In the next few weeks and maybe months we’ll keep sharing any information that might be useful. Here’s a very full factsheet from North West Lifelong Learning.
Category: Uncategorised
Investment Update
In June 2018 the Council agreed to invest £10m into building a new Bangholm sports facility and to develop detailed plans for refurbishment at Trinity Academy. We think this is a good time to update you on what’s happened in the past year and the status of the Council’s plans as we understand them.
The Council plans to invest in the school in what they are calling two phases:
Phase 1 – Redeveloping the Bangholm sports facilities. The budget for this already exists (thanks to our campaign) and it may follow the schedule below.
Phase 2 – Refurbish or replace the remaining school buildings. At the present time there is no budget for this and no forecast for when this may be available.
Feasibility studies into Phase 2 have been carried out and, while no decisions have been taken, the Council is considering where to site the buildings for Phase 2. One option is for the school to be built entirely at Bangholm. Another option would involve the Phase 2 buildings being built on the existing school site, by refurbishment of the existing school or with new buildings being built on the site.
What do we know?
- Development of the new Bangholm facilities is continuing and the aspiration is to complete this in December 2021. That date means it may benefit next years S1-S4 students.
- We know that operating a split site across Bangholm and the existing site presents a significant challenge to running the school curriculum.
- We are told that the design of Bangholm will allow it to be used by community groups including the facilities required by Trinity Academicals, WIT and Outdoor Learning.
- There are currently no plans for the new Bangholm facilities to include a swimming pool.
- We are told that the design of Bangholm will allow it to be used with any of the three options for redeveloping or replacing the easy of the school facilities under Phase 2.
Our local Councillors, including the Depute Leader, have committed to making the decision between moving to Bangholm or redeveloping the existing site during this calendar year.
Next steps
- Push the Council to publish a ‘masterplan’ for the plans covering all the options.
- Campaign to prioritise a budget for Phase 2.
- Campaign to ensure that the school receives the investment it needs in the interim to ensure existing students are not disadvantaged.
- Continue working with the school and Council to try to ensure the design of Phase 1 and Phase 2 meet the needs of the students, their families, staff and the community.
School Reunion
We are holding a school reunion for former pupils as part of our year celebrating the school’s 125th anniversary.
It’s a rare opportunity to meet-up with old friends and teachers, tour the school and relax while enjoying refreshments from our bar. To give us an idea of numbers this is a free, but ticketed, event and tickets are available from Brown Paper Tickets.
50/50 Club
Our 50:50 Club is a monthly lottery where 50% of the income goes to the winning member and the remainder goes to the school to help buy equipment or finance activities for the pupils.
Having your number drawn is a nice little treat and the prize is getting bigger each month as new member join the club.
We’ve just updated the membership forms to make them more user friendly. You can download a form in our documents area.
Sporting successes
Congratulations to the Under-18 rugby team who made it though to the semi final of the Scottish Plate this week. Although the boys lost 5:7, to Marr College from Troon, it was a great achievement to make it so far through the tournament.
In hockey, the first XI team also competed in the semi final of the Aspire Cup on Monday against Dunfermline and won 1:0. They are now through to the final at Glasgow green for the second consecutive year.
Well done to all concerned — players, staff and coaches.
Future school session dates for 2019-2020
The City of Edinburgh Council is looking to gather the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff on future school session dates for 2019-2020 and beyond. The survey is being carried out via an online questionnaire about the timing of school holidays and how the school year should look in future.
The survey will be open from Wednesday 4 October until Friday 10 November 2017.
20mph Zones
Phase 2 of the rollout of the 20miles per hour speed limit went live on 28 February 2017. The second phase is the largest construction phase in the scheme stretching from Granton to Portobello, Duddingston to Morningside, Gorgie to Murrayfield.
You can find out if your street is changing to 20mph by checking the interactive map.
Edinburgh is the first city in Scotland to roll out 20mph limits in this way.
Victoria Primary School Future Use
Newhaven Heritage community group have prepared a leaflet to seek feedback and support to retain Victoria for either educational or community use. Victoria is the oldest working school in Edinburgh and has served the village of Newhaven since 1844.
If you want to support this or shares your views on the future use of the school, please let respond to them by completing the feedback section of the leaflet that’s available in our download area. You can post your response in the Save The School For Newhaven boxes at the school office or local shops.
The City of Edinburgh Council is also seeking views on this proposal and there is an online survey available to respond to them directly.
Winter Vomiting Bug Advice
Health Scotland has published seasonal guidance, advice and resources to minimise the spread of Norovirus (‘winter vomiting bug’). There is a leaflet available to download from our website and more advice on the Health Scotland website.
The main message to get away is that students who have been off school must wait at least 48 hours after the last time they are sick or have diahorrea, not the first time they are ill.
Please see the infographics below for more information about preventing norovirus and what to do if you catch it.
Heroes
In his latest blog post Mr Paterson reflects on achievement in the school and his nomination for the Local Heroes award.
He highlights the high quality of the teaching and support staff at Trinity Academy as well as the tremendous news that the school has seen a 30% uptake in S1 for 2016-2017.
As Mr Paterson would probably say, “onwards and upwards!”