Spurtle received the following email on 30 August, from a named individual with strong local connections. For a good reason known to us, they prefer to remain anonymous.
It confirms what is already apparent elsewhere: that City of Edinburgh Council will have to work very hard over coming weeks to reassure local parents that Broughton Primary School is not to be fobbed off with short-term bodges for long-term challenges (Breaking news, 26.7.13).
And whilst the tone of the communication below is rather wistful, there is a danger that any obvious inequalities between local schools' facilities and physical condition could fuel a more bitter sense of resentment among local parents and their children in future.
Dear Spurtle
I’ve just been to the opening of the new Gaelic school on Bonnington Road.
There was a real party atmosphere and lots of people came along to look around and enjoy the refreshments.
The inside of Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce [Parkside PS] is really nice – all fresh and new. I am very happy for them to have such beautiful surroundings and such a lot of space (including a ceilidh room and an enormous dining hall).However, it is rather sad to then drive past Broughton Primary School which is enveloped in scaffolding (school and nursery/gym buildings). It has water coming in through the roof when it rains, and had a whole ceiling collapse into a classroom last year (luckily with no children or staff present).
There are huge cracks inside and and outside the nursery/gym building, and the whole place is bursting at the seams with no drama, music or multi-purpose spaces.
Spurtle doesn't claim to have an immediate solution. But we do see a potential problem on the horizon, and we're highlighting it.
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