Yesterday was an amazing day, but one I thought I’d never see. The new Currie High School for which the community had fought so long and hard is already buzzing with pupils, but now it is officially open.
Eight years ago the SNP-led Edinburgh council planned to shut Currie High School and the Wester Hailes Education Centre in favour of a new school which suited neither community.
It took a concerted campaign by local people to persuade the SNP-Labour coalition that schools at the heart of their communities should be saved.
That’s all history and a splendid new school is now up and running, and a new Wester Hailes High will be completed soon,
It was fair that education secretary Jenny Gilruth was asked to perform the opening ceremony. After all, the Scottish Government funded most of it and it wasn’t a government plan to close the old school.
But I was surprised not to be invited, and campaign veterans were puzzled by my omission too. Surely their battle to preserve a community institution wasn’t going to be glossed over?
After a quick message to headteacher Jenny Hutchison I was able to join those campaigners and see them rightly recognised. Currie owes them a great debt.
