Delay to opening of the new Portobello High School

I am writing to advise you that unfortunately the opening of our new school will be delayed.

Our contractors, Balfour Beatty have informed us that they are unable to meet the planned completion date that would have allowed us to move in to our new school in August 2016.  This is mainly due to an issue with securing a drainage connection with Scottish Water.

Work is ongoing to resolve the issue, however in the meantime we are planning on the basis that we will move into the new school in January 2017.

There is still a chance that this issue can be resolved more quickly and if that is the case, we would move at the earliest school holiday period which would be the October 2016 break.  We are keen to achieve this if at all possible.

The later entry date will allow for orientation visits for both staff and pupils before the new school opens. It will also allow our new S1s (currently P7) to settle into the routine of secondary school before they have to get used to the new building and we will be developing specific plans to support the transition for them.

Our plans to commemorate our current building are not affected by this development, and I hope that many of you will take to opportunity to take part in the events planned for Friday 3 and Saturday 4 June 2016.  We will share further details on the school website in the coming weeks.

While any delay is disappointing, I am sure if you have passed the construction site recently you will see that work is progressing well. Having been inside our new building on several occasions now I am confident that it is going to provide a wonderful learning and teaching environment for our school community.

Ruth McKay, Head Teacher