Early plans for the creation of a new Liberton High School are to be put to the local community later this year.
The site on Gilmerton Road is set to be redeveloped as a 'community campus' complete with a new doctor's surgery and state-of-the-art sports facilities.
It could also eventually be home to the city's first Gaelic language secondary school, however plans are yet to be finalised.
READ MORE: Edinburgh Council approves huge 35-band Orange march through city centre
A pre-planning application notice was submitted by The City of Edinburgh Council to the planning department on Monday (March 14) for a "three storey secondary school, a GP practice and community facilities with associated landscaping, external sports provision and car parking".
It comes nearly eight years after 12 year-old pupil Keane Wallis-Bennett died after a modesty wall in a since-demolished PE changing room collapsed on her — a tragic incident which cast doubt over the structural integrity of the existing building, which opened in 1959.
Funding for the project was secured in 2020 when the Scottish Government announced £800 million investment in educational facilities and Edinburgh Council listed Liberton High's redevelopment as its top priority.
A £2.25m sports hall extension completed in 2016 would be the only part of the building to be retained, plans state.
Furthermore, it's been confirmed the masterplan will include an area for a three-storey Gaelic high school.
However, plans for Edinburgh's first dedicated Gaelic Medium Education (GME) facility for secondary pupils have stalled after parents objected to the school being built on a shared campus with the new Liberton High, despite council officials saying this was the most feasible option.
A statutory consultation on the proposals put forward by education officers, which also included an option to establish the GME high school beside Castlebrae High School site in Craigmillar, was halted after parents lobbied the council to find a suitable city centre site for a standalone Gaelic school.
At a meeting held last month Edinburgh City Council’s executive director of children’s services Amanda Hatton maintained that building it alongside the new Liberton High School is still “the best option that we have educationally.”
A public consultation where local residents and parents can give their views on the new Liberton Community Campus will go live on the council's website from Friday, April 1, with engagement process running until June 3.
In addition, there will be drop-in sessions at the current school building on April 28 and May 4, where specific questions posed by attendees can be answered by staff from the council and project team.
