Firrhill High School

Coordinates: 55°54′52.51″N 3°14′10.86″W / 55.9145861°N 3.2363500°W / 55.9145861; -3.2363500
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Firrhill High School
Address
Map
9 Oxgangs Road North

Edinburgh

Scotland
Information
TypeState Secondary
MottoAir carraig
Established1960
Head teacherGraham Hamilton
Staff121 approx
Enrolment1331 approx[1]
GradesS1 to S6
Websitehttp://firrhillhigh.org/

Firrhill High School is a secondary school located in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The school was established in 1960, and was officially opened by the city's lord provost. The school has around 1123 pupils and a teaching staff roll of around 121.[2] The school serves areas such as: Oxgangs, Colinton Mains, Colinton Village, Bonaly, Fairmilehead, Buckstone, Craiglockhart and Longstone.[3]

In 2001, the school underwent drastic refurbishing work, with several run-down buildings dating from the 1960s being either refurbished or demolished with new buildings built in their place. Work was completed in mid-2005.[4] The school was refurbished by a private finance initiative.

Headteacher[edit]

The current headteacher is Graham Hamilton.[5]

Notable alumni and teachers[edit]

  • Robbie Foy, formerly of Liverpool F.C. and Scunthorpe United FC, is a former pupil of the school. Foy, Sives and Vita represented Scotland Schoolboys in 2000 and 2001[6] respectively whilst at the school[7] and all three played in the Victory Shield.
  • The Scottish actress and comedian Elaine C. Smith was a drama teacher at the school in the early-1980s.[8]
  • The pianist and composer Stuart Mitchell who discovered the musical symbols in Rosslyn Chapel and has been celebrated in the Classic FM Hall of Fame for 15 years was a former pupil at Firrhill High School.[9]
  • Margot Wells, the elite athletics coach, and the wife of 100-metre gold medallist Allan Wells, taught physical education at Firrhill in the late 1970s.
  • Dougie Fife, a pupil at Firrhill in the 2000s is a rugby union player with over 120 appearances for Edinburgh Rugby and represented Scotland in under 20s, 7s and national team. Dougie currently plays in the US Major League Rugby competition.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education[edit]

On 13 June 2006, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education reported on the school.[10] The inspectors identified as key strengths "The coherent and progressive programme of enterprise activities from S1-S6" and "The high standards of attainment at S5/S6". The report also commended the strong direction given by the Head Teacher Karen Prophet.

The Report also commended the condition of the school saying that the school was well-designed and had good specialist teaching areas and had good social areas for pupils.

HM Inspectorate of Education issued a follow-up report on 22 April 2008.[11] The report identified "good" or "very good" progress regarding all the items identified for action in the 2006 inspection report, and found no need to conduct further follow-up inspections.

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Catchment Area Map[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Written Answer, Scottish Parliament
  5. ^ "Firrhill High School SMT". Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Football - Article - TES Connect". Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Capital starlets to take off on a trip of a lifetime". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 9 February 2002.
  8. ^ "Elaine C Smith Comedy Instead Of Teaching". Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Composer cracks Rosslyn's musical code".
  10. ^ Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education report on Firrhill High School, 13 June 2006 Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education report on Firrhill High School, 22 April 2008 Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine

55°54′52.51″N 3°14′10.86″W / 55.9145861°N 3.2363500°W / 55.9145861; -3.2363500