Firrhill High School
Encyclopedia
Firrhill High School is a state-run secondary school in the South West of Edinburgh
, Scotland
. The school was established in the year 1960, being unveiled by the city's Lord Provost. The school has around 1160 pupils with a teaching staff of around 120. The school serves areas such as Oxgangs
, Colinton Mains, Colinton Village, Bonaly
, Fairmilehead
, Buckstone
, Craiglockhart
and Longstone
.
In 2001 the school underwent drastic refurbishing work, with several rundown buildings dating from the 1960s being either refurbished or demolished with new buildings being built in their place, this was completed in summer 2005. The school was refurbished by a Private Finance Initiative
.
". The houses are:
The Houses are named after three of the Pentland hills, to the south of Edinburgh
and in sight of the school.
and Craig Sives
are now professional footballers playing for Hearts and Shamrock Rovers respectively. In 2000 they were both in the Under 13 football team that almost completed the 'treble'. Having already won the League they headed to Love Street home of St. Mirren F.C.
to play Johnstone High School in the Scottish Schools Cup Final, losing 1-0 at half-time, 2 goals from Craig Sives
gave Firrhill a 2-1 lead however Johnstone equalised in injury-time. Dino Vita formally of Stenhousemuir F.C.
gave Firrhill a 3-2 lead early in extra-time however Johnstone again equalised in injury-time taking the match to a penalty shoot-out which Johnstone won 4-2. Firrhill recovered to win The League Cup, beating St. Augustine's High School, Edinburgh, Scotland 2-1 on the pitch behind Tynecastle Stadium
. Kerr "The Moat Flyer" Potter who was also in that side played for Albion Rovers F.C..
Ross Elliot, older brother of Calum, was also a professional footballer, once playing for Alloa
.
Robbie Foy
, formerly of Liverpool FC and Scunthorpe United FC was a former pupil of the school.
Robbie Foy
; Craig Sives
and Dino Vita represented Scotland Schoolboys in 2000 and 2001 respectively whilst at the school, all 3 played in the Victory Shield
.
Sam Woods and Calum Martin had spells at Rangers F.C.
and Hibernian F.C.
respectively as Under 19/Reserve players.
Scottish actor Stuart Moncrieff was a Drama teacher at the school at one point before fame.
Scottish composer and pianist Stuart Mitchell
was a former pupil who decoded and scored the 15th Century music embedded into the carvings of Rosslyn Chapel
and is also a Classic FM Hall of Fame Composer from 2005-2010 with his symphonic work Seven Wonders Suite for Orchestra composed in 2003.
The Scottish actress and comedienne, Elaine C Smith was a teacher at the school in the early 1980s.
John McTernan has been a senior advisor to Henry McLeish (former First Minister) and Prime Minister Blair. He was questioned by the police in the "Cash for Honours" affair.
Scottish athlete Margot Wells
, wife of Olympic sprint champion Allan Wells
, was a Physical Education teacher at the school in the early 1970s.
Former Blue Peter
presenter Romana D'Annunzio
was an English teacher at the school during session 2009-10.
Firrhill appeared again in The Edinburgh Evening News in August 2006 as they celebrated as nine Pupils received straight A's in their Higher Exams.
A Firrhill pupil also appeared on BBC News and the Evening news in August 2007 after getting straight A's in his standard grades and attaining an A in Higher a year early.
Firrhill appeared in The Scotsman
for its fast track maths program for Standard Grade
students.
Firrhill appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News
on the 24th of july 2010. Stating in the last 12 month up to march the school had 22 call outs by the fire brigade for false alarms. Only came second to James Young High in Livingston for call outs in the Lothians
Firrhill appeared again in the edinburgh evening news as a pupil detonated a smoke grenade
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. 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.
For more information on Firrhill High School, including their daily news bulletin click the link below to enter the school's official website.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The school was established in the year 1960, being unveiled by the city's Lord Provost. The school has around 1160 pupils with a teaching staff of around 120. The school serves areas such as Oxgangs
Oxgangs
Oxgangs is a suburb in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is named for an oxgang, an ancient Scottish land measure.Surrounding districts include Caiystane, Dreghorn, Redford, Fairmilehead, Colinton and Swanston and Colinton Mains...
