CONTENTS
These are all "clickable links" to enable you to go to your chosen place in the book, just click on the text and you'll be taken there, (I HOPE!!!!)
Muiravonside, Maddiston Public School
A day at the school in the 1930’s
Mrs. Agnes J. Hotchkiss 1984-1987
Maddiston Local History Workshop
Mr. Eddie McLennan 1988-Present
Staff at Maddiston Primary School 2006-2007
And Finallly
ILLUSTRATIONS SOURCES
Gravestone Author
Datestone Muiravonside Author
Gravestone, Mr. Watt Author
Old School Badge M. Gibb/Author
Old School Author
Class Photograph T. B. Hunter
Class Photograph T. B. Hunter
Class Photograph S. Whitrick
Class Photograph 1911 T. B. Hunter
Class Photograph Maddiston Local History Group
Teachers 1927 Miss Smart
Welfare Maddiston Local History Group
Mr. Fyfe Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1932/3 L. Hynds
Class Photograph 1935/6 J. Donaldson
Gala Day Queens 1949/50 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queens 1951/52 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1951 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queens 1953/54/55 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph L. Hynds
Gala Day Queen 1956 Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queen 1957
Gala Day Queen 1958 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queens 1959/60/61 Maddiston Local History Group
Twins Mrs. Scobbie
Gala Day Queens 1962/ 19 ? Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queen 19 ? S. Whitrick
Gala Day Queen 1965 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1966 Maddiston Local History Group
Class Photograph 1970 Maddiston Local History Group
Teacher 1981/82 J.
Gala Day Queens 1971/72 Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day Queen 1973 M. Denton
Class Photograph 1980 J. Close
Class Photograph 1982 M. Gibb
Mrs. Hotchkiss J. Wilson
Gala Day Queen 1974
Gala Day Queen 1975 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queen 1976 R. Brown
Mrs. Torrance
Gala Day Queens 1988/89 Maddiston Local History Group
Gala Day King & Queen 1990 M. Gibb
Gala Day King & Queen 1991 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queen 1992 Author
Gala Day King & Queen 1993 M. Gibb
Gala Day Queen 1994 C. Gray
Class Photograph 1995
Gala Day Queens 1995/96 Author
Centenary Cake
Centenary Children
Plaque Unveiling
Street Party A. McDermott
Assembly A. McDermott
Tea Room Author
Class Photograph 2005
Class Photograph 2006
Mr. McLennan
Mrs. Granville
Nursery Class A.M
Nursery Class P.M.
Class Photograph Pr1M
Class Photograph Pr1R
Class Photograph Pr2B/M
Class Photograph Pr2M
Class Photograph Pr3R
Class Photograph Pr3H
Class Photograph Pr4
Class Photograph Pr5/4
Class Photograph Pr5
Class Photograph Pr6
Class Photograph Pr7B & 7N
Twins & Triplets
Linda Blair
New School Badge
New School Author
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the pupils and staff of
I’d also like to thank the people of Maddiston and Rumford (past and present) who have been a tremendous source of information throughout the years the History Group ran and still are now. Nothing could have been done without those who could name “everybody and their dugs” sadly some have passed away but there are still enough of them left to help on occasions such as this.
The Log book of Muiravonside School Board gave me lots of information on Muiravonside Parish School, it now resides at Callander House Museum but at the time I sourced it it was in Central Region Archives in Stirling, Moray House College of Education proved an invaluable help through their website with information on early education and the Fife Family History Society website helped with information about David Watt and The Dictionary of Scottish Architects website for information about the Architects involved in building the school.
To all the people who have helped or contributed towards this book, my wife Rona, who seldom got tired of my prattling on about Maddiston and Rumford, our friend Mary Gibb and her husband Alex, who it must be said often got tired of our prattling on about Maddiston and Rumford (the snoring gave you away Alex !).
To Lucy and John Hynds for their contribution about a day at the school in the 1930’s, thank you.
