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| Edinburgh council postpones students' practical exams | Edinburgh council postpones students' practical exams |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Practical exams due to be held this week have been postponed due to the Edinburgh schools closures. | Practical exams due to be held this week have been postponed due to the Edinburgh schools closures. |
| The city council decided on Friday to shut 17 schools amid safety fears. | The city council decided on Friday to shut 17 schools amid safety fears. |
| About 7,600 missed the first two days of the new term following the Easter break and most will not be back in class until next week. | About 7,600 missed the first two days of the new term following the Easter break and most will not be back in class until next week. |
| The council has now announced that practical exams due to take place at the five high schools affected by the closure have been postponed. | The council has now announced that practical exams due to take place at the five high schools affected by the closure have been postponed. |
| Five secondaries, 10 primaries and two additional support needs schools were shut due to concerns over structural issues. | |
| All of the schools, which are about 10 years old, were constructed under the same public private partnership contract. | All of the schools, which are about 10 years old, were constructed under the same public private partnership contract. |
| Priority in returning pupils to school was given to high school students in fourth, fifth and sixth year who are preparing for key exams. | Priority in returning pupils to school was given to high school students in fourth, fifth and sixth year who are preparing for key exams. |
| The council said in a statement on its website: "We are working closely with the SQA. | The council said in a statement on its website: "We are working closely with the SQA. |
| "All practical exams that were due to take place this week have been postponed and will be rearranged. | "All practical exams that were due to take place this week have been postponed and will be rearranged. |
| "We will update students when we have more information." | "We will update students when we have more information." |
| Why are the Edinburgh schools closed? | |
| The majority of the 2,000 pupils preparing for exams at the five high schools affected resumed lessons on Wednesday. | |
| Senior pupils from three secondaries - Drummond High, Firhill High and The Royal High School - were able to return to their usual building as they only had partial refurbishments as part of the PPP project. | |
| Older Gracemount students were asked to report to Liberton High School, while Craigmount High pupils went to Tynecastle High School. | |
| The council's latest update said: | |
| There was still no word on younger pupils at Craigmount, Firhill, Gracemount and The Royal High. | |
| Lessons resumed for pupils from two primary schools on Wednesday and arrangements are in place for pupils at three more primaries, two from Friday and one from Tuesday. | |
| Children attending one of the additional needs support schools affected will be sent to one of five new locations from Friday, while at the other additional needs support school plans are in place for Thursday and Friday. | |
| It is hoped plans for the remaining primaries will be in place by next Tuesday, the local authority said. | |
| Andrew Kerr, City of Edinburgh Council chief executive, said the arrangements had been "a huge logistical exercise". | |
| The local authority said some families who relied on free school meals had approached city food banks as a result of schools being closed. | |
| It said money from the Scottish Welfare Fund would be made available to families in need, distributed to affected families directly, via school head teachers. | |
| The care inspectorate is also allowing some child care providers to extend the number of youngsters they can look after during the crisis. |