Tynecastle High School Explained

Tynecastle High School
Seal Image:	Tynie_crest.png
Address:	2 McLeod Street
Postcode:	EH11 2ND
Country:	Scotland
Head Teacher:	Hazel Kinnear
Enrolment:	548
Enrolment As Of:	2017^[1]

Tynecastle High School is a secondary school in the Gorgie area of south west Edinburgh, Scotland.

History

Tynecastle High School was opened in 1912 and was for its first 98 years located at 15 McLeod Street, a B listed building.

Move to new school building

On 1 April 2007, The City of 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 old school building and a nearby nursery to the neighbouring Heart of Midlothian football team. The deal was for the sum of £5.9 million.^[2]

The Liberal Democrats / Scottish National Party coalition that took over The City of Edinburgh Council in May 2007 signalled their plan to fight any move to demolish the old school building.^{[3] [4]} 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."^[5] 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.^[6]

Previous Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov intended to build a luxury hotel, sports bars and shops alongside a new main stand for Tynecastle Stadium with a 12,000 capacity.^[7] In August 2007 it was reported that the old school would "remain untouched" in the redevelopment.^[8]

Although at present the development of Tynecastle Stadium is on hold a new purpose built school was built across the road at no 2 McLeod Street. It opened in January 2010.^[9]

Notable alumni

• Keith Brown, politician^{[10] [11]}
• Jason Cummings, professional footballer^[12]
• Paul Hanlon, professional footballer^[13]
• Tom Hunter, recipient of the Victoria Cross^[14]
• Steven McNicoll, actor
• Ian Richardson an actor who 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."^[15]
• Richard Thomson (politician), Member of Parliament for Gordon^[16]

Notable former teachers

• Wilfred Owen, the First World War poet 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).^{[17] [18]}

Arms

Notes:	granted 31 May 1966
Escutcheon:	Per pale Argent and Azure, a castle of two towers flagged each with postern and window, and portcullis raised, all counterchanged, and in chief a rose also counterchanged, and in base a crescent likewise counterchanged. ^[19]

External links

• • Tynecaste School's page on Scottish Schools Online

Notes and References

1. Web site: Archived copy . 12 April 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190620005434/https://www2.gov.scot/Resource/0053/00532232.xlsx . 20 June 2019 . live .
2. News: Tynecastle High move given the go-ahead. The Scotsman. 4 February 2007. Edinburgh.
3. News: Celtic's Gordon Strachan May Face Lengthy Ban. The Daily Telegraph. 20 August 2007 . London . Ewing . Grahame . 26 May 2010.
4. News: Romanov's £50m dream. The Scotsman. 20 August 2007. Edinburgh.
5. News: Stand off over Hearts stadium plans. The Scotsman. 18 July 2004. Edinburgh. Brian. Ferguson.
6. News: Hurdles in way of a makeover for Tynecastle. The Scotsman. 18 July 2004. Edinburgh.
7. Web site: Council to voice fears over Tynecastle renovation. The Scotsman. 18 July 2004.
8. Web site: Hearts unveil stadium plans which may take debt to £80m. The Scotsman. 20 August 2007. 26 August 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070823085112/http://sport.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1323202007. 23 August 2007. live.
9. Web site: About Our School - Tynecastle High School . 7 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180307221335/http://tynecastlehighschool.org.uk/school-information/about-our-school/ . 7 March 2018 . live .
10. Web site: Keith Brown from The Gazetteer for Scotland . 2023-10-08 . www.scottish-places.info . en-gb.
11. Web site: 2014-09-25 . Brown favourite to take over as SNP deputy leader . 2023-10-08 . The Herald . en.
12. News: Alexander . Douglas . 2023-10-08 . ‘I didn’t want to go back to Hearts. They had their chance...’ . en . . . 2023-10-08 . 0140-0460 . 181820531.
13. News: 28 December 2011 . Paul Hanlon wants to kick off his second century of games with Hibs just as he began career four years ago . . . 18 December 2023 . 0307-5850 . 614655655.
14. News: 30 March 2010 . School's Victoria Cross hero honoured at memorial move . . 4 October 2023 . 0307-5850 . 877456368.
15. Web site: 2 September 2007 . Acting Star Ian Richardson Dies . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070212124019/http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=216412007 . 12 February 2007 . The Scotsman . 0307-5850 . 877456368.
16. News: Nixon . Jack . 2020-01-13 . Former Ellon Times reporter makes it to Westminster . . . 2020-05-18 . 1362-8429 . It was tough being the only Dons fan at Tynecastle High School which is right next to the Hearts ground, but perhaps the experience will help me cope in the hurly burly of Westminster..
17. Web site: Ironmike & Favedave & and other WWI book collectors. The History Channel. 5 November 2007.
18. Web site: The War Poets - Wilfred Owen 2. The War Poets at Craiglockhart. 5 November 2007.
19. Web site: Tynecastle High School . Heraldry of the World . 12 October 2020 .