Queensferry Community High School

Queensferry Community High School is a 750-strong six-year comprehensive school offering a quality education for young people and adult learners. It also has recreational facilities for use by the community in out of school hours.

It is one of twenty three secondary schools run by the City of Edinburgh Council. Standing close to the River Forth, the School has commanding views of both the Rail and Road bridges. The catchment area of the School is extensive and covers the primary schools at Dalmeny, Echline, Kirkliston and Queensferry itself.

The School was opened by HRH The Princess Margaret in 1970, the 900th anniversary of Queen Margaret's arrival at Queensferry. A new recreation wing was added in September 1995, a further extension in 1997 with a total refurbishment of the rest of the School undertaken in 1998. With these modernisations in place, QCHS represents a modern and well equipped educational institution which is appreciated and utilised by students and the wider community.

The school aims to create an atmosphere and learning environment where all are given equal opportunity to develop their skills and abilities in all aspects of life to their full potential.

In school we believe that we should 'counsel and contract' pupils into better behaviour rather than the more traditional approach of 'reject and punish'. We want to catch pupils doing well and praise them for it. We also want to promote positive, respectful relationships between pupils and between staff and pupils in school. When things go wrong we try to restore relationships so that learning can continue. Poor behaviour or poor choices by young people, however, cannot be inconsequential and a range of staged interventions may be applied.

We always strive to ensure that we provide the best possible support for your child - in every way that we can. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of QCHS or any area of your child's education, the first point of contact is the School itself.

Health and well-being across learning is a responsibility for all… Children and young people should feel happy, safe, respected and included in the learning environment and all staff should be proactive in promoting positive behaviour in the classroom and the wider learning community. Underpinning this is the emotional health and well-being of staff. 18 ‘Building Curriculum for Excellence through positive relationships and behavior.

There is an entitlement to personal support to help young people fulfil their potential and make the most of their opportunities with additional support wherever that’s needed. There is a clear emphasis by all staff on looking after our children’s health and wellbeing – to ensure that the school is a place where children feel safe and secure. Ultimately, Curriculum for Excellence aims to improve our children’s life chances, to nurture successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors, and responsible citizens, building on Scotland’s reputation for great education.

At Queensferry, we want to offer your child the widest possible range of learning experiences and opportunities. In S1 and S2 all pupils follow the Enhanced Curriculum for a double period each week.

The Enhanced Curriculum provides pupils with different short courses which they follow for four or five weeks each. These courses have been planned by teachers working in pairs from different areas of the curriculum to give pupils learning experiences and opportunities which go beyond those which can be offered in traditional S2 subjects.Help pupils see the links between different subjects and develop their literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing in a variety of situations.Nurture the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence in pupils: Successful learners, Confident individuals, Responsible citizens and Effective contributors.Allow for experiential learning to take place.