, Colinton Mains, Colinton Village, Bonaly
Bonaly
Bonaly is an area on the south-western outskirts of Edinburgh and the northern slopes of the Pentland Hills, lying within the Parish of Colinton. It is a mix of mainly post-war housing, woodland, pasture-land and heather moorland. Bonaly Burn has its sources in the hills above Bonaly and flows...
, Fairmilehead
Fairmilehead
Fairmilehead is a district of South Edinburgh. It lies approximately 3 miles due south of the city centre and borders Midlothian. The area comprises the districts of Buckstone, Caiystane, Swanston, Frogston and Winton....
, Buckstone
Buckstone
Buxton is a south-western neighbourhood of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Part of Vitosha municipality, it lies between the Buxton Brothers Boulevard, the Tsar Boris III Boulevard and the Sofia ringroad adjacent to Boyana....
, Craiglockhart
Craiglockhart
Craiglockhart is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east and Kingsknowe to the west...
and Longstone
Longstone
Longstone is a suburb of Edinburgh in Scotland. It borders Saughton, Wester Hailes, Slateford, Kingsknowe and Parkhead.Longstone's most dramatic features are the Slateford Aqueduct carrying the Union Canal and the adjacent railway viaduct . Underneath these runs the Water of Leith, and the canal...
.
In 2001 the school underwent drastic refurbishing work, with several rundown buildings dating from the 1960s being either refurbished or demolished with new buildings being built in their place, this was completed in summer 2005. The school was refurbished by a Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
.
Headteacher and SMT
The headteacher is Sarah Brown. Nick McClellan, Sue Cowan and Julie Statham are the deputy head teachers.Houses
Pupils at the school are separated into three groups, known as "housesHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
". The houses are:
- Allermuir
- Braidlaw
- Caerketton
The Houses are named after three of the Pentland hills, to the south of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and in sight of the school.
Departments
The School has 18 Departments which are: Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Computing, Design & Technology, Drama, English, Geography, History, Home Economics, Maths, Modern Languages, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Religious & Moral Studies & Pupil Support.Notable former pupils and teachers
Calum ElliotCalum Elliot
Calum Elliot is a Scottish professional footballer currently playing for Scottish First Division club Dundee on loan from Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian.-Domestic:...
and Craig Sives
Craig Sives
Craig Stuart Sives is a Scottish professional association football player who currently plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.-Career:...
are now professional footballers playing for Hearts and Shamrock Rovers respectively. In 2000 they were both in the Under 13 football team that almost completed the 'treble'. Having already won the League they headed to Love Street home of St. Mirren F.C.
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
to play Johnstone High School in the Scottish Schools Cup Final, losing 1-0 at half-time, 2 goals from Craig Sives
Craig Sives
Craig Stuart Sives is a Scottish professional association football player who currently plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.-Career:...
gave Firrhill a 2-1 lead however Johnstone equalised in injury-time. Dino Vita formally of Stenhousemuir F.C.
Stenhousemuir F.C.
Stenhousemuir FC is a Scottish football club located in Stenhousemuir. The club is a member of the Scottish Football League and currently plays in the Scottish Second Division....
gave Firrhill a 3-2 lead early in extra-time however Johnstone again equalised in injury-time taking the match to a penalty shoot-out which Johnstone won 4-2. Firrhill recovered to win The League Cup, beating St. Augustine's High School, Edinburgh, Scotland 2-1 on the pitch behind Tynecastle Stadium
Tynecastle Stadium
Tynecastle Stadium is a football stadium situated in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Hearts. Tynecastle has a seating capacity of 17,420, which makes it the seventh largest football stadium in Scotland...
. Kerr "The Moat Flyer" Potter who was also in that side played for Albion Rovers F.C..
Ross Elliot, older brother of Calum, was also a professional footballer, once playing for Alloa
Alloa Athletic F.C.
Alloa Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Third Division....
.
Robbie Foy
Robbie Foy
Robbie Foy is a professional football player.Foy attended Oxgangs Primary School and Firrhill High School, and played for youth club Hutchison Vale, before making the move down south and signing for Liverpool in 2000...
, formerly of Liverpool FC and Scunthorpe United FC was a former pupil of the school.