MUIRAVONSIDE SCHOOL
Education has always been important to the people of the parish and many children wound there way to Muiravonside Kirk every morning after the formation of the parish in the late 1600’s and before that to Linlithgow or
Children would enter the parish school at the age or 6 or 7. School was attended six days a week; the day was often a long one, sometimes beginning as early as 5 in the morning although more often at 6, with one hour breaks for breakfast and lunch. In the class the younger pupils would work alongside the older ones the alphabet would be learned through the Shorter Catechism and from 1616 all children had to learn the Catechism by heart.
A school serving the whole Parish of Muiravonside existed as early as 1723, somewhere near to the Parish Kirk. Parliament had decreed around 30 years before that “every parish not already equipped with a school was required to establish a schoolhouse and to provide for a schoolmaster”. There is in the Churchyard, a memorial stone to Thomas Greenhill who was the Schoolmaster of the Parish for much of that time. It is of course difficult to say just who attended the school as most of the children were at work especially in the mines where women and children were much preferred to adult males for much of the work.
Muiravonside School, built 1817
MR. MATHEW M. HENDERSON 1830-40 - 1873
The site of the second
The dominie had tenure for life; dismissals were uncommon, usually on grounds of religion, politics or morals or an over enthusiastic punishment of pupils with his tawse. There is a record of one Invernesshire schoolmaster who began teaching at the age of 29 and died 70 years later still in post. The dominie’s teaching would be subject to an annual scrutiny by local dignitaries until 1840, thereafter by government inspectors. Tradition has it that the dominie typically wore black clothes: dark trousers, frock coat all covered by his academic gown. His local salary would be augmented by the fees paid by the children, although the poorest could be supported from parish funds. He might also undertake other community responsibilities such as acting as clerk, book keeper, surveyor or factor; or he might provide private tutoring or even write textbooks. For some, the role of teacher was a steppingstone to higher things. The minister’s status and salary were a particular attraction and dominies often undertook further theological studies.
Mr. Henderson hailed from Milnathort in Kinrossshire, as well as being the Head-teacher of Muiravonside School Mr. Henderson was also the Registrar and Inspector of the Poor, as headmaster he had a reputation for being over strict. Of twelve fathers summoned before the School Board to explain why their children weren’t at school, eight complained that their children had been punched and kicked around the back and face and that the children were not being taught properly, one saying his 11 year old son couldn’t read or write. The clerk of the School Board instructed that all the children be sent back to the school and that all complaints be sent to him.
The last mention of Mr. Henderson in the minutes of the School Board is a report by a Dr Hunter on a child aged 8 whose parents had lodged a complaint on Mr. Henderson of cruel treatment; he retired soon after on an allowance of 30 guineas. Mr. Henderson stayed on in the district as he can be found in the 1881 census living at Dykenuek Cottage in The Loan.
Monitorial systems developed at the end of the 18th century in response to a shortage of teachers and the increasing number of pupils in school classes. Someone from the older and more able children would undertake the role of monitor. These children would receive additional instruction from the schoolmaster and in turn they would instruct a group of children. An account of one school using this system described it thus “the desks were arranged around the walls of the schoolroom. The remainder of the space was empty except for the schoolmaster’s desk. One half of the scholars sat at the desks with their faces to the wall, employed in learning to write or cipher, while the other half stood on the floor, either reading or practising the rules of arithmetic. The classes on the floor were arranged in groups facing the schoolmaster with a monitor keeping order over each group. At the end of an hour those at the desks would change over with those on the floor. Writing would be carried out on slates, although the older children might use paper”.
Whilst monitorial systems overcame the teacher shortages and were inexpensive to run they had major drawbacks. They were regimented and involved rote learning and repetition.
The mechanical routines of instruction also prevented an understanding of words and language.
The 1872 Education (
The existing parish and burgh schools were taken over by the state and managed by locally elected School Boards (anyone was allowed to stand for election as long as they had property worth £4). The new system was co-ordinated nationally by the Scotch [sic] Education Department with the curriculum emphasising the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic (the three ‘Rs’). The churches made a crucial contribution to the new system by handing over their schools without charge to the School Boards.
