The 17 Edinburgh schools closed due to building defects have reopened ahead of the start of a new term.
In April, five secondaries, 10 primaries and two additional support needs schools were shut due to concerns over structural issues.
The schools, which were 10 years old, were originally built by Miller Construction under a £360m PPP contract with the Edinburgh Schools Partnership.
Miller Construction, together with Amey, was part of the ESP consortium contract. In 2001 ESP won the £360m deal to design, build and maintain the 17 schools for 30 years. Miller Construction was acquired by Galliford Try in 2014.
Council Leader Andrew Burns said: “Our priority has always been the safety of our pupils and staff and we insisted that ESP and their contractors ensure all our schools are 100% safe to reopen.
“The next steps now are to establish exactly what went wrong with these schools.”
The council has appointed respected construction and procurement industry expert John Cole CBE to lead an independent inquiry.
“Clear and thorough terms of reference set out exactly what we are aiming to achieve through this inquiry,” added Burns. “We want to find out what went wrong and are determined to see what lessons can be learned, not just here in Edinburgh but across Scotland and the UK.”
The investigation is due to be completed by the end of the year.
