A bid to buy land for the new Boroughmuir High School in the Fountainbridge area has been accepted by the seller Lloyds Banking Group.

The City of Edinburgh Council has secured 'preferred bidder' status which means the site will be bought subject to the conclusion of missives and the approval of Full Council at its meeting on 24th November with the purchase confirmed before the end of the year. Following the purchase, a full consultation will be carried out in the New Year on the proposal to move the school to Fountainbridge.

Officials have been considering options for a new site for Boroughmuir since the Scottish Government announced part funding for a new school in December 2010. The Government would provide funding of up to two thirds of the cost of replacing the school on a like for like basis.

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City Education Leader Cllr Marilyne MacLaren said: "I'm delighted that we have moved a step closer to securing a new home for Boroughmuir and to achieving our commitment to build three new secondary schools for Edinburgh. The school has been on the re-build list for many years and the school community had almost given up hope of finding a suitable site.

"The Fountainbridge site will allow the school to be developed within a city centre location in a unique and special learning environment on the Union Canal. We want to design another school of the future for Edinburgh where learning and teaching, the school ethos and the school community are at the heart of the development."

The Fountainbridge site is at the bottom of Viewforth, only 500m from the existing school building.

Boroughmuir High school would be developed on the same basis as James Gillespie's and Portobello High which have been developed with the input of educational design specialists.

The ambitious plans aim to create schools for the future, built around the principles of Curriculum for Excellence and which have the look and feel of a modern university campus.

Although the new site would be the recommended option, the legally required consultation process, starting in the New Year, would also include a second option to refurbish and extend the existing high school building. Further work is required to identify potential arrangements for any decant which is likely to be into a temporary accommodation 'village' for up to three years.

(GK)