Exclusive:Pupils 'eating lunch in toilets' due to chronic overcrowding at top Edinburgh school
Parents have been raising the alarm about the overcrowded conditions at the Edinburgh high schools and now say action is needed urgently
Pupils are “eating lunch in the toilets” to escape overcrowding, parents have claimed, amid calls for urgent action to relieve pressure.
Edinburgh city council was told pressures on space at James Gillespie’s and Boroughmuir high schools has become so severe some vulnerable children are refusing to attend due to how stressful they find the building.
The schools are two of the most sought-after in Edinburgh, with pressure further increased by parents choosing not to send children to private schools following the imposition of VAT on fees.
Councillors have already pledged to create plans to ease pressure on South Edinburgh overcrowding by 2027, but the parents say action is needed sooner and opposition councillors have lodged an emergency motion on the issue.
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A representative from Boroughmuir Parent Council told a committee meeting: “Experts note that informal learning spaces, such as corridors, dining halls, libraries and breakout spaces, are the absolute bedrock of a student's social integration and mental health.
“Today, because of the loss of these spaces, many of our children are forced to spend their lunch hour in a line, choose to even lunch on the floor of a corridor, and we even know of some who resort to eating in toilets just for a moment of peace.
“Some even choose not to eat at all.”
The James Gillespie’s delegation told councillors that overcrowding in their school is “detrimental to the health and wellbeing of pupils”.
They said the school does not meet children’s needs, particularly in the case of practical subjects where there are simply not enough facilities.
Some 20 science teachers are sharing 10 laboratories, it was claimed, while only two teaching spaces for food and health technology has led to S1 pupils only getting one class per term.
Study areas are being used for classrooms, full practical science classes cannot be delivered and the S1 activity week has had to be scrapped.
Teaching staff were described as being “under immense and unsustainable pressure”.
“We feel current approaches and those of the last decade treat school capacities like a game of spatial Tetris, calculating how many bodies can theoretically fit into a building,” parents said.
They made three demands of the council: to set out what action will be taken and when; commission and publish an assessment of the impacts of permanent two-site working; and bring forward immediate measures to reduce pressure before 2027.
They also called on officials to be fully transparent about the causes over overcrowding in South Edinburgh.
Parents also criticised the council for a “systemic lack of joined up thinking or brave decision making”.
Councillor Marie-Clare Munro brought the emergency motion to the council committee.
“My Emergency Motion was brought forward because the pressures facing James Gillespie's and Boroughmuir can no longer be ignored,” she said.
“We heard clear evidence that rising pupil numbers are putting increasing strain on classrooms, study areas and communal spaces, affecting the day-to-day learning and wellbeing of young people in both schools.
“These concerns have been raised repeatedly, yet pupils and staff continue to bear the consequences of overcrowding.”
Recent council figures show Boroughmuir will remain significantly above its sustainable planning capacity until at least 2032.
Parents asked councillor for a “legally binding” guarantee that the building “fully complies with fire, emergency evacuation protocols, maximum occupancy limits, and the school health and safety legislation”.
Ms Munro added: “There comes a point where simply squeezing more pupils into already stretched schools is no longer acceptable.
“The unanimous support for my motion sends a clear message that the status quo cannot continue.
“We now need urgent action and a credible long-term plan to address the accommodation pressures facing these two schools.
“As the ward councillor, I will continue to hold the council to account on this issue, and keep pushing for answers.”
Councillor James Dalgleish, Education, Children and Families Convenor said the council is cooperating with parents on the issue.
He said: “We are working proactively with parents and the schools to discuss options to address accommodation pressures at both Boroughmuir and James Gillespies High Schools.
“A report including recommendations on actions will be considered by councillors in September.”
While parents welcomed the working group set up by the council to explore the overcrowding issue, they said it was not enough.
“Pride and resilience can no longer mask the deep, urgent anxieties we hold regarding escalating school roll pressures across South Edinburgh and their direct threat to the education and welfare of our children,” the parent council spokeswoman said.
“While we sincerely welcome the establishment of the Short Life Working Group, let us be entirely transparent.
“A working group is a process, not a solution in itself.
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“Our school building has reached a critical tipping point.
“The situation requires immediate, concrete actions, not administrative observation and delay.”
One issue that has been raised as a contributing factor to the overcrowding is the number of parents choosing not to use independent schools.
A higher proportion of Edinburgh parents send their children to fee-paying schools than elsewhere in Scotland.
But the sector said they are being priced out of that choice following the Labour government’s introduction of VAT on school fees.
Boroughmuir and James Gillespie’s are two of the most sought-after in the city thanks so above-average exam attainment.
“In March 2025 this very committee rightly refused to expand Boroughmuir’s capacity on paper yet here we are again facing a projected role that breaches the school's capacity for the next six years” the parents added.
“Sticking plaster solutions have failed before and they will fail again.”
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