Tickets for three standout events in the 2025 Edinburgh Science Festival programme are set to go on-sale at 10am on Monday 9 December.
Offering a jam-packed day for festival-goers, 5 April presents in-conversation events with former-NASA astronaut and oceanographer Dr Kathy Sullivan, and also with Director of Community Clothing and The Great British Sewing Bee Judge Patrick Grant.
Regularly described as ‘The World’s most vertical woman’, Dr Kathy Sullivan was the first woman to reach Challenger Deep, and the first American woman to walk in space. Join Kathy on 5 April at the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre for Above and Below: An Astronaut’s View of our Planet,to hear firsthand about her unparalleled experiences, including her time as a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, her role in deploying the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as her dive to the Challenger Deep.
Specifically tailored to younger science-curious minds, Dr Kathy Sullivan will also be chatting to the constantly curious science presenter Siân Bevan about her adventures in space and on earth in the family-focused event Walk Like An Astronaut, at the National Museum of Scotland, also on 5 April.
Above and Below: An Astronaut’s View of our Planetand Walk Like An Astronaut are programmed with support from the United States Embassy.
Director of Community Clothing and The Great British Sewing Bee judge, Edinburgh-born Patrick Grant also joins the festival on 5 April at the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre for Less with Patrick Grant.
Clothes are important. They define who we are, impact our mood and influence how people think of us. Today the average person buys 60% more clothes than they did 15 years ago and wears them for half as long.
Join Patrick Grant in conversation with broadcaster and climate writer Lucy Siegle as they consider the crisis of consumption and quality in fashion.
Edinburgh Science Festival was the world’s first festival of science and technology, and is still one of Europe’s largest.
Returning from Saturday 5 to Sunday 20 April under the theme Spaceship Earth, the 2025 festival will explore the challenges of living on a planet with finite resources through the lenses of science fiction and space exploration.
The 2025 festival will be the first delivered under the tenure of Director, Hassun El-Zafar who assumed the role in 2024.
Tickets on-sale TOMORROW at 10am on 9 December for the three events at:
UNIQLO partners with Social Bite and Unique Assembly to provide warmth to local Scottish communities
Global apparel retailer UNIQLO announces the latest innovations for HEATTECH, its thin and warm thermal clothing technology that converts water vapor from the body into heat.
Following the Edinburgh store opening in Spring 2024, UNIQLO are pleased to offer its HEATTECH lineup to the people of Scotland this winter.
The epitome of UNIQLO’s LifeWear philosophy, for more than two decades, available in three levels of warmth: HEATTECH (Regular), HEATTECH Extra Warm and HEATTECH Ultra Warm, HEATTECH has changed winter fashion around the world.
The 2024 HEATTECH offering has even greater comfort. The new HEATTECH EXTRA WARM Cashmere Blend from the UNIQLO: C collection has a 9% cashmere blend to provide a soft and fluffy feel. In addition to innerwear, the broad lineup of products incorporating HEATTECH technology also includes outer layers and accessories. HEATTECH continues to support winter lifestyles, making the cold season warmer, lighter, and more comfortable.
The Heart of LifeWear in partnership with Social Bite
In the Social Bite coffee shop November 2024, donations of new HEATTECH items were provided as the part of The Heart of LifeWear initiative by Alessandro Dudech, UNIQLO UK COO, and representatives from Social Bite’s Jobs First employment programme for people affected by homelessness.
This winter, UNIQLO will launch the ‘Heart of LifeWear’ initiative donating one million new items of HEATTECH, thermal clothing, worldwide to make life a little more comfortable for those who are in a severe situation. With the help of its NGO partners, UNIQLO is working to provide warmth and comfort to people all over the world.
Since the opening of the UNIQLO Edinburgh store in April 2024, UNIQLO UK has partnered with local Scottish charity Social Bite, to support its mission to end homelessness.
UNIQLO is pleased to announce Social Bite as one of the UK recipients for the ‘Heart of LifeWear’ initiative, in the coming winter, with over 2,500 items of HEATTECH that will be distributed in Scotland via the Social Bite network.
Josh Littlejohn, Social Bite Founder,said: “We’re thrilled that our partnership with UNIQLO will bring thousands of thermal items to people affected by homelessness this winter.
“This essential support provides warmth and comfort through the coldest months, while also helping to raise awareness of challenges faced by people most in need.
“With homelessness rising across the UK, UNIQLO customers can also make a financial donation to Social Bite at UNIQLO tills this season, supporting vulnerable people during winter and beyond.”
Alongside Social Bite, UNIQLO UK will partner with Goods for Good, Crisis Liverpool, Crisis London and New Horizon to distribute a total of 10,000 HEATTECH items this winter.
UNIQLO Ice Rink
As part of the HEATTECH activity in Scotland, UNIQLO is delighted to partner with Unique Assembly as title sponsor of this year’s Edinburgh’s Christmas Ice Rink on the West End of George Street.
Every attendee of the Ice Rink will receive a scratch card offering money off vouchers and lucky winners will receive one free item of HEATTECH, vouchers are redeemable at the Edinburgh store until the end of January 2025.
Speaking about the partnership Sally Richens, Brand Manager UNIQLO U.K.said: “Following our successful Edinburgh store opening in April this year, we are delighted to support the Edinburgh Ice Rink this winter.
“We hope to bring warmth to the city via our HEATTECH thermal products, allowing people to enjoy outdoor pursuits this festive season.”
When: 22 November – 04 January
Where: West George Street between Castle Street and Charlotte Square
It was a Scottish Budget where what was left unsaid was just as consequential as what Shona Robison mentioned in her 30-minute statement to the Scottish Parliament (writes the staff team at FRASER of ALLANDER INSTITUTE).
The Scottish Government will be hoping for many of the headlines to focus on the mitigation of the effect of the two-child limit from 2026-27. The Finance Secretary left this until last in the order to ensure maximum impact.
A very political announcement, then, given the timing of the election, and one that has no money attached to it (as far as we can tell) in the 2025-26 financial year – the year this Budget actually refers to. See more on this below.
There were also significant announcements on health spending, which is forecast to rise by 3.6% in real terms – significant growth, although as we have said frequently, how and where it is spent matters just as much as the envelope. There were also increases to the affordable housing supply programme, which was cut by a quarter last year but is now just only 2.5% below 2023-24 in real terms.
At this point, we must welcome the change in presentation of the Scottish Government’s plans, which are now compared with their best estimate of the position for the current financial year. This has helped us meaningfully scrutinise plans, although some wrinkles remain to be ironed out such as in-year transfers to local government, and which we hope will be baselined in future.
Two-child limit
The biggest surprise in the budget (although social media had got wind of it slightly ahead of time) was the promise to ‘mitigate, as far as possible, the impacts of the two-child limit from 2026.’
This was clearly a last-minute addition to the budget. The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) stated they received it too late to add to their figures, and too late for any analysis to be included in the budget document itself or the Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement. This lack of detail is troubling given the potential cost of funding this is likely to be in the region of £200m. There are far too many unknowns to say anything conclusive about impact, but there is no doubt that it would boost efforts towards the statutory child poverty targets (albeit not by nearly enough to meet them by just doing this alone).
How will the Scottish Government fund this? Well, they may be hoping that they won’t have to, and the UK Government will announce the abolition of the policy UK wide (which is widely expected to happen at some point) before the Scottish Government have to put their hands in their pocket.
Whilst early 2026 is their target date, this was heavily caveated in the statement as being dependent on the UK Government giving the Scottish Government the data to allow them to operationalise it. Given recent experience of rolling out the Scottish Child Payment, which took years, there are plenty of reasons why this may take longer than those target timescales set out. Yet in the meantime, the Scottish Government can take the moral high ground.
Relief for hospitality businesses
The Finance Secretary announced a 40% relief for small hospitality businesses that at first glance could appear very similar to the 40% relief offered by Rachel Reeves for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) businesses. However, it is a much more limited measure than the one offered in England – just for hospitality only, and only for those businesses who are “small” i.e. have a rateable value of less than £51,000.
To give a sense of scale, the SFC have estimated that this relief will cost £22m: far short of the Barnett funding generated by the measure in England of £147m.
ScotWind funding (partially) restored
Early in her statement, the Finance Secretary announced that some of the ScotWind funding that had been drawn down to fill gaps in spending in the statement in September has not been used for day-to-day spending, and instead will be retained for capital spending in 2025-26 – “for exactly the kind of long-term investment it should be spent on.”
ScotWind monies are revenues generated from the sale of offshore wind licences to energy companies. As they are one-off windfall payments from the exploitation of Scotland’s resources, they should really be used to invest in infrastructure to ensure that Scotland’s economy benefits on an ongoing basis from this sale. In particular, it should be focussed on capital spending that helps with the energy transition.
However, it is still the case that some of this fund has been used to plug gaps in day-to-day spending, even if some of the money has now been returned. The Scottish Government has used £160 million for resource funding in 2024-25. Now, in 2025-26, the Scottish Government plans to use ScotWind mostly to support £326 million of capital spending, with £10 million still used for resource.
This leaves a remaining balance of £219 million to support capital or resource spending in future years. Here’s hoping it is explicitly set aside for investment spending.
Lessons learned?
A surprising decision was to not account for the certain increase in employment costs due to the employer National Insurance Contributions that will come into effect on 1 April. As we mentioned in the last few days, we expect this will cost around £500m, and it will be an ongoing cost as the increase is permanent.
The Scottish Government doesn’t yet have confirmation as to how much they will receive from the Treasury in compensation, but any of the figures discussed in the media will be below that amount – perhaps around £300m. This means that the Scottish Government has a £200m shortfall in funding – perhaps more if it decides to compensate arms-length organisations providing public services.
What we have learned from the SFC’s documents, however, is that this shortfall remains unaccounted for in the Scottish Government’s budgeting. This is an extremely risky approach, and one which sets up a possible need for further emergency measures during the course of the next financial year – leaving us wondering whether any lessons have been learned from going into a new year without fully setting aside budget cover for what are known costs, as highlighted by the recent Audit Scotland report.
Beyond next year, there are some difficult news on the income tax forecast as well. The Scottish Government is looking at a £700m negative reconciliation in 2027-28, largely due to a much larger deduction to the block grant related to 2024-25 than that which was built into that year’s budget. This is still an early forecast, and much might change until then – reconciliations have changed significantly in the past. But if it comes to pass, it’ll be at a point when growth in funding for public services will be slowing– meaning that difficult decisions have been kicked into the future rather than planned for.
IMPROVING NHS, SCRAPPING TWO CHILD CAP AND DELIVERING UNIVERSAL WINTER SUPPORT
The SNP Government’s Budget will deliver progress for Scotland, by Scotland – after listening carefully to the people of Scotland and taking action on their concerns.
SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands Gordon Macdonald highlighted key SNP policies which will be taken forward in the Budget which will benefit people in Edinburgh including:
· Record levels of NHS funding – throwing the weight of the government behind NHS improvement
· Reintroducing universal winter heating payments for pensioners after they were axed by the UK Labour Government
· Scrapping Labour’s Two Child Cap – lifting 15,000 children out of poverty
· Increased investment in housing, supporting the delivery of 8,000 homes
· Delivering a fair tax system – meaning the majority of people in Scotland pay less tax than in the rest of the UK
Commenting Gordon said: “I am delighted at the support John Swinney’s first Budget is offering for people in Edinburgh. It will deliver real progress on people’s priorities – and will offer hope, putting in place the investment for Scotland to in the future.
“The First Minister has listened to what people have told him on the NHS – that’s why he is investing record amounts and throwing the whole weight of the government behind improving the health service, making it easier for people in Edinburgh to see their GP, bringing down waiting times, and funding the replacement of the Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh.
“People across Edinburgh have been let down by the UK Labour Government. While the UK Government’s Budget treated Scotland as an afterthought – this is a Budget that puts the people of Scotland first.
“While they cut winter fuel payments, the SNP is introducing universal support, while they push kids in Edinburgh into poverty with the cruel two-child cap, the SNP will scrap it and give thousands of kids a better chance in life.
“All this is being achieved while delivering the fairest tax system in the UK – with the majority of people in Scotland paying less tax than south of the border.
“This SNP Government have and will continue to listen to people’s concerns and take strong, decisive action to deliver on their priorities.”
Youth organisation launches new inclusive and accessible mental health support
AN EDINBURGH-BASED youth mental health charity has unveiled an ambitious new strategy designed to create meaningful and accessible support spaces for young people across the city.
U-evolve, which has supported over 200 young people aged 11-21 each year since 2015, is marking a pivotal moment in its mission with the launch of its comprehensive 2025-2028 strategy.
The charity offers tailored services such as mental health coaching, counselling, art therapy, drop-in sessions, and specialised workshops, breaking down traditional barriers to mental health support.
The new strategy focuses on creating both physical and metaphorical spaces where young people can feel supported and empowered to take control of their mental well-being.
Earlier this year, the charity made the move to Norton Park, Edinburgh’s first office complex dedicated to charities and social enterprises, operating from the carefully restored Victorian school building.
Susie McIntyre, Chief Executive of U-evolve, said: “Our new strategy is about creating space – both physical and metaphorical – where young people can feel genuinely supported and empowered to take control of their mental health.
“Our move to Norton Park provides the ideal foundation for this transformative approach. The environment here inspires collaboration and innovation, enabling us to focus our resources and energy where they’re needed most- supporting the young people of Edinburgh.”
With a strong emphasis on listening to young people and involving them in decision-making, the strategy reflects a commitment to inclusivity, kindness, and continuous learning.
Part of this is done through Young Voices, a focus group centred around listening to the issues that matter to young people.
A young person benefitting from U-evolve’s work said: “I think Young Voices helps U-evolve realise the struggles that young people have today with Mental Health.
“Being a part of Young Voices Team, has improved my confidence and especially around talking about mental health. It has helped me reflect and look at some problems that other young people have that I would not think of otherwise.”
The charity’s move to Norton Park symbolises a new chapter of growth and innovation. By reducing operational costs, U-evolve can invest more resources directly into supporting young people’s mental health and is now better positioned to extend its critical mental health services with renewed momentum.
Keith Robertson, CEO of Norton Park said: “We’re proud to provide a professional home that enables organisations like U-evolve to focus entirely on their crucial mission.
“This strategy demonstrates the potential of charities when given the right support and environment.”
For more information on how to support U-evolve visit u-evolve.org or follow the charity on Instagram @uevolvescotland
It’s time to get your pens and pencils out for this year’s CHRISTMAS DRAWING COMPETITION!
Please come to the desk to get your entry paper to do your drawing on, as we have lots printed out for you!
Then when your winteriest, cheeriest, yuletidefullest drawing is finished please hand it in at the desk by 18th December, for the chance to win a prize.
We really are excited to see what you all come up with!
Fettes College has been named Scottish Independent School of the Year for Academic Excellence 2025 (GCSE/A level) in the Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2025.
Fettes College, the only school in Scotland offering pupils the choice between A Levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB), has received recognition for academic excellence for its GCSE and A Level curriculum and results.
The school is also recognised as the Top IB School in Scotland and a Top Ten IB School in the UK.
Schools are ranked based on the average points achieved in the International Baccalaureate examinations and the percentage of A*, A, and B grades across all A-Level entries in summer 2024.
Helen Harrison, Head of Fettes College, said:“This achievement is largely down to the hard work of our students, who are always striving for the best and who dedicate the time to their education and individual growth.
“However, it wouldn’t be possible without the unwavering support of all of our teaching staff, who commit their days to bringing the best out of our students and providing them with a quality education that sets them up for life outside of school.
