The final two schools were handed back to the City of Edinburgh Council yesterday after contractors completed repairs.

The schools were closed in January after a wall collapsed at Oxgangs Primary School and faults were found at other sites.

Construction of the schools was completed in 2005 under a £360m private finance deal with the Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP).

The first phase of the deal saw building of 13 schools overseen by a 50/50 joint venture of Miller Construction and Amey. The second phase was built by Miller which is now owned by Galliford Try.

An independent inquiry has already started and is expected to finish before the end of the year.

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. 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.”