Stonelaw High School Explained

Stonelaw High School
Established:1970
Head Label:Head Teacher
Head:Brenda McLachlan
Address:140 Calderwood Road
Country:Scotland, UK
Postcode:G73 3BP
Staff:68.5 FTE[1]
Enrolment:1,000
Lower Age:11
Upper Age:18
Houses:Bute
Arran
Skye
Bain
Colours:
Red, Black, dark blue

Stonelaw High School is a non-denominational state high school located in Rutherglen, Scotland near the city of Glasgow.

Admissions

Stonelaw High School is a Scottish school delivering the new National 4/5 qualifications introduced by the SQA. The current head teacher is Brenda McLachlan who took over from Brian Cooklin in 2012.[2]

Stonelaw was awarded 'sports hub' status on 5 November 2013 by MSP Shona Robison Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport.[3] Outwith learning hours, the sports facilities are available for hire by the local community in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council, with several local clubs based there.[4] [5]

Stonelaw High was rated “excellent” and highlighted as “sector leading” by Education Scotland inspectors in the school’s recent inspection report in 2023.

History

Stonelaw Public School on Melrose Avenue was built in 1886. It became Rutherglen Academy in 1926.[3] A separate institution, Gallowflat Public School (named after the mansion house which stood nearby from the 1760s to the 1910s)[6] [7] was based on Hamilton Road from 1909.

Grammar school

Prior to 1970, a selective secondary education system existed in Scotland that involved two grades of secondary schools: Senior Secondaries and Junior Secondaries. At the heart of this selective system was an exam called the 11-Plus taken by all children in the last year of primary school. Those who passed the 11-Plus went to one of the Senior Secondaries (six-year schools) while all others attended one of the Junior Secondaries (four-year schools).[8] Senior Secondary pupils were expected to stay on at school until aged eighteen and proceed to some sort of tertiary education at university or college, whereas Junior Secondary pupils had to leave school aged fifteen for jobs and/or apprenticeships. Before 1972, fifteen was the minimum school leaving age in Scotland. The mid-19th century Macdonald School building in the heart of Rutherglen was used as an annex for the Academy, which required the pupils to walk approximately 400 yards between the sites.[9]

Comprehensive

Stonelaw High School was established in August 1970 as a four-year school, merging some of the pupils already at Rutherglen Academy with pupils from Gallowflat Junior Secondary.[3] [8] Other Academy pupils who had been at primary schools in Cambuslang, Carmunnock and Burnside largely went up to the new (1970) Cathkin High School. Initially, Stonelaw pupils wishing to do Highers or Certificates of Sixth-Year Studies (CSYS) - these being pre-university qualifications - transferred to Cathkin High for their last two years but eventually Stonelaw High became a six-year school.

The new Stonelaw school was based in the former Academy buildings at the corner of Stonelaw Road and Melrose Avenue[10] along with an 'annex' – the Gallowflat buildings on Hamilton Road.[3] As with the arrangements for the Macdonald building (which closed for this purpose when Stonelaw High opened), the two-site setup again involved hundreds of pupils walking between departments via several residential streets several times a day, which continued for the next 28 years.[2]

Relocation

The school relocated to new premises on Calderwood Road, Rutherglen in summer 1998,[2] [3] on land which had once been part of a farm. The playing fields, adjacent to the new site but finished in 1996 prior to the construction of the buildings, were previously the recreation grounds for the James Templeton & Co textile factory located at Glasgow Green which had also built some company houses in nearby streets.[11]

The main Rutherglen Academy building, a Category B listed structure which survived a World War II bomb intended for nearby industrial sites, was redeveloped into 36 residential apartments in 2001, with the other buildings demolished and further modern flats constructed within the footprint, in a complex known as Academy Gate.[12] [13]

At the Gallowflat site, the main building (a replacement for the original which was destroyed by a fire in 1941)[14] [15] was used by Rutherglen High School, an additional educational needs facility, from 1999 until 2008 when they relocated to a new campus shared with the rebuilt Cathkin High School.[16] [17]

The main building at Gallowflat was soon replaced by a nursing home, David Walker Gardens, opened in 2011.[18] [19] [20] The remaining east block at Gallowflat (the home economics department, its age reflected in its 'Girls' carving above the door – the demolished 'Boys' block further west housed the technical subjects) is also Category B listed but lay empty and disused for over two decades; plans to convert it into residences were approved in 2015[21] [22] and this was eventually completed by 2024.[23]

Feeder Schools

The primary schools whose pupils progress to Stonelaw include Bankhead, Burgh, Burnside, Calderwood and Spittal located within Rutherglen, James Aiton in Cambuslang and Park View in Halfway.[24]

The inclusion of Park View Primary in Stonelaw's catchment list following its construction in 2014 caused some controversy locally, as other schools nearby (including Hallside Primary in Drumsagard which was too small to accommodate local pupils, requiring the construction of Park View to be built to resolve the issue) are affiliated to Cathkin High School; however due to capacity issues there, the new school was linked to Stonelaw despite the sites being apart, which - along with another new school in Newton being affiliated to Uddingston Grammar School - caused concern from parents that divisions would be created in the communities of eastern Cambuslang.[25] [26] By contrast, Calderwood Primary is immediately adjacent to the Stonelaw buildings.

Extracurricular activities

The school has many extra curricular activities and clubs including football,[27] volleyball,[28] a table tennis club, a cricket club and a soul band. They also have a band with full brass, woodwind and percussion sections. The music department also hosts a choir, brass ensemble and a recently started Samba band.

Notable alumni

Stonelaw High School (1970–)

Rutherglen Academy (1926–1970)

Stonelaw Public School (1886–1926)

Notable former teachers

External links

55.8211°N -4.1964°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.stonelaw.s-lanark.sch.uk/About-Us/ About Us
  2. News: Stonelaw head looks back on 32 terrific years in Rutherglen. Douglas. Dickie. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 11 April 2012. 10 February 2018.
  3. Web site: Stonelaw High School: About Us. Stonelaw High School. 9 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180824065808/http://www.stonelaw.s-lanark.sch.uk/stonelaw_aboutus.htm . 24 August 2018.
  4. Web site: Stonelaw Community Sports Hub. 9 February 2018.
  5. Web site: Stonelaw Community Sports Centre. South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture. 9 February 2018.
  6. https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSB00271 Gallowflat House (Glasgow University Library, Special Collections, Dougan Collection, 1870)
  7. https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst93850.html Gallowflat Mound
  8. News: Making your fellow pupils cross. The Herald. 13 January 2016. 10 February 2018.
  9. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/rutherglen-reformer/20180321/282291025768977 Memories of the Academy
  10. News: School's new status angers parents . The Glasgow Herald . 5 . 3 July 1970 . 9 October 2016.
  11. Book: Webster, Jack. The Herald Years. Black & White Publishing. 1996. 9781845029241.
  12. News: I hated school so much I pulled it down. Sunday Mail. The Free Library. 1 April 2001. 10 February 2018.
  13. News: Former pupil who redeveloped old Rutherglen Academy building arranges school reunion. Douglas. Dickie. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 25 October 2017. 10 February 2018.
  14. https://rutherglenheritage.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/rebuilding-gallowflat-school2.jpg Rebuilding Gallowflat School
  15. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4477/37835418486_9670a6c86d_c.jpg Hamilton rd, 11th March 2009, Gallowflat School
  16. Web site: 15 October 2008. Pupils bid farewell to their old school . 9 June 2021. Daily Record.
  17. Web site: About our School. Rutherglen High School. 10 February 2018.
  18. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4444/23927095528_a0d2c9b017_c.jpg Hamilton rd,10th July 2009, David Walker Gardens
  19. Web site: David Walker Gardens. RIAS. 10 February 2018.
  20. News: David Walker Gardens open its doors. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 30 March 2011. 10 February 2018.
  21. News: Plans to turn the old Stonelaw High into flats given green light. Stratton . Williams. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 5 October 2015. 10 February 2018.
  22. News: Plans for Rutherglen's Gallowflat school still on the table. Edel . Kenealy. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 20 July 2017. 10 February 2018.
  23. https://www.s1homes.com/Houses-for-sale/2022050423010739.shtml 2 bedroom conversion for sale Mccallum Avenue, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire South, G73 3AN
  24. http://www.stonelaw.s-lanark.sch.uk/Associated-Primaries/ Associated Primaries
  25. News: Parents react angrily to new school plans. STV Group (Scotland). 25 November 2011. 10 February 2018.
  26. News: Two new primary schools to be built in Halfway and Newton. STV Group (Scotland). 8 March 2012. 10 February 2018.
  27. News: Stonelaw High waves farewell to favourite teacher. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 5 October 2011. 19 March 2018.
  28. News: Rutherglen teacher scoops award. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 19 January 2011. 19 March 2018.
  29. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/20195882.amp/ 'This is the dream': Actor Suzie McAdam on her King's debut in Rocky Horror
  30. Web site: Motorsport: Rutherglen racing champ Stevan McAleer clinches title after dramatic final race in USA. Daily Record. Douglas. Dickie. 8 October 2015. 25 December 2022.
  31. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12529549.hes-got-his-work-cut-out-just-four-weeks-before-his-london-show-his-computer-was-stolen-but-glasgow-fashion-designer-jonathan-saunders-has-turned-disaster-into-a-dream-by-cate-devine/ He's got his work cut out Just four weeks before his London show, his computer was stolen. But Glasgow fashion designer Jonathan Saunders has turned disaster into a dream
  32. News: Stonelaw High waves farewell to favourite teacher. Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 5 October 2011. 13 March 2018.
  33. https://web.archive.org/web/20151015002306/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1366820/Sir-Adam-Thomson.html Obituary: Sir Adam Thomson
  34. Web site: Early Days. Alec Bennett (footballer) by David Carmichael. 30 September 2010. 10 February 2018.
  35. Web site: Partick Thistle History - Harry Johnston.
  36. Web site: Harry Grant Forsyth Johnston. CricketEurope: Scotland StatsZones. 19 March 2018.
  37. Web site: Sir Alex Ferguson: We won league titles, three Cups in a row and dumped Real to gain European trophy.. but we still couldn't beat f*****g Morton. Daily Record . 12 December 2015.

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