start in 2009, with the school set to be opened in 2011.

It will initially cater for up to 700 pupils, with the option of expanding to accommodate up to 900.

Parc, a joint venture between the city council and its own arms-length property development firm EDI, is behind the plans, which also include a major regeneration of Craigmillar, with more than 3000 homes being built in the area.

The school itself is being billed as "one of the most technologically-advanced anywhere in Edinburgh".

Plans for the new development were thrown into doubt last August when council chiefs added Castlebrae to its hit list of schools facing the axe.

But news that the project is now back on track has been welcomed by local parents groups.

Iain Kay, chairman of Castlebrae's parents forum, said this announcement all but guarantees that Castlebrae will not be on the next school closure hit-list.

He said: "It was silly that they earmarked it for closure first time round because we are going to get a new school out of this."

He added: "There was no cost efficiency in closing Castlebrae and that's why they will take it off this time.

"When they talked about Castlebrae closing, it was one of our concerns that this wouldn't happen, so it is a huge relief.

"What they plan to put inside the school will make it the most modern in Edinburgh."