Tynecastle High School

Infobox UK school
name = Tynecastle High School


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established = 1912
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type = State school
religion = Non-denominational
president =
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head = Dr. Alex Wood (Temopary)
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street = 15 McLeod Street
city = Edinburgh
country = Scotlandflagicon|Scotland
postcode = EH11 2NJ
LEA = Edinburgh City
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enrollment =
gender = Mixed
lower_age = 13
upper_age = 18
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colours = Silver and Blue
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website = http://www.tynecastle.edin.sch.uk/
website_name = TyneCastle High School

Tynecastle High School is a secondary school in South West Edinburgh, Scotland.

It has been open since 1912. The headteacher at Tynecastle is Dr. Alex Wood (Temopary). [cite web|url=http://www.tynecastlehigh.ik.org/|title=Welcome To Tynecastle High School Website|Publisher=Tynecastle High School|date=2007]

Bullying interdict

The school was at the source of controversy in 2004, when pupil Paula Thorburn was granted only the second ever interdict to keep bullies away from her at the school. One violent incident took place in the rector's office in front of staff. [cite web|url=http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=493652004|title=When bullying at school takes on a deadly dimension|Publisher=BBC|date=2007-01-24] Her mother claimed that she had been forced into taking the action by "the failure of school and education authorities to tackle the problem". She said "The kids were cruel and taunted her about her eyesight and her red hair. The last straw for me was when my daughter was thrown down the stairs at school. She was absolutely petrified. These are supposed to be the best years of your life, but she has been robbed of them." [cite web|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=494052004|title=Court win for bullied Edinburgh girl|Publisher=BBC|date=2004-05-01] In March 2007, Paula sued her local authority over the incidents. "I tried to tell my head at Tynecastle but I was told to go and see a guidance teacher who, as far as I could see, didn't do anything to stop it." [cite web|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=girl-sues-council-over-bullying-hell--&method=full&objectid=18711323&siteid=66633-name_page.html|title=Girl sues council over bullying hell|Publisher=Daily Record|date=2007-06-03]

New Tynecastle High School

The school was scheduled for demolition in the next few years to make way for an extension by next door neighbours Heart of Midlothian Football Club. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/6292853.stm|title=Hearts receive Tynecastle boost|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2004-01-05]

On 1 April 2007, Edinburgh Council gave the go ahead to rebuild Tynecastle High School in a different area of McLeod Street. The council approved the sale of the school and a nearby nursery to the football team for the sum of £5.9 million. [cite web|url=http://news.scotsman.com/education.cfm?id=508822007|title=Tynecastle High move given the go-ahead|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2007-02-04]

However, the new Liberal Democrats / Scottish National Party coalition that took over Edinburgh City Council in May 2007 have signalled they plan to fight any move to demolish the school. [cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/08/21/sfncel121.xml|title=Celtic's Gordon Strachan May Face Lengthy Ban|Publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=2007-08-20] [cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=476711&in_page_id=1779|title=Hearts reveal stadium plans but club debt is set to soar|Publisher=The Daily Mail|date=2007-08-21] [cite web|url=http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1118892007|title=Romanov's £50m dream|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2007-08-20] Council Leader Jenny Dawe said "I can't see any way that they would get permission to knock it down. It's important for the city that we don't have a repeat of the 1960s when a lot of fine buildings were knocked down and replaced by horrible multi-storey blocks." [cite web|url=http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1119132007|title=Stand off over Hearts stadium plans|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2004-07-18] This school is also a B-listed building and any permission for it to be altered can only be done with the permission of both the council and Historic Scotland. [cite web|url=http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1118892007|title='Hurdles in way of a makeover for Tynecastle'|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2004-07-18]

Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov is said to want to build a luxury hotel, sports bars and shops alongside a stadium with a 12,000 capacity. [cite web|url=http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1123182007|title=Council to voice fears over Tynecastle renovation|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2004-07-18] However, in August 2007 it was reported that the school would "remain untouched" in the redevelopment. [cite web|url=http://sport.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1323202007|title=Hearts unveil stadium plans which may take debt to £80m|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2007-08-20]

Wilfred Owen

The First World War poet Wilfred Owen taught at Tynecastle when he was a patient at Craiglockhart Hospital. His spell at the school lasted three weeks in 1917. Owen praised the school in his published letters (1967). [cite web|url=http://boards.historychannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2574&tstart=2130&mod=1033487663000|title=Ironmike & Favedave & and other WWI book collectors|Publisher=The History Channel|date=2007-11-05] [cite web|url=http://sites.scran.ac.uk/Warp/Wilfred-Owen2.htm|title=The War Poets - Wilfred Owen 2|Publisher=The War Poets At Craiglockhart|date=2007-11-05]

Ian Richardson

One of its ex-pupils was the actor Ian Richardson, who has famously played Francis Urquhart in the BBC adaption of "House of Cards". His time at the school was not a happy one though. "It would be very different now but then I don't think they had a clue what to do with me, they certainly didn't understand me. I cannot remember having any friends there either. I hated it." [cite web|url=http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=216412007|title=Acting Star Ian Richardson Dies|Publisher=The Scotsman|date=2007-09-02]

References

External links

* [http://www.tynecastle.edin.sch.uk/ Official school website]
* [http://www.tynecastle.edin.sch.uk/untitled_folder/rules.html Tynecastle school rules]
* [http://www.scottishschoolsonline.gov.uk/schools/tynecastlehighschooledinburghcity.asp Tynecaste School's page on Scottish Schools Online]