The first Muiravonside School Board members were, in 1873;
John Logan Coalmaster Candy
David Rodger Bookkeeper
Andrew Reid Farmer
George Gray Esq. Proprietor Windyyett
T.Livingston-Learmonth Proprietor Parkhall
Rev. George Keith Minister Muiravonside Manse
William Orr Farmer Boxton
M.T. Hamilton Land Stewart Callander
J.G. Urquart Proprietor
A. S. Aisling (or Ainslie?) Proprietor Muiravonside House
The schools in the Parish were;
- A subscription school at Avonbridge with accommodation for 62 but had 70 at this time.
- A school in Maddiston which was situated down the close right in the centre of the village (variously mentioned as
- A shared interest in the school at Slamannan which had accommodation for 50.
- A shared interest in the school at Brightons (a Free Church School, which was just passing into the control of Polmont Parish School Board), 94 children from Muiravonside Parish were in attendance there.
- A school at
- A school for Roman Catholic children in St Anthony’s Chapel in Rumford.
Muiravonside School-- No Photo
10 children were being educated privately and 40 children were not attending school between the ages of 5 and 13 (some of those were in employment at “public works”). The Board reckoned there was upwards of 600 children in the Parish of school age in 1873, this is nearly double what the estimate was only two years before. Muiravonside Parish School Board was capable of providing education for 352 children (allowing eight square feet of flooring for each child).
The Board advertised in the Glasgow Herald and Review -
“Wanted by the
Certificated teacher, as a successor to the Parish Schoolmaster.
Emolument;
A salary of 㿣 0s 0d
Apply;
Mr. John Roberts, Manual Mill Linlithgow”
There were 36 replies, the Board cut the leet down to three and agreed to meet the traveling expenses of the candidates who were interviewed in “Mr. Johnston’s Temperance Hotel in
The Board unanimously agreed on Mr. Coutts from
MR. DAVID B. WATT
Staff at
The new Head-teacher was Mr. Watt; this was his second appointment since graduating in 1870 the first was in Newmains, Lanarkshire where he met his wife Janet Turner, who became the Sewing Mistress at Muiravonside. A new school was built in 1876 almost opposite the old one on land already belonging to the Board; the school was built to accommodate 174 pupils.
The population of the Parish had increased to 2900 by now, 650 of who were children of school age; education had now become compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 13.
Mr. Black, the architect proposed that “the present school be converted into rooms which may either be used for a female teacher or be used by the master, a new front door is to be opened. The present byre is to be converted into a scullery with a back door and a retaining wall is to be built at the back of the garden”.
The Board allowed each school in the Parish £5 per annum for cleaning School Houses and lighting fires.
The parents were paying fees of around 8d per annum, for their children’s books, and were paying for fuel for the classroom fires (4d per annum although no family was to pay more than 1/- per annum), door fees are also mentioned but no amount given.
To try and save money the Board put the School Glebe land up for sale but when no buyer was found for it, the Board made the decision that Miss Prentice the assistant teacher at
Maddiston School Room closed around 1879, a new assistant teacher Miss Jessie Murray was taken on at £35 per annum and it was around this time that a young man by the name of James Wilson became a Monitor in Drumbowie School (more of him anon).
Education was still not free of course but a memo from the Scotch (later Scottish) Education Department made it clear that no child should be excluded for not paying fees but any fees not paid should be collected, even if a parent produces a weekly fee as an installment and declares he is not able to pay more, the installment should be accepted. There was of course someone to chase up absentees, an attendance officer who called in at the school to receive a list of those not at school then visit their houses to see what was wrong. Mr. Forsyth is the fist name mentioned in connection with this task around 1897 until his retrial in 1903. Fees were not stopped until 1889 then schools were paid out of probate duty at 5/9d per head for Muiravonside.
In the minutes of the School Board in 1889 it seems that Mr. Watt had been carrying on where his predecessor left off by acting as Inspector to the Poor and he ended up in trouble. The School Board called for his resignation, no action was taken but the board stated in 1892 that if things didn’t improve a change of headmastership would be taken into consideration.
