Over-capacity Boroughmuir High School catchment area could change

The new Boroughmuir High School building opened in February 2018

The catchment for Edinburgh's Boroughmuir High School would need to change if school roll projections prove right, council officials have said.

The current school, in Viewforth, could reach 1,575 pupils by 2025 according to latest predictions.

It currently has 1,310 pupils - already 110 over its capacity.

An extension that will be built by August 2021 will increase its capacity to 1,560 but officials said there was no scope for further extension.

A report to the education, children and families committee said the intakes and roll at Boroughmuir would be closely monitored.

Buckstone Primary School feeds into Boroughmuir High School which moved to a new building in February 2018.

The report said: "If the extension proves, in the long-term, to be insufficient to accommodate catchment demand then catchment change will be required. There is no scope to extend Boroughmuir High School further."

Predictions also suggest James Gillespie's High School could exceed its 1,300 capacity by more than 500 pupils by 2025.

Gaelic intake

The report said its growing Gaelic intake was a factor after it started accepting pupils from Bun Sgoil Taobh na Pairce primary school.

The report said: "The projections for James Gillespie's High School demonstrate that it no longer has the capacity to support a growing Gaelic medium intake.

"In previous years the number of pupils transferring from primary to secondary Gaelic medium education (GME) were low, however, with the establishment of Bun Sgoil Taobh na Pairce, James Gillespie's High School has gained an additional feeder primary school."

Plans for an annexe at Darroch for Gaelic pupils is being looked at.

Ian Perry, City of Edinburgh Council's education convener, said: "Despite a falling birth rate our 10 year projection shows that primary school rolls will grow slightly while secondary rolls will experience a sharp rise as pupils from primaries move into the that sector.

"Every year, as part of our detailed planning for rising rolls, we identify which schools may be over capacity at some point in the future and what may be the appropriate solutions to deal with this.

"The extension at Boroughmuir is making the most of the available space on the site and will increase the capacity for the school to 1,560 pupils. We are closely monitoring the intakes and rolls at the school and if the extension proves to be insufficient to accommodate catchment demand then other solutions will need to be considered in the future.

"Projections for James Gillespie's High School show it no longer has the capacity to support the growing Gaelic Medium Education intake so design work is currently underway to develop proposals at the Darroch annexe. This would provide an immersive environment for GME pupils and relieve pressure on the existing main site while plans are developed to create a dedicated GME secondary school."