A report filed by the City of Edinburgh Council has shown that a number of secondary schools within the city will be over capacity this year.
The report from the Education, Parents and Families Committee meeting held on Tuesday, March 1, gave figures on the amount of pupils currently attending primary and secondary schools in the capital.
The numbers showed that some secondary schools are already over their capacity, with projected numbers for the next ten years all showing an increase in pupils.
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The number next to each school represents its notional capacity, with the following numbers representing the prediction for every year until 2031.
The school with the highest capacity is Boroughmuir High School, with an allowance of 1560, although the school is currently not full to capacity and is not an area for concern.
James Gillespie's High School has a national capacity of 1450, but in 2021, 1524 pupils were enrolled in the school. The school roll is expected to increase by a further 100 pupils in 2022.
Another school currently over its capacity is Craigroyston Community High School. The figures show that the school has a capacity of 600 and in 2021, it had 78 more pupils attending. The projected stats show the number of pupils attending this school will rise into the 800s by 2031, with the situation being monitored.
Firrhill High School is also currently over capacity, with 2021 figures showing that 1297 pupils are attending the school, even though the suggested amount is set to 1150. However, the projection shows a steady increase in the next few years, followed by a rapid decrease, meaning that by 2031, the school should be back operating to capacity.
Combining the capacity number for all schools, the total is 23,060. with the figures for 2021 showing that overall, schools in Edinburgh are operating below the total capacity, with 21,740, although some schools are being monitored due to a projected increase in years to come
An annual report on school roll projections is usually presented to the Committee every December. Due to delays with data availability caused by the Covid pandemic, the projections have been published on the Council website at the end of January 2022.
A natural increase in the number of pupils in secondary schools has been projected for some time, as a rise in primary school capacity levels began back in 2009, meaning the obvious knock on effect is now hitting secondary schools, with some numbers scaling back as early as 2025.
During the meeting, questions were put to Robbie Crockatt, the Learning Estate Manager. Councillor Scott Douglas asked about the fact many schools were being monitored and that there appeared to be a possible capacity issue in the coming years.
Mr Crockatt responded: "There is obviously a lot of activity in the west where new schools and new buildings are concerned so we're keeping an eye on that one.
"The projected figures we have are notional and that's due to the timetable changes and subject choices that can change the levels of capacity within a school on a year to year basis. We'll work with the schools to see if they are having any issues accommodating particularly the S1 intake that comes in on an annual basis.
"That is the main marker for measuring whether or not a school is facing accommodation pressures, rather than the overall capacity which can be variable depending on how the timetable is set up.
"If there is a school that is being monitored, we will either be in contact with the school or already aware that there might perhaps be a breach in capacity, but we would ideally like to see if return to that optimal operating level."
The secondary schools that are projected to be over capacity this year are as follows:
| School | Capacity | 2022 |
| Balerno Community HS | 850 | 864 |
| Broughton HS | 1200 | 1227 |
| Craigroyston Community HS | 600 | 703 |
| Firrhill HS | 1150 | 1229 |
| James Gillespie's HS | 1450 | 1626 |
| Leith Academy | 950 | 984 |
| Portobello HS | 1400 | 1434 |
| St Augustine's RC HS | 900 | 947 |
| St Thomas of Aquin's RC HS | 750 | 796 |
| The Royal HS | 1200 | 1380 |
| Trinity Academy | 950 | 956 |