The same year Miss Binnie the assistant teacher was asked “to procure another situation at her earliest convenience because of the state of the relationship between her and the headmaster”, Miss Binnie resigned.
It seems that Mr. Watt remained in the parish after he retired as Headmaster; it’s probable that he had a liferent of the school and remained there until he died in 1936 as the schoolhouse became a private residence in the 1930’s.
Mr. Watt’s Grave, Muiravonside cemetery.
The appointment of the local schoolmaster, or dominie, was an important responsibility of the parish. The schoolmaster, because of his scholarship, was a key member of the local community, second only to the minister himself. More often than not he had studied at a university, although poorer parishes were not able to afford such a scholar.
All had to subscribe to the Confession of Faith - a 40 page document. Some parishes set an examination for their prospective dominie. In some parishes the tradition was for the new schoolmaster to teach their first lesson in the presence of both the children and their parents and local dignitaries. He would then be presented with the keys of the school together with rent free accommodation in the school house.
The local dominie often worked in isolation from others in his profession. Devising his own methods he would endeavour to teach his class despite its wide range of ages and abilities. He might take the older more able boys in a special class before or after the rest of the school. Some of these would progress to the larger burgh schools and a few to university usually at the age of 14 or 15. Here they would find even larger classes, with knowledge drilled in by the lecturer. Many lasted only one or two sessions before leaving for a job.
In 1883 the school leaving age was raised to 14 and most children were now being educated.
MUIRAVONSIDE, MADDISTON PUBLIC SCHOOL
The case for building a school at Maddiston was now reaching a climax and it was a new Board member Mr. Murray who first proposed to the School Board the need to build a primary school at Maddiston in 1894.
The following year the decision was taken by the Board to build the school and Messrs Binnie, Murray and Bryce of the School Board went to see Mr. Livingston-Learmonth of Parkhall who agreed to “fue Muiravonside School Board ¾ of an acre of land on the east side of the road from Rumford to Maddiston at ٦ an acre for the erection of a school house the frontage to the road to be about two chains”, on the following conditions;
1 That the children be kept from trespassing on any adjacent land at all times and to be assisted in doing so thus
2 A wall not less than 6’ high to be built on all sides of the fue
3 The drainage to be done entirely at the expense of the School Board.
It’s interesting to note that a plebiscite was held to find out what kind of school the parents wanted, i.e. a
The Architect was James Strang of Denny who had his business in
The contractors for the new school were;
Messrs McLachan Builders
William Thomas Joiner
Walter Doig Paintwork
The school was opened in September 1897 by Mr. Murray (who died the following year) and, as far as can be ascertained it consisted of the head-teachers room and two classrooms, accommodation for around 100 children, the school was built at a cost of ٟ,171.
MISS BEATTIE 1897 TO 1898
The first Head-teacher was a Miss Beattie from Jedburgh, she and an ex pupil teacher Miss Elizabeth McKay, had charge of 78 children, infants only, the older children continued to attend Muiravonside school. The increasing role of the government in teacher training is reflected in the Council of Education’s Minutes for 1846 introducing a national pupil-teacher scheme. Schools could select from their most promising thirteen year old students those most likely to be able to undertake an apprenticeship of up to five years duration. During the day they would follow the school’s curriculum and then receive additional instruction outside school hours on the art of teaching from staff appointed for this purpose. The most able students, selected through a competitive examination, were awarded a Queen’s Scholarship. Successful male students were awarded a grant of £25 and female students two thirds of this. These grants supported their maintenance at the Normal School (the name given to the teacher training school). The school’s curriculum at this time was a broad one and included subjects such as drawing and music. At the end of their course the students would take an examination in both general and professional subjects conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspectors. The achievement of a Leaving Certificate carried with it an enhanced salary funded by the government.
Whilst not initially welcomed (‘it assumed a child could do two exacting things at once’), the pupil - teacher scheme, especially for elementary school teachers, was an improvement on the previous monitorial model, guaranteeing a minimum level of personal knowledge and achievement of recognised teaching skills. Certificated teachers were able to organise and teach the large number of children in sessional and subscription schools.
In 1858 the regular curriculum of the Normal Schools was extended to two years by regulation, with training ending in December instead of June. To qualify for their ‘parchment’ students, in addition to their Leaving Certificate, had to undertake a further two years of work teaching in a school. The final grade obtained depended on both their examination performance and the report of the HMI on their schoolwork.
Just as the above picture this is from the School at its earliest period there are no names for any of the children but as in the last photograph we can narrow down the staff to a couple of names, Miss Beattie, the Headmistress of 1897/8 or Miss McKay a pupil teacher who started in 1897.
This new system of teacher training began to have a major effect on Scottish education. Newly qualified and certificated teachers were sought after and reasonably well paid. Their training gave them a wider knowledge than many parish schoolteachers previously and this in turn enabled them to teach a broader curriculum to children. The link with the churches was also lessening with increased government funding and the abolition of the need for teachers to sign the Confession of Faith.
Miss Beatties' salary was £65 (rising to £70 maximum) per annum and that of her assistant, Mrs. McKay £35-£40(rising to £50 maximum) per annum.
The children continued to leave Maddiston aged eight and a half, their education continued at Muiravonside until reaching the age of 11 when they sat the Leaving Certificate Examination, “The Quali” when the ‘brightest’ children had the chance to take their education further by going to Falkirk High School which was of course fee paying ( some applied and got bursaries) or just staying at Muiravonside till you were 14.
MISS J D BAXTER 1898 TO 1905
Miss Beattie was replaced the following year by Miss J.D. Baxter of Portobello.
The parents in the village welcomed the new school, but worried about the effect a two-mile walk to school would have on the "older" children in all weathers, but there was still the spectre of the attendance officer for those who were less than keen on attending school, Mr. Mutter who came from Drumbroider near Avonbridge was the man now chasing up the absentees.
Towards the end of the 19th century secondary schools were developing as an identifiable sector and in 1901 the school leaving age was raised to 14. Students could leave schools with a variety of qualifications, including an Intermediate Certificate for those taking courses in industrial, commercial, rural and household subjects, and a Leaving Certificate for those intending to take up a profession.
Standards 1 & 2 were taught at the school and the pupils moved to Muiravonside at eight and a half years of age.
MISS ANNIE ALDISS 1905 TO 1911
This Class photograph shows Robert Clayton at the extreme right of the back row.
The Headmistress in this photograph is Miss Annie Aldiss.
In 1905 permission was granted to use the school for a marriage and Miss Annie Aldiss of High Blantyre took over as head-teacher.
1910 brought matters to a head when Carron Company intimated to the School Board their intention to build 48 room and kitchen type houses between Rumford and Maddiston and four houses of room and kitchen and a manager’s cottage of five apartments at Craigend.
The School Board calculated that at least another 120 children would need to be accommodated in the school and it was time to expand. A census of school children held in August 1910 showed there to be 1209 in the Parish and 91 were attending schools outwith the Parish.
MR. JAMES S WILSON 1911 TO 1926
This next development was in 1911, when the school was enlarged to give the full front of the building still seen to day, doubling the capacity of the school.
The Architect chosen this time was Alexander Malcolm who came from Millbar, Polmont Station and had his practice at
The school now consisted of five classrooms, the hall ( the original plans were for a central corridor not a hall), staff and head-teachers room and the porches for the girls and boys entrances with the dates of the extension on them above (not as most people think, the date when the school was built), a part at the back (a description of which must remain rather vague) which seems to have run the full length of the back of the school, but was only one storey high, and was used for cookery and handwork.
Mrs. Gillespie of Muiravonside House presented the new school with a flag staff, the school opened on the 1st October 1911.
Mr. Wilson (he was known in the village as “Cocker”
The school cleaner was dismissed and received one months pay in lieu of notice plus 7/6d for extra work concerned with the extension, the post was advertised at £1.15s.0d per month.
Classes at the new school were to be up to and including the qualifying classes but no pupil attending qualifying classes at Muiravonside was to be enrolled at Maddiston.
Teachers’ salaries;
Minimum Maximum
Untrained Certificated Female £65 £85
Trained Certificated Female £70 £90
Infant Mistress (required to teach Cookery) £85 £100
Infant Mistress (not required to teach cookery) £80 £95
(Annual Increase to ٠ 10s 0d, Board retain the right to increase this or decrease this depending on circumstances)
Ex Pupil teacher female £65
(Annual increase to depend on circumstances)
The new Head-teacher was Mr. James S Wilson (Seen here at the door of the school)
It was at this time that teaching practice opportunities became more widely available in local schools. On the successful completion of their training students would undertake a two year probationary period in approved schools, after which they would be awarded their Teaching Certificate (or ‘parchment’). By 1915 all teachers in
The Muiravonside School Board members in 1911 were;
David Abercrombie Joiner
David Bayne Minister Muiravonside
Archibald Binnie Railway Inspector
Francis Gardener Draper Sunnyside Cottages, Maddiston
John Haldane Tailor (Terra Cotta?) Maddiston
Thomas Harper Miner Osborne Cottage, Standburn
Isaac Park Clerk Compstone Linlithgow
Charlotte Stirling Spinster Tarduff
The school roll had now risen to over 300 (Infants, 100, Standard I and II, 49, Standard III, 53, Standard IV and V, 50.
The school bell was purchased in the spring of 1912.
According to the log book, things were far from perfect; the heating was a problem from the start as each classroom was heated by its own open fire (which was fine for those at the front of the class but not for those at the back). Anthracite stoves were installed in the class rooms which seemed to help for a few years and when gas came into the village (from the Redding Gas Company) the School Board considered heating by gas but turned it down and only had lighting installed, this cost them £27.10.0d. but they sold the oil lamps for £2.0s 0d.
Secondary Education continued as before when children sat the 11+ and went into either the Quali or Control classes, six children are noted as going to Falkirk High from 1911 to 1926 (out of nearly 1400 who’d registered at the school during this period), the first one mentioned being Willie Marshall from Kendieshill Farm in 1916. Attending Falkirk High entailed a walk to Polmont Station, catching the train to
1914. Middle Row, 3rd from left, Wullie Russell, 7th from left, Harry Oliver. Front Row, 2nd from left, Jimmy Hislop
Sad little instances appear in the minutes of the School Board -
Neglected children Frank S-------,
Girl from Tinplate (H------ Cottage), Susan P------, to be admitted to Larbert Imbecile Institution.
Overcrowding was a problem and many children just had to be put off until there was room for them, several instances of older children being asked to enroll in other school in the Parish appear in the first Log Book, conversely many children didn’t enroll in the school at the correct time, some being 6 or nearly 7 before enrolling (Mr. Wilson seemed to keep a beady eye out for them and gets Mr. Bonallo the Compulsory Officer to chase them up) The school roll seemed to go up and down every week with no set "intake", partitions were erected in the hall and cookery room to create more teaching space when it was needed.
In 1913 Craigend Gala day Committee was allowed the use of the school in the event of inclement weather. Christmas holidays didn’t become the norm until after 1916, the holiday before then was always referred to as the “New Year Holiday”, although half the Roman Catholic population of the school stayed off one Christmas and the Board was forced to close the school early. The Roman Catholic children got into trouble this way on quite a few occasions such as St Patrick’s Day and All Saints Day, staying off when really there was no need as the services were usually ended before 10.00 am giving them ample time to get to school.
Some sort of falling out occurred between Miss Dunne and Miss Ross and Mr. Wilson the Headmaster but it was never fully documented, it had something to do with discipline in the school and led to Miss Dunne and Miss Ross being transferred to
On the 19th December 1917 the minute book of the School Board recorded a great achievement for a pupil, Marjorie Cunningham, she enrolled at
A census of the school children of the Parish in 1918 gave the following results
Aged between 5 & 7 265
Aged between 7 & 12 668
Aged between 12 & 14 265
Total 1189
The 1918 Education (
Hardly a week passed by without mention of Whooping Cough, Scarlet Fever, Measles, Chicken-Pox all of which reached epidemic proportion in the villages and in some cases led to the school being closed down and disinfected as were the homes of the sufferers. Sadly some of the aforementioned diseases left the children susceptible to a far more serious disease, Diphtheria, which often proved to be a killer.
During the winter of 1917 and the spring of 1918 children were kept off school to go to the Co-op and wait (for hours on end) for whatever was being delivered, most mothers had enough to cope with, with younger children etc to be able to do this as well.
First mention of the Boys Brigade was in 1919 when use of school hall was granted. The charge to be two shillings per evening, one shilling to be paid to the cleaner, and the balance to the authority.
Below is a list of staff while Mr. Wilson was Headmaster
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Margaret M Nicholson |
1911-04 |
05-1914 |
|
Miss Elisabeth M Dunne |
1911-04 |
04-1914 |
|
Miss Marion Pearson Leslie |
1911-04 |
01-1924 |
|
Miss Alice Ross Miss Alice Ross |
1911-11 |
04-1914 |
|
Miss Catherine Ross Wilson |
1911-11 |
11-1916 |
|
Miss Annie J. Shanks |
1912-10 |
03-1925 |
|
Miss Mary Roberta Sandilands |
1914-04 |
03-1920 |
|
Miss Helen McOwan |
1914-04 |
04-1934 |
|
Miss Margaret (Maggie) Binnie |
1914-05 |
06-1927 |
|
Miss Catherine Lister Black |
1916-11 |
08-1918 |
|
Miss Alice Lillie Kilgour |
1918-08 |
01-1923 |
|
Miss Williamena McGregor |
1920-09 |
12-1920 |
|
Mrs. Jane Leishman |
1920-12 / 1921-10 |
09-1921 / 09-1922 |
|
Miss Mary McCulloch |
1921-09 |
01-1924 |
|
Miss Isabella Morrison |
1922-09 |
10-1922 |
|
Miss Margaret M L Dawson |
1922-09 |
??-1923 |
|
Miss Catherine Jane Mcniven M.A |
1922-10 |
05-1925 |
|
Miss Isabella Scott |
1923-01 |
08-1923 |
|
Miss Janet Brown |
1923-09 |
08-1933 |
|
Miss Christina P Kirk |
1923-10 |
12-1933 |
|
Miss Robena S Kerr |
1924-01 |
05-1935 |
|
Miss Margaret N Smart |
1924-01 |
01-1942 |
|
Miss Agnes Cullen Halyburton Orr |
1924-08 |
09-1924 |
|
Mr. Ebenezer Kelso M.A. |
1924-09 |
06-1925 |
|
Mr. Peter Rennie Roy M.A |
1925-08 |
04-1926 |
MR WILLIAM BOWDEN 1926 TO 1933
Mr Wilson retired in 1926 after a long career in teaching stretching back to 1879 when he became a classroom monitor at Drumbowie.
The new Head teacher was Mr William Bowden, school life continued as normal, the roll continued to be around the 300 mark (and rising), the new Compulsory Officer Mr. Black (just call me ‘Uncle Jimmy’ was one of his favourite saying to the weans) was now treading the streets keeping an eye on the attendance.
Teachers of 1927.
Miss Hogg, no mention of a Miss Hogg in the Log Book.
Miss Helen McOwen, she was the Infant Mistress from 1914 until she went to
Miss Christina B. Kirk, joined the school in 1923, went to
Miss Brown, joined the school in 1927, left to get married in 1933.
Miss Margaret (Maggie) Binnie, came to
Mr Kenneth J. McKenzie M.A., came here in 1926 as the Woodwork Teacher and left to go to a teaching job in Ploctkton, Rossshire in 1928.
Miss Margaret N. Smart, joined the school in 1924 and stayed until she was transferred to Carmuirs School,
Miss Marion Fraser, came here in 1926 and left in 1931.
Miss Amy Baxