New nursery opened at Ferryhill

Young children across the Capital are benefitting from an innovative approach to transforming the early years learning and childcare landscape by the City of Edinburgh Council …

Education convener Ian Perry and Vice Convener Alison Dickie performed the official opening of Ferryhill’s new nursery on Wednesday. The visit doubtless brought back some fond memories for Alison, who was formerly a teacher at the primary school in Drylaw. Continue reading New nursery opened at Ferryhill

Spartans all set for school sports day

Spartans Community Football Academy are hosting a sportsday for local primary schools on Wednesday 24^th May. This is the fourth year of this annual event and primary 7s from Craigroyston, Forthview, Pirniehall, St David’s and Ferryhill primaries are all set to attend. Continue reading Spartans all set for school sports day

Spartans CFA Girls Football Fun Day

Spartans Community Football Academy are hosting a Girls Football Fun Day for local primary schools on Friday 10 June. This will be the second year of this annual event and Craigroyston, Ferryhill, Trinity, Pirniehall, St Davids and Wardie P6 & 7 girls will be taking part.

Continue reading Spartans CFA Girls Football Fun Day

Ferryhill closed following fire alarm

Ferryhill Primary School is closed following a safety check this morning. Continue reading Ferryhill closed following fire alarm

Sun shines down on Autumn Games

More than four hundred and fifty P7s from eleven local schools took part in the Active Schools Autumn Games at Broughton High School today. The children took the opportunity to try out six different sports and there were prizes at the end for top school teams too.

Active Schools coordinator Robert Ure, who organised the event, explained: “The eleven primary schools who took part were Pirniehall and St Davids from the Craigroyston Cluster; Granton, Ferryhill, Flora Stevenson and Stockbridge from the Broughton Cluster; Trinity, Wardie and Victoria from the Trinity Cluster and Abbeyhill and Broughton from the Drummond Cluster.

“They are all P7 classes and I’d estimate we had between 450 – 500 pupils in attendance. The pupils competed in six different competitions – girl’s rugby, boy’s rugby, lacrosse (new this year), football, Tae Kwon Do and fencing – and the winners were presented with a shield to keep for a year.”

Robert thanked the coaches and volunteers for their essential support in making the event such a success – and there was also a huge thank-you to the school children who took part: while the competition was spirited and enthusiastic, the young athletes were impeccably behaved and a credit to their schools throughout.

And the winners on the day?

Tae Kwon Do – Trinity

Boys Rugby – Wardie

Girls Rugby – Flora Stevenson

Fencing – St David’s

Football – Granton

Lacrosse – Victoria

Congratulations to all the winners, but as we all know it’s not just about winning, it’s the taking part – so well done to all 450 young sports stars who helped to make the Autumn Games so special!

More pictures on our Facebook page

Boy knocked down on Groathill Road North

A five year old boy has been hit by a vehicle near Ferryhill Primary School on Groathill Road North.

The accident happened at around 2.45pm this afternoon. The boy was treated by medical staff at the scene before being transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. His condition is not thought to be serious.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police in Edinburgh attended a road traffic collision involving a five-year-old child outside Ferryhill Primary School this afternoon. The child was taken to the Sick Kids Hospital to be treated for a minor injury.”

A similar accident involving a child happened close to the same spot in 2012 and Easter Drylaw Residents Association has campaigned on the issue of local road safety for over three years.

Witnesses should contact Police Scotland on 101

Top chef inspires city’s school cooks

Top Edinburgh chef and restaurateur Mark Greenaway took time away from cooking award-winning food to encourage the city’s school cooks to use and experiment more with fresh, seasonal and Scottish produce last week.
He was speaking at a Food for Life seminar in the City Chambers, organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and Food for Life Scotland, to launch the latest school menu – developed to meet the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark standards.

With the help of Food for Life Scotland, all Edinburgh schools are working towards the bronze standard, ensuring that more meals are freshly prepared using seasonal produce.

Achieving the prestigious award will make Edinburgh the first Scottish Local Authority to serve Catering Mark awarded meals in all school levels.

Mark was joined by Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds to commend all those involved in the Council’s bid, and to celebrate the important work that school cooks do in helping to nurture and nourish the capital’s school pupils.

Cllr Lesley Hinds said: “I’m sure Mark’s input, together with implementation of the Food for Life Catering Mark will help our school caterers build on the great work they already do in our schools using fresh, seasonal and Scottish produce. As a Council we have a strong commitment to sustainability and to providing fresh nourishing and locally sourced food across our facilities.

“Currie Community High School and Buckstone Primary School already have the bronze award and we need to keep up the momentum to achieve our goal of Edinburgh being the first local authority in Scotland to achieve this across the whole school sector.”

Mark said: “It was fantastic to see so many of the city’s school cooks in one place, sharing their experience of cooking and hearing about the changes being made to the menus which will allow them to serve more fresh and seasonal produce in Edinburgh’s schools. I think Food for Life Scotland has the potential to make a significant difference to food culture in schools and beyond, which will benefit all of us over time.”

Food for Life Scotland is working closely with City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Edinburgh Food for Life Partnership, a partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council, the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian which aims to embed a culture of real food change across the capital.

Three City of Edinburgh Council care homes already have the Bronze award – Clovenstone House, Marionville Court and Ferrylee.

Picture: Chef Mark Greenaway is joined by school cooks (left to right): Michelle Johnston (Ferryhill Primary), Julie Young (Currie Community High School), Jackie Montgomery (Dean Park Primary) and Lorna McKenna (Liberton High School).

Gym Fest 2012 hits new heights

Edinburgh Leisure and Active Schools teamed up again to stage Gymfest, a celebration of the city’s young gymnasts, at Broughton High School yesterday. And with financial support from Active City the annual display reached new heights – quite literally! A wide range of gymnasts from across the city took part in the Broughton spectacular – from enthusiastic new dancers and fun gymnasts (some performing in public for the first time) to top young athletes who already participate in competitions – and the packed audience was entertained from start to finish by some spectacular performances. Given the high standards throughout the afternoon it was fitting that all the participants received medals, so take a bow: