A day of delight and disappointment for South Edinburgh Parents

1.45.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 28th Sep 2009

Commenting on the news that James Gillespie's High School is to receive funding for the renewal of the its building from the Scottish Government Mike Pringle, MSP for Edinburgh South said,

"It's obviously fantastic news that James Gillespie's is set to receive funding.

"The allocation of this funding represents the culmination of months of campaigning and is testament to the hard work of the whole school community at James Gillespie's. Head teachers, School Board Chairs and local Liberal Democrat Councillor MacLaren have worked tirelessly for funding for the school infrastructure over the past decade.

"At the same time as we celebrate the good news for Gillespie's it is extremely disappointing that the Government has decided not to fund the renewal of Boroughmuir. The building is in a serious state of disrepair and the work to renew the school will now have to be funded from the Council's own resources."

Edinburgh South Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Fred Mackintosh said,

"It is a tragedy that the Labour administration that used to run Edinburgh allowed the school to become as run down as it has. I know a number of people have contacted me in the past week to complain that we will now have to spend many times the amount it would have cost to keep the school properly repaired in order to renew it. That is not something to be proud of."

Speaking at James Gillespie's High School City Education Leader Councillor Marilyne MacLaren added, "I'm delighted to hear of this investment, not only as Education Leader, but as someone who has campaigned for many years for James Gillespie's to be re-developed. We are very keen to know about the specific details of this investment because it's clear that the Council will need to find some further money to complete the funding package.

"We hope that now we will be able to transform the school into a fantastic modern facility that will serve young people and the local community for many years to come. The SNP Government have listened to our call which is fantastic but there is still a long way to go. There are other city schools in need of investment so now we will consider our next steps as we drive to provide the best possible education for Edinburgh's young people."