Edinburgh school catchment and moving Gaelic unit under review at council debate

Edinburgh Live29-04-2025

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Plans for the future of Gaelic education in Edinburgh are to be discussed this week.
The Education, Children and Families committee will meet on Thursday as the number of applications for places at the city's only Gaelic primary school doubles in a year, and plans for a standalone secondary school stalled.
Gaelic education for secondary school pupils is currently available at James Gillespie's High School - which is also seeing a rise in the number of pupils enrolled.
A number of options, including exploring a catchment change, introduction of timetabling efficiencies, internal reconfiguration of existing accommodation or, if possible, additional accommodation, have all been highlighted in the meeting agenda.
Plans to offer an annex unit at Liberton High School were previously ruled out and it was decided there was no budget in the capital programme to deliver a Gaelic Medium Education (GME) secondary school.
Parents previously criticised plans for the provision at the new Liberton High School due to its location from the primary school and a more central site being required. Councillors agreed and a statutory consultation was paused.
The main report states: "Engagement with the GME community on all aspects of GME education has continued through the Edinburgh Gaelic Collaborative Forum and in line with the specific action on demand for GME in the Gaelic Language Plan.
"However, in relation to the provision of new GME primary and secondary schools, there remains no fundamental change to the update provided in 2022. Monitoring of the primary and secondary school rolls continues, and demand is currently able to be accommodated in existing provision or by introducing the rising rolls options highlighted above.
"There remains no specific capital budget allocated to the provision of GME infrastructure and therefore no detailed project work can progress. The situation with potential site availability for a new GME secondary school remains as has been reported to Committee in 2022.
"Following the request by Committee on 3 September 2024 to report the potential of the Police Headquarters at Fettes as a site, direct communication with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland has reconfirmed this site would not be available to the Council for the provision of a GME secondary school."
In terms of next steps, the monitoring of school rolls for GME and recruitment of school staff will continue and the council will engage with the Scottish Government, the Gaelic community in Edinburgh and other stakeholders to consider the best way forward.
Councillor Steve Burgess, Greens education spokesperson, said: "Greens strongly support the growth of Gaelic in the Capital, so we very much welcome any positive steps towards developing a robust strategy around the expansion of Gaelic Medium Education, which has now been stalled for years.
"But the challenge is how to grow Gaelic with only one primary school, that looks to be bursting at the seams, and no dedicated high school for Gaelic, whereas Glasgow has several Gaelic primary schools and a high school.
"The council needs to be working proactively with the Gaelic community in Edinburgh to rapidly produce a meaningful way forward for the growth of Gaelic in the Capital, and I would then hope and expect that the SNP Scottish Government would support this as they promised to in their last Holyrood election manifesto."

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Festivals given £3m in Government funding

North Wales Chronicle

13 minutes ago

North Wales Chronicle

Festivals given £3m in Government funding

The events will receive a share of the £2.8 million Festivals Expo Fund, and Festivals Edinburgh will get £200,000 from Creative Scotland for branding and marketing support for the events in the capital. The Expo Fund spending has increased from £1.7 million last year. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe will receive £670,000, while the Edinburgh International Book Festival will be given £200,000, the same amount as for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival. Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: 'Scotland's festivals are our cultural shopfront to the rest of the world. 'As well as offering performers and creatives an unrivalled international platform, they also deliver an annual economic uplift to businesses, jobs and livelihoods right across the country. 'This year's funding increase for the existing Expo festivals cohort represents an increase of £1 million across the 14 festivals in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the first in 10 years. 'It recognises the success of festivals in shaping and supporting hundreds of commissions, enhancing the ambitions of thousands of Scottish artists and attracting audiences in the millions for Expo-supported work since the fund's creation in 2007. 'From this foundation we will expand the reach of the Expo fund across the whole of Scotland, and I am working with festivals across the country through the strategic festivals partnership to realise this commitment.' Dana MacLeod, executive director of arts, communities and inclusion at Creative Scotland, welcomed the funding, saying it will enable festivals to 'commission bold ideas, develop creative collaborations and present high-quality programmes for audiences in Scotland and internationally'. Lori Anderson, director of Festivals Edinburgh, said: 'Today's announcement is welcome news for our festivals and for Scotland's cultural sector, ensuring that the guiding principle of the Scottish Government's Festivals Expo Fund – to showcase Scottish talent to the world on the country's premier festival platforms – continues to successfully support creative careers.'