WATCH: New Portobello High School to open three months earlier than expected
Watch a video tour of the new school
The long awaited new Portobello High School is to open in October of this year - three months earlier than expected.
Edinburgh Council made the announcement today (Tuesday 21 June) as Forth News was given a tour of the site, along with a group of pupils and staff.
The school was originally expected to open this summer but water drainage issues meant a delay until January next year.
That issue's now been resolved, meaning it can open its doors to pupils on Wednesday 26 October after the mid-term break.
The new Portobello High will become the Council’s largest secondary school with space for 1,400 pupils and will provide state of the art teaching facilities.
It will also have both indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including a swimming pool and two all weather pitches, enabling all curricular PE to be provided on site, rather than have pupils bussed off site as currently happens.
Cllr Paul Godzik, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I am sure that parents, pupils and staff will be as delighted as I am that we have brought forward the date of the school opening to October.
“Thanks must go to the Council’s project team, Balfour Beatty and Scottish Water for working so closely over the past few months to solve the drainage issues and accelerate the school opening.
“The new Portobello High School is looking really impressive and it’s clear this is going to be a fantastic state of the art facility. Rebuilding Portobello High School is one of the Capital Coalition’s highest priorities and we were determined to ensure we met this commitment.”