Two events at the new Tynecastle High School in under a week! The official opening last Friday and the Concert and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday evening (29th of June). A highlight of the official opening for me was ex-pupil Jenny Douglas singing over the rainbow. I was glued to the series and, of course, voted for her. She lit up the auditorium with her presence and sang beautifully ( without a mike ).
The school is very like I remember seeing it on the original artists impressions and it has been heralded as , if not the best then certainly one of the best of the PPP2 schools in terms of design and implementation. From the eco friendly heating (working too well in the auditorium - it was boiling!) to the Smartboards in every classroom. The staff have always been good at Tynecastle but now they will have the tools and the environment to reach new heights. Most of all though it was a joy to see the effect on the kids, polite, articulate and enthusiastic; Clearly delighted with the new school. This is an exciting development for Gorgie Dalry .
All of the above aside however, one disappointment is the size of the community 'wing'. It is really one side of a corridor or more specifically ; a reception area , one full sized classroom , a smaller classroom and toilets! So much for shoe horning the Gorgie War Memorial Hall and Gorgie Dalry Community Association (the centre at McLeod Street) with their busy programmes into it. Cllr. McLaren must have thought it was the Tardis! Speaking of the head of Education, Children and Families I cannot escape the irony that not only do myself and the others in the Labour Group get never a mention for the fact that it was us that brought forward the plans, developed them and signed them off before the Lib. Dems. and SNP tool over but the Lib. Dems. voted against the buiding of the new school not once but three times! The new Tynecastle is there in spite of the Lib. Dems. not because of them. Such is politics.
Anyway lets not dwell on the past the Community Centres are staying where they are for the moment (due to a successful campaign with which I helped) and things are starting to look brighter in Gorgie Dalry.