Keane Wallis-Bennett, a pupil at Liberton High in the south of the city, died aged 12 when a freestanding “modesty” wall in her school’s old PE block fell on the morning of April 1, 2014.
A determination has now been released by sheriff principal Mhairi Stephen after a two-week FAI in Edinburgh earlier this year.
Sheriff principal Stephen said the “innocent high-spirited behaviour” of pupils who braced against the wall just before it fell was enough to push it past its tipping point.
“There are no reasonable precautions I can propose whereby Keane’s death or the accident might have been avoided,” she said.
However, she added the “real cause” of the tragic accident was the wall’s unstable nature.
Her determination reads: “That instability was caused by the alignment of two main factors: firstly, the design and construction of the wall and secondly, due to the wall being cracked along its horizontal plane.
“The wall separated close to its base and had been cracked at the separation plane for a long period of time prior to 1 April 2014. This internal defect or cracking would not be obvious on visual inspection.”
Sheriff principal Stephen went on to say the risks of freestanding masonry walls had been made clear in the inquiry, which was held at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in June.
Alistair Gaw, executive director of the council’s communities and families department, said: “Once again on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council I want to express our deepest sympathies to Keane’s family for their tragic loss.
“Having now received the determination from sheriff principal Mhairi Stephen we note her conclusion that there were no reasonable precautions that could have been taken to avoid the accident which resulted in Keane’s death.
“She further finds that the maintenance and inspection regime at Liberton High School complied with statutory requirements and that there was a comprehensive understanding of the fault reporting system among staff.”
All similar walls had since been removed from schools and other public buildings, Mr Gaw added.
“Our over-riding priority is always the safety of pupils and staff and we want to ensure nothing like this tragic event ever happens again.”