** Scottish schools: individual schools








Individual Scottish Schools: Chronological Listings


Figure 1.--Here are boys in the library of Beaconhurst Grange, a Scottish private prep school. The photograph was taken in 1987. Scottish and English prep schools are very similar. The boys wear a grey flannel blazer with piping and matching short pants and knee socks. Notice the blazer badge. They wear black oxford shoes. The uniform is virtually the same as in England. One of the few differences is that school sandals were more common in England than in Scotland.

Clothing trends at Scottish schools can be followed by a look at different types of individual schools at various locations throughout the country. HBC at this time has images from only a few schools but hopes to expand this section. Except for the kilt, schoolwear styles are quite similar to England--perhaps a bit more conservative. Some information is available on individual schools to illustrate school uniform trends at the various types of schools. Schools have had different uniforms over time, but there is great similarities as so many schools used the same basic styles. This is especually true of the boys' uniforms. There is much more difference over time as schools are constantly updating their uniforms.

The 1820s


New Lanark School (1820s)

Robert Owen and his Quaker partners used used mill profits to build a village school. One author describes teacing in the village school. "In addition to this elementary instruction, those over two were given dancing lessons and those four and upwards taught singing. Military-style exercises were also a major feature of both schools, and the sight of youthful marches led by fife and drum was frequently remarked upon by contemporaries, especially the upper class dignitaries who much approved of such discipline. Conformity in the children was further reinforced by a 'beautiful dress of tartan cloth, fashioned in its make after the form of a Roman toga'. However, like the kilt and plaid worn by older boys this was thought by some of Robert Owen's partners to encourage sexual promiscuity. According to Captain Donald Macdonald of the Royal Engineers, who like the laird, Archibald Hamilton of Dalzell, had become a convert to the New System and who accompanied Robert Owen on the visit of inspection to Harmonie in 1824-25, the New Lanark dresses and plaids were part of the baggage. Owen showed them to fellow passengers and apparently had them copied in New York to be displayed there and in Washington along with his plans and models of the Village Scheme. The dress code for the new communities was another subject about which Robert Owen said little about unless pressed to do so."

The 1860s


Unidentified prep school

This CDV has no accomaonying information. We suspect that the photograph dates to the 1860s, but the early-70s is possible. We know it is a Scottish school because the boys wear Scottish bonnets and a few wear kilts, although not tartan kilts. We believe it is a small private prep school because of the non-European boy. He is described as a black boy on the back of the CDV, but we suspect he is Indian, possibly a young royal from a princely state. The idea of a preparatory or prep school was still relatively new at the time. Prep meant preapring younger boys for the public schools--meaning elite private boarding schools, primnarily seconday schools. There is no uniform, but the boys all wear suits. There are different suits. Most of the youngr boys wear cut-away jackets, the older boys lapel jackets. Note the small collars. This is one reason we think the portrait was taken in the 1860s. A few of the boys wear kilts, the other boys wear both knee pants and long pants. Almpst all of the boys wear Scottlsh bonnets. We note both Glengarries and Balmorals. Notice the small poms on modst of the caps. This must have been a school rule. There is an age difference, it looks like boys 7-13 years old. Soi this is not a class, but perhaps the whole school. The boys were photographed in front of a wall so we do not get a glimpse of the school.

The 1880s


Livister School (1888)

Livister School was a small village school on Whalsay Iskand in the Shetlands. The village is located on the south end of the island near the Loch of Huxter. The school and the Oot Ower Lounge were the few major buildings. We note a portrait of the children outside the school in 1888. There were about 50 children. They would have come from both the village and the surrounding rural area. The boys wear jackets and both knee pants and long pants. One younger boy wears a sailor suit. We were a little surprised not to see any kilts. One boy at the left wears what looks like rather ragged clothing. Almost all the children we can see are barefoot. The girls wear long skirts or dresses. Several girls wear pinafores. Given Scottish weather that suggests povety and some rather hearty children. The school is now a youth center. As with many small village schools, they have been closed and the children bussed to larger consolidated schools.

The 1890s


Isle of Jura (1892)

Jura is a beautiful green island off the West coast of Scotland, close to the larger island of Islay. It has a very small poplation. It did have a small coed state primary school on the Isle of Jura. We are not sure when it was fpunded. We know it was functioning in the 1890s. A 1892 photographed showed 33 children and one male tracher. None of the boys wore kilts. The younger boys were all barefoot which was an indication of poverty. The girls all wore dresses, but without pinafores.

Milton Street School (1895)

The Milton Street School was located in Dumbiedykes, Notice that the name was derived from the location and was not named in any one's honor. Using the street as a name was common in Britain. (Unlike American streets, British streets often only run for a few blocks. Dumbiedykes was a residential area in the center of Edinburgh. From the looks of the children in a 1895 class portrait it seems to have been a working-class neighborhood. All ther children are barefoot. The boys wear suits with a variety of different jackets. They all wear knee pants, except for one boy wearing long pants and another wearing bloomer knickers. Notice that none of the children wear kilts.

The 1900s


Paisley Grammar School (about 1900)

King James VI foubded Paisley Grammar School by Royal Charter (1576). The charter provided for the building and upkeep of a grammar school, and for the support of a master to educate the boys of the burgh and surrounding countryside. The first building was erected a decade later (1586). It was probably situated on the site of the Chapel of Saint Nicholas, about number four School Wynd. It was a modest building with a thatch and included two rooms. One of which was for the Grammar School, the other for the 'Sang Scuil' or song school providing choristers for the Chapel. This was at the same time as the Scottish Reformation, so the Song School may not have operated very long. The master lived in a room adjoining the building. A memorial stone was placed over the entrance with the town�s arms and the inscription �The Grammar Scuil�. The memorial stone can still be seen at the entrance to the present school. Paisley is best knowm today as a pattern, but it is a town in Scotland. It is largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area. The town is situated on the northern edge of the Gleniffer Braes. It was an important center for the manufacture of cloth. We note a portait of the Paisley Grammar School taken about 1900 scanned from a newspaper and you can see some of the boys wearing kilts. It seems to have been optional. Notice that even at this point it was coeducational, unusual at the time. Paisley Grammar was a very good school. It was originally private then became a state school and probably up to the 1960s some boys would wear kilts there. There was also a primary school associated with it.

The 1910s


Kirkmichael School (1911)

We do not know a great deal about the Kirtmichael. It appears to be located in Maybole. A 1911 image shows many of the boys wearing suits with stiff Eton collars to school. One boy wears a sailor suit. The girls wear dresses, a few with large lace collars. Some wear white or colored pinafores. Many girls have hairbows. Most of the boys, at least the younger boys, are barefoot, even the boys wearing Eton collars are barefoot.

Queen Mary Street Public School (1916)

A number of Scottish schools seemed to be named after the street where they were located. We have mo information about this school other than it is in Glasgow. We wonder about the name of the school. We are not sure what Queen Mary the street is named after. Surely not English Queen Mary (Bloody Mary). Mary Queen of Scotts is a possibility. Another possibility was the comtemporary Queen Mary, King George V's wife. Another interesting part of the name. English schools used the term public to mean private. The Scotts seem to use the term to mean state school as the term is more commonly used outside England. We have an image giving a interesting view inside the school in 1916.

St. Rollox School (1916)

Here we have a scene from St. Rollox school in Glasgow. It was a state school, but given the name may have been Catholic. Quite a number of Irish immigrants lived in Glasgow and thus there were Catholic schools. Here we see a woodworking class in 1916. While girls were instructed in cookery or needlework, the boys were instructed in 'manual skills'. The school had a well-equipped carpentry shop. I'm not sure about what type of school this was, but it may have been a primary school. Primay schools at the time had programs for children up to 13-14 years of age. Most primary schools, however, did not have facilities like this.

Lorne Stree School (1918)

This class portrait shows a 1918 portrait of the Lorne Street Primary School in Leith near Edinburgh. We would guess they are 3rd year students about 8 years old. The girls seem to be wearing dresses, but it is difficult to tell. One girl wears sailor dresses. Only one girl wears a gym frock. Many of the girls have hair bows. The boys wear mostly colored shirts and ties with short pants and knee socks. Grey shirts were common in England. Some of the may be grey, but many look darker, black or navy blue. Horizontal stripe ties were popular. Several boys wear suits. Only one boy wears a sweater. And onkly bine boy wears an Eton collar. Two boys seems to be wearing sneakers. One boy is barefoot. That would hve been seen as aign of poverty. The studio was J.R.Coltart in Leith They also had a studio in London. The cabinet card has a photograph measuring 5 7/8 by 3 3/4 inches on a backing card of 7 3/4 by 7 inches.

The 1920s


Airdrie Primary School (early-1920s)

This is a Scottish school class, we think in the 1920s. We believe it was in Airdrie, a small town in North Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. The town ppears to have originated as a medieval monastary. The nodrn town grew with weaving and mining. We have a cabinet card portrait from one of the primary schools, we think dating to the early-1920s. The boys wear a variety of shirts and suits, many with ties, We see several Eton collars. All the boys wear hort pants and knee socks. The girls wear dress as well as blouses and skirts. We see a fe pinafores. several girls have white hairbows. They are posed in front of their stone work school. The studio was MacDonald in Airdrie.

Airidhantuim Primary School (1927-28)

The photo depicts the 5th grade class at Airidhantuim primary school, on Lewis and Harris Isle, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, during the school year 1927-28. Clearly the children were warned about the class photo. Three girls wore their necklaces and one boy a tie. The clothes seem, however, somewhat dated. The boys wear wht look like knee pannrs rather than short pants. Notice that as far as we can tell none of the boys wear kilts. Anyway severals pupils didn't wear shoes. In England going barefoot was seen as a sign of poverty. This may have been a little different in Scotland because Scotland was generally a poorer area of Britain and this was especially true of the Islnds. Conditions seem more thike Ireland. . It also had a cooler climate. We are not entirely sure about the health consequences.

Unknown private school

Here we see an unidentifed private Scottish school. We are not at all sure how to date this portrait. We think it was taken in the 1920s, but the late-10s is a possibility. It is clearly a private schools as the boys are so well dressed. Te boys all wear Eton collars and three-piece suitts. Most of the boys wear knicker pants and knee socks. A few boys wear kilts which is how we know it is a Scottish school. This seems to be entirely optional. we think that they are the only two boys wearing kilts as yhe jackets for the kilts are different than stanfard suit jsackets and only the two noys at the front wear kilt jackets. The boys look to be about 13 years old. This means that they may be the final year in a prep school oe the first year in a public chool. The school in the background looks like the typical private schoool stone work ar a Scottish school. The Eton collars and knickers seem to us more typical of the 1910s. But the portrait is not a cabinet vard, but a more modern looking photographic print with a white border. That seems to us more like the 1920s/ Perhapas Scottish readers will have some insights here.

The 1930s

Kirkmichael School (1939)

A 1939 image shows the children well dressed and hosting other children that had been evacuated from Glasgow when World War II began. The school portrait was taken shortly after the start of World War II (September 3, 1939) after the British conducted a massive evacuation of children from the cities. There is still no school uniform. Many of the boys are still wearing suits. As far as we can tell they are all short pants suits. The boys all have shoes which they wear with various colors and styles of kneesocks. Many of the girls wear school uniform-style gym tunics. These look to be some of the older children at the school, perhaps about 12 years old.

The 1940s


Carnwath Public School (1942)

This was the Carnwath Public School whuch in Scotoland maeant a primary school. Carnwath is a small moorland village in the Lowlands set between EDunhburgh and Glasgow. It is on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of South Lanarkshire. The village lies about 30 mi (50 km) soutwest and east of both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Carnwath is a farming town set in rolling countryside, on the edge of open moorland. Today its proximity to the A70 makes it popular with Edinburgh commuters. Carnwath is at the heart of the Scotish Lowlands is is seen as the Scottish town furthest away from the sea. The photograph we have was taken during World War II in 1942. It is an all boy's class with 40 pupils. The boys all wear short pants, mostly with suit jackets. We think this was because short pants were so common at the time n Scotland and because during the War only short pants were made for pre-teen boys. The boys here look to be about 11-years old.

Dudley Grammar School (1944)

Dudley Grammar School is an English school. We mention it here because some of the boys in the 1940s were wearing open collars. We had thought that this was primarily a Scottish style, but it may have been a fashion wich developed during World War II througout Britainan then persisted in Scotland after the War.

The 1950s

Greenock Academy (1950)

English schools have a wide variety of names. Some are misleading. Some comprehensives, for example, kept the name of the grammar schools they replaced. Academies are private schools, often comparable to private day schools. Private schools were often named academies in Scotland, but there were some in England as well, like Grennock Academy.

Greenock High School (1950)

HBC at this time has little information about Greenock High School or indeed Scottish high schools in general. In England during the 1950s there were selective grammar schools for the academically talented boys and secondary modern schools for the less capable boys. HBC is unsure if Scotland had the same selective system and how a high school fitted into it. While we do not at this time fully unerstand the academic program, we do know a little about the uniform. The uniform at Grennock high school in the 1950s looks to have been similar to that of Greenock Academy, although the school appaers to have permitted more individual choice.

Craigknowes Primary (1954)

Boys at Scottish primary schools mostly wore short pants and kneesocks during the 1950s--at least uring the warmer summer months. HBC is less sure about the winter. Boys at this school near Glasgow did not wear kilts. But this may have been different in more traitional areas of Scotland.

Pitcalnie School (1957)

Here we a photograph of the entire staff and pupils of a small rural primary school (ages 5-11+) in the Northern Highlands of Scotland. It was taken in 1957, at Pitcalnie School. There are 20 boys and fifteen girls: an unusual ratio but some girls may have been absent. There was no school uniform although many children wear school uniform items. All the children have a spruced-up air, presumably for the school photograph. At least eight boys are wearing kilts, perhaps more as it is not possible to tell about all of them. Even eight boys wearing kilts seems a high proportion. It is unlikely that all these boys wore their kilts to school every day, but very likely that all did some of the time, and some did all the time.

St Marys Academy (1957)

We note a class portrait from St Marys Senior Secondary School in February 1957. It was Form 3A. The school did not seem to have a strict uniform code. There apparently was a school blazer, but few of the pupils wore it. Some boys wear leather jackets, rather unsusual in British schools. We do not know much about the school, but assume that it is a Catholic school. The school is now called St Marys Academy. It is located in Bathgate, Edinburgh.

Gordonstoun School (1950s)

One of the most famous school in Scotland is Gordonstoun. The school interestingly was founded by Kurt Hann, a German who believed in providing a challenging physical as well as educational experience. Added to the normal challenging sport program of a British chool was a novel new outward bound experiences. Hann also believe in community service. Gordonstoun was also the public (private secondary) school chosen for Prince Charles.

The 1960s

High School of Glasgow (1963)

This school is one of the major secondary schools in Glasgow, one of Scotland's two large cities. It is one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. At this time we only have information on the Cadet Corps.

Jean Street Primary (1966)

Boys at the Jean Street Primary in 1966 were wearing short pants and kneesocks. The primary as many such schools in Scotland and England had adopted uniforms in the 1960s. Both boys anf girls wore white shirts and ties, at least for the school photograph in 1969.

Kiel School (1967)

Here we see boys from the Kiel School, a Scottish private boarding school, in 1967. The school is located near Glasgow. They are on a field trip to a nearby U.S. naval base. The bnoys for special occassions dessed up in caps, blazers, and kilts. This was a little unusual because more commonly Scottish boys wore tweed jsckets with kilts.

St. Ninians Primary (1968)

This St. Ninians is a state primary school. As most Scottish primary by the 1960s, it was a coeducational school. The school in the 1960s require a standard British school uniform, although there was considerable differences among the chilren as to what they wore. The boys wore blazers jumpers, and mostly short trousers. The girls wear gymslips an suspener skirts. All the children wear ties.

The 1970s

St. Patricks Primary (1971)

Scotland is predominately Protestant, but there are a number of Catholic schools--especially in the Glasgow area because of the Irish imigrants. Scottish primary schools began introducing uniforms in the 1960s. Not all schools did so, but most catholic schools did. I'm not positive when the Catholic schools introduced uniforms, but they appear, like St. Patricks, to all have basic uniforms by the 1970s.

The 1980s

Dollar Academy (1984)

Dollar Academy, located at Dollar near Sterling, is Scotland's (and apparently) the United Kingdom's oldest co-educational day and boarding school. Coeducation in private sdchools, especially at the secondary level, was not common in Scotland and England until the 1960s. The uniform is a black blazer. The girls wears a light-colored skirt and white kneesocks. The boys wear black trousers or shorts with black kneesocks, depending on their age. Presumably there once was a cap, but I am not sure when that was dropped. Through the 1980s, younger boys wore open-necked shirts while the senior boys wore neckties. The dress uniform is a tweed jacket and kilt for both the boys and girls.

Morrison's Accademy (1985)

Many Scottish schools are called "accademies". This term is not used in England. I am not sure precisely what the term accademy denoted. Thet were founded as private schools, I think mostly as secondary schools. Some are operated today along the lines of an English public (private secondary) school. Several Scottish accademies unlike public schools have junioir (primary) sections. This is the case of Morrison's Accademy. We have not yet restriced the school, but we have archived a phoyograph of a rugby team at the schools, probably from the 1980s. A former student tells us that the BBC program, "Who Rules the School" was filmed there. The school uniform was notable for the red kneesocks that the boys wore. (The girls wore white kneesicks.) Several Scottish schools had colored kneesocks whereas most English boys wore grey kneesocks.










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Created: December 17, 2000
Last updated: 4:24 PM 1/9/2022