ROYAL BLIND SCHOOL BUILDING UP FOR SALE
An iconic building that has served as a special school in Edinburgh for 178 years has been put on the market for sale today.
The Royal Blind School’s Craigmillar Park Campus is being sold as part of a move to merge two campuses into one. By Autumn 2014 all pupils at the Royal Blind School will be relocating to the campus at Canaan Lane in Morningside, which is being refurbished to accommodate the changes over the coming year.
The Royal Blind School is merging its two school campuses as part of a longer term strategy to become even more specialised in educating and supporting children with a visual impairment, including those who also have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, autistic spectrum disorders, motor or learning disabilities. The School is also establishing a national education resource centre for visual impairment, which will provide support to visually impaired pupils in schools across Scotland through pupil assessment, advice and training for the education sector.
The Royal Blind School is also merging its two campuses as the numbers of pupils enrolling have been falling in recent years. Single disability blind children and young people with little or no additional support needs are today mostly catered for in mainstream schools and special units in their home areas.
Richard Hellewell, Chief Executive of Royal Blind, said:
“The Royal Blind School has been educating and caring for pupils with a visual impairment since 1835 and we will continue to provide the highest quality specialist education in the years to come. Our excellent facilities at Canaan Lane in Morningside are currently being redeveloped to accommodate all our pupils and their range of needs.”
The Craigmillar Park campus, which was established in 1835 by Edinburgh Printer James Gall, is being marketed by DTZ as a conversion or re-development opportunity. The site is approximately 3.5 acres and includes a substantial building currently used as a school as well as ancillary buildings and grounds. The property is category C listed and forms part of the Craigmillar Park conservation area.
The Royal Blind School remains a working school and all enquiries relating to the sale should be directed to Justin Beveridge at DTZ on 0131 222 4553 or email justin.beveridge@dtz.com
For more information please contact:
Davina Shiell, Marketing and Fundraising Manager, Royal Blind and Scottish War Blinded on Tel: 0131 229 1456, Mob: 07713 98779, Email davina.shiell@royalblind.org
Notes to editors:
The Royal Blind School is a national grant aided specialist school that educates and cares for pupils who are blind or have a visual impairment, as well as those with additional support needs. www.royalblind.org/royalblindschool
The Royal Blind School was founded in 1835. Read about the School’s history at http://www.royalblind.org/royalblindschool/history
The Royal Blind School is part of the Royal Blind Group. Royal Blind is a registered charity that runs services for blind and visually impaired people. In addition to the Royal Blind School we run the following services:
- Forward Vision – a residential and respite service for young adults aged 18-25.
- Braeside House – a care home specialising in care for visually impaired older people.
- The Scottish Braille Press – a leading provider of high quality Braille, large print and audio transcription services.
- Kidscene – an integrated after school and holiday club.
Our sister charity Scottish War Blinded provides an outreach service and day centre facilities for veterans with a visual impairment.
Our vision at Royal Blind is to make a significant contribution to building a community in which blind and partially sighted people, including those who also have other disabilities, are fully included and lead fulfilling lives. www.royalblind.org
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