“The quality of education we deliver goes beyond achieving impressive academic results at GCSE, A Levels, and the IB. Our curriculum, including our bespoke Middle School Diploma, is designed to stretch and challenge students beyond the confines of the exam specification and encourages students to achieve excellent outcomes and to aim high.
“We want to empower our students to work independently and to think critically, encouraging innovation and creativity and setting them up for success in the Sixth Form and beyond. It’s fantastic to receive this recognition.”
82% of Fettes’ recent leavers secured places at their first-choice universities, both in the UK and internationally.
The wait is finally over as the new bouldering facilities at Edinburgh Leisure’s flagship climbing arena at Ratho open today – Saturday, 7 December 2024.
The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena received £100,000 towards bouldering redevelopment to improve opportunities to progress at all levels of the sport and was made possible from sportscotland’s Sport Facilities Fund and National Lottery Players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK.
The new state-of-the-art competition bouldering wall, designed by the Serious Climbing team at Rockcity, in partnership with Dreamwall, means that EICA: Ratho is the only climbing centre in the UK with Olympic/International standard facilities for all three climbing disciplines (lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering).
Nic Crawshaw, Climbing Operations Manager at EICA explained: “Designed for experienced climbers, these walls complement our existing facilities, offering even more opportunities to push climbers limits and refine their skills.
“We’ve been really privileged to work with some of the best route setters in the world. Percy Bishton, Head of the IFSC Route Setting Commission and Tokyo Olympic Chief Route Setter has led a team setting the new boulders, along with Max Aryton, another IFSC route setter and GB Climbing head of route setting, watched over by our very own highly experienced route setter Jess McCaskey.
The boulders, made by leading climbing wall manufacturer Dreamwall, in their factory in Sofia, Bulgaria, arrived at the EICA in October, along with their expert construction team. Work has taken place over the last couple of months to install the new walls.
The holds, macros and volumes are from the exciting brands in the Serious Climbing stable, which featured heavily at the Olympics and the IFSC World Cup series.
In celebration of the new bouldering facilities, EICA: Ratho has a December Bouldering Competition with the chance to win a year of free climbing. There is a special no-joining-fee offer for Climb Memberships too, available until 31st January 2025.
And for those just visiting Edinburgh or still deciding on a membership, there is the possibility to grab a 2-week Winter Pass by 18th December and experience everything EICA has to offer – including the new arena boulders. The Winter Pass is perfect for joining the December Bouldering Competition.
As the UK’s largest climbing gym and the only international competition venue, it has hosted European Championships and World Cup for Lead and Speed in recent years, but the bouldering facilities needed an upgrade to enable it to host all three IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) and Olympic disciplines.
As Mark English, Managing Director of Rockcity explained: “With these new, modern flat-panelled bouldering walls and another freestanding boulder the Edinburgh community now has the best facilities in the city and surrounding area, using an unrivalled climbing hold selection and world class route setting.
“Now the work’s complete you can expect to see Edinburgh Leisure’s flagship climbing experience jump into the future and host some amazing competition and circuit-based bouldering in the coming year.”
Welcoming the investment, Emma Ogilvie-Hall, Head of Operations at Edinburgh Leisure said: “We’re very grateful to the sportscotland funding and National Lottery players that has allowed us to replace our outdated bouldering facilities at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA) with facilities that are of Olympic/International Climbing standard, meaning that Scotland is able to host bouldering competitions and national training camps and allow the EICA to keep our national and international profile as a world-class climbing facility.
“With indoor bouldering now the most widely practised form of climbing it will ensure that the EICA can continue as a world class venue for all three climbing disciplines – lead, speed, and bouldering – while continuing to provide climbers of all ages and abilities with access to opportunities to participate in and progress through the sport.”
Jamie Smith, ClimbScotland Development Manager at Mountaineering Scotland said: “It is great to see this development come to fruition.
“The bouldering upgrade at EICA in the arena has been a strategic priority for a number of years and Mountaineering Scotland has supported the need for this through our facility strategy.
“Over the years, EICA has supported and hosted a number of our competitions as well as training events for our development and national squads. We look forward to our next event at EICA and getting on the new boulders”
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