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| Nine Edinburgh schools to remain closed until end of summer holidays | Nine Edinburgh schools to remain closed until end of summer holidays |
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| More than 3,500 children in Edinburgh affected by the emergency closure of 17 privately financed schools will be taught in temporary sites until the next school year starts in August. | More than 3,500 children in Edinburgh affected by the emergency closure of 17 privately financed schools will be taught in temporary sites until the next school year starts in August. |
| The city council said on Friday that nine of the 17 schools shut suddenly after potentially lethal building defects were found will remain closed for nearly four more months. They will reopen after the summer holidays on 17 August while remedial work is carried out – later than council leaders and parents had hoped. | The city council said on Friday that nine of the 17 schools shut suddenly after potentially lethal building defects were found will remain closed for nearly four more months. They will reopen after the summer holidays on 17 August while remedial work is carried out – later than council leaders and parents had hoped. |
| The 3,500 pupils affected, including secondary school pupils at Craigmount and Gracemount high schools, are being taught at other schools, with many being bussed across the city to alternative buildings. | |
| The council published a timetable for all 7,600 pupils affected by the closure of the schools in early April, including children at two special needs schools, which showed that most will be back at their original schools by late June. | The council published a timetable for all 7,600 pupils affected by the closure of the schools in early April, including children at two special needs schools, which showed that most will be back at their original schools by late June. |
| Council officials have confirmed that the contractor, Miller Construction, failed to install metal header ties and wall ties which bind the brick external walls to roof sections and internal walls at all 17 sites. | Council officials have confirmed that the contractor, Miller Construction, failed to install metal header ties and wall ties which bind the brick external walls to roof sections and internal walls at all 17 sites. |
| Andrew Burns, the council leader, said in a statement on Friday: “The safety of our children is our number one priority and we all want our schools to reopen safely, as soon as possible. | Andrew Burns, the council leader, said in a statement on Friday: “The safety of our children is our number one priority and we all want our schools to reopen safely, as soon as possible. |
| “We will continue to work with [the consortium] Edinburgh Schools Partnership and their partners to ensure all work and quality checks are completed, so we can update parents as quickly as possible with information about their schools. If we are able to bring forward reopening dates then we will do so.” | “We will continue to work with [the consortium] Edinburgh Schools Partnership and their partners to ensure all work and quality checks are completed, so we can update parents as quickly as possible with information about their schools. If we are able to bring forward reopening dates then we will do so.” |
| The full scale of the defects emerged after a wall collapsed into a playground at Oxgangs primary school during a storm in January; inspections later uncovered the same defects at another primary school and then Gracemount and Craigmount. | The full scale of the defects emerged after a wall collapsed into a playground at Oxgangs primary school during a storm in January; inspections later uncovered the same defects at another primary school and then Gracemount and Craigmount. |
| The city is withholding its full £1.5m-a-month fee for the 17 sites, which are owned by the Edinburgh Schools Partnership consortium, which stands to earn nearly £530m in debt repayments, maintenance and construction costs over the 32-year contract. | The city is withholding its full £1.5m-a-month fee for the 17 sites, which are owned by the Edinburgh Schools Partnership consortium, which stands to earn nearly £530m in debt repayments, maintenance and construction costs over the 32-year contract. |
| Related: Edinburgh council refusing to pay £1.5m PFI charges following school closures | Related: Edinburgh council refusing to pay £1.5m PFI charges following school closures |
| Council leaders are to set out the scope and timetable for an independent inquiry into the affair at a policy and strategy committee meeting on 17 May. | Council leaders are to set out the scope and timetable for an independent inquiry into the affair at a policy and strategy committee meeting on 17 May. |
| Andy Wightman, a Scottish Green party candidate for the Lothian area in the Holyrood elections who campaigns on local government financing, said many parents would be frustrated and upset by the further delays. | Andy Wightman, a Scottish Green party candidate for the Lothian area in the Holyrood elections who campaigns on local government financing, said many parents would be frustrated and upset by the further delays. |
| “As each day goes past the questions mount for Edinburgh Schools Partnership, the private consortium set up to build and manage these schools, but in reality little more than a funding mechanism for extracting big profits out of education. The company just does not seem to get the scale and urgency of what needs to be done,” he said. | “As each day goes past the questions mount for Edinburgh Schools Partnership, the private consortium set up to build and manage these schools, but in reality little more than a funding mechanism for extracting big profits out of education. The company just does not seem to get the scale and urgency of what needs to be done,” he said. |