More than 3,500 pupils affected by the Edinburgh schools PFI crisis will be unable to return to their own school before the end of the summer term, the council has revealed.
However around 4,000 will be able to go back to their schools over then next two months as repairs and safety checks are completed.
After an update from the Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP), who manage and operate the schools, City of Edinburgh Council said three schools would reopen next month, and five in June, but nine will remain closed until pupils return from holidays in August.
The announcement came after ESP confirmed the timetable for completing remediation work on the structural problems which left walls vulnerable to collapse, meaning the city was unable to guarantee the safety of pupils in affected buildings.
The structural problems were revealed when a wall at Oxgangs primary blew down during Storm Gertrude in January, and subsequent checks blamed an absence of reinforcements, which proved to be the case in all the schools in Edinburgh's PPP1 PFI school building contract.
The council said it was working closely with Edinburgh Schools Partnership and if schools could be reopened any sooner, they would be. ESP has promised that the remediation works required on the remaining nine schools will see them all reopen by Monday 8 August at the latest, before pupils returning from holiday on Wednesday 17 August.
Three primary schools will open in late May, and a further two primaries and three High Schools will reopen by late June.
The council said this meant a return before the summer for 4060 of the 7,600 primary and secondary pupils displaced by the closure of 17 schools on April 11th.
The closures also affected 740 nursery pupils.
A total of 890 Pupils will be able to return to Oxgangs Primary, St Peter's Primary and Braidburn school by May 24.
Firrhill High School will reopen fully by June 6, while two further high schools, Royal High and Drummond Community High will be open from June 20 while 500 Broomhouse Primary and St Joseph’s Primary pupils will be able to return by Monday 27 June.
A spokesman said schools would not reopen until the council received satisfactory quality assurances from ESP and its contractors, with appropriate safety assurances and checks the work has been done to a sufficient standard to ensure the safety of children.
He said parents would be able to go online to be reassured about the stringent measures which must be met before the schools can reopen.
Council Leader Andrew Burns said: “Being able to reopen three schools next month and a further five in June is a positive step forward and means over 4,000 pupils should be back in their schools before the end of the summer term.
“The planned programme of remediation works from Edinburgh Schools Partnership gives everyone a clearer picture of when schools will reopen and I am sure parents will welcome the news. I want to again thank all those affected by the closures, for their patience during this period of uncertainty.
“The safety of our children is our number one priority and we all want our schools to reopen safely, as soon as possible. We will continue to work with ESP and their partners to ensure all work and quality checks are completed, so we can update parents as quickly with information about their schools. If we are able to bring forward reopening dates then we will do so.
“This has been a challenging time. Everyone is working together to minimise the impact on our children.”
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