Balerno High School is a six-year secondary school located in

Balerno Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: �paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the cou ...

, a suburb of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland. The school stands on the banks of the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britt ...

, and serves children from Balerno, Kirknewton and

Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Stati ...

, and also hosts pupils from a variety of areas outside the

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

such as

Currie Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...

East Calder East Calder is a village located in West Lothian, Scotland, about a mile east of Mid Calder and a mile west of Wilkieston. It forms part of 'the Calders (together with Mid and West Calder), three small neighbouring communities situated west o ...

Mid Calder Mid Calder ( sco, Mid Calder; gd, Caladar Mheadhain) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on a steep hill overlooking the River Almond and Calder Wood, around west of Edinburgh. The settlement has been on a major crossroads s ...

, Edinburgh and Livingston.

Headteacher and SMT

The head teacher is Neil McCallum. He is assisted by his management team which consists of deputy heads Lisa Coffey and Roslyn Ranger, and business manager Linda Parkes.

History

The first record of a school in Balerno refers to one set up in 1814. Its purpose was to teach English. There were 75 pupils and the teacher was paid £25 per year. In 1872 elementary education became compulsory and a new school was needed. In 1877 what is currently the Dean Park Primary School 'annexe' became Dean Park Primary School itself (the school has since moved to a different site in Balerno) and the red brick building, now Jigsaw Nursery School, was the teacher's house. Balerno was also served by St Mungo's Episcopal School. Until the 1970s, secondary education involved Balerno, Ratho and Kirknewton children travelling long distances. With the rapid population growth in the Balerno area (1000 people in 1960, 15,000 in 1995), plans were drawn up for a £4,600,000 community school and builders prepared to go on site in April 1980. The ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by JPIMedia, which also ...

'' reported a "shock rethink" as late as January 1980 which would "examine the consequences of not proceeding with the project". The Council even considered the feasibility of expanding places at nearby

and

Firrhill Firrhill is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of Merchants of Edinburgh Golf Club and lies next to Oxgangs. The area is mostly made up of public housing which was built by the Corporation Housing Department in the mid- ...

High Schools. Balerno Community High School was opened to pupils from first to third years in August 1983. The school has since expanded to accommodate first to sixth year pupils.

Famous people

Notable alumni

Craig Gordon Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team. Gordon started his c ...

- Scottish footballer (goalkeeper) * Boards of Canada - brothers Michael and Marcus Sandison, musicians * Eunice Olumide - model and performer * Michael Deacon (journalist) - political sketch writer, Daily Telegraph *

Nina Nesbitt Nina Nesbitt (born ) is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She has two top 40 singles, and is known for her single "Stay Out", which peaked at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2013. Her first Extended play, EP, ''The Apple Tree'', was r ...

- singer

Teachers

JJ Chalmers John-James Chalmers (born 20 December 1986) is a Scottish television presenter, public speaker and Invictus Games medallist. He was injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2011, while serving as a Royal Marine. Early life Chalmers was born o ...

- Scottish television presenter and

Invictus Games The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spi ...

medallist

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1983 Secondary schools in Edinburgh 1983 establishments in Scotland