Robbie Foy
Robbie Foy
Robbie Foy is a professional football player.Foy attended Oxgangs Primary School and Firrhill High School, and played for youth club Hutchison Vale, before making the move down south and signing for Liverpool in 2000...
; Craig Sives
Craig Sives
Craig Stuart Sives is a Scottish professional association football player who currently plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.-Career:...
and Dino Vita represented Scotland Schoolboys in 2000 and 2001 respectively whilst at the school, all 3 played in the Victory Shield
Victory Shield
The Victory Shield is an annual football tournament competed for by the under-16 teams of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The competition is broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports who also sponsor the competition...
.
Sam Woods and Calum Martin had spells at Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
respectively as Under 19/Reserve players.
Scottish actor Stuart Moncrieff was a Drama teacher at the school at one point before fame.
Scottish composer and pianist Stuart Mitchell
Stuart Mitchell
Stuart Mitchell is a Scottish pianist and composer, best known for his Seven Wonders Suite . The Seven Wonders Suite has been recorded by The Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mario Klemens. A performance of part of the Suite was performed in The Dvorak Hall in Prague in 2005...
was a former pupil who decoded and scored the 15th Century music embedded into the carvings of Rosslyn Chapel
Rosslyn Chapel
Rosslyn Chapel, properly named the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Roman Catholic collegiate church in the mid-15th century...
and is also a Classic FM Hall of Fame Composer from 2005-2010 with his symphonic work Seven Wonders Suite for Orchestra composed in 2003.
The Scottish actress and comedienne, Elaine C Smith was a teacher at the school in the early 1980s.
John McTernan has been a senior advisor to Henry McLeish (former First Minister) and Prime Minister Blair. He was questioned by the police in the "Cash for Honours" affair.
Scottish athlete Margot Wells
Margot Wells
Margot Wells was a successful sprinter and Scottish 100/100 hurdles champion. She is based in Guildford, Surrey where she is an elite sprint and fitness coach....
, wife of Olympic sprint champion Allan Wells
Allan Wells
Allan Wipper Wells MBE is a former Scottish athlete, who became Olympic Champion in the 100 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.-Biography:...
, was a Physical Education teacher at the school in the early 1970s.
Former Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
presenter Romana D'Annunzio
Romana D'Annunzio
Romana D'Annunzio is a former Scottish television presenter, who presented the children's programme Blue Peter from 1996 until 1998.From 2004, D'Annunzio studied English and Italian at Edinburgh university and worked as an English teacher in Rome. D'Annunzio completed her post-graduate in education...
was an English teacher at the school during session 2009-10.
Firrhill High School in the news
Firrhill appeared in The Edinburgh Evening News after one of its pupils set fire to a garden in the local area during his Lunch Break. The Pupil was believed to be suspended from the school. .Firrhill appeared again in The Edinburgh Evening News in August 2006 as they celebrated as nine Pupils received straight A's in their Higher Exams.
A Firrhill pupil also appeared on BBC News and the Evening news in August 2007 after getting straight A's in his standard grades and attaining an A in Higher a year early.
Firrhill appeared in The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
for its fast track maths program for Standard Grade
Standard Grade
Standard Grades are Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years, which are due to be fully replaced in 2014 when Scottish Qualifications Authority's Higher Still system becomes the main qualifications as part of the major shake up of Scotland's education system as...
students.
Firrhill appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News
Edinburgh Evening News
The Edinburgh Evening News is a local newspaper based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is published daily . It has a circulation of 68,000 and is owned by Johnston Press, which also owns The Scotsman and many regional titles throughout the UK.Much of the copy contained in the Evening News concerns local...
on the 24th of july 2010. Stating in the last 12 month up to march the school had 22 call outs by the fire brigade for false alarms. Only came second to James Young High in Livingston for call outs in the Lothians
Firrhill appeared again in the edinburgh evening news as a pupil detonated a smoke grenade
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education
On the 13th June 2006 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education reported on the school. 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. 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.
More information
Firrhill High School has a Peer Mediation group. This group contains S5 and S6 mediators that have been trained to do their job since S2. They deal with problems that pupils otherwise may not feel are important or major. More information can be found about them on their website, listed belowFor more information on Firrhill High School, including their daily news bulletin click the link below to enter the school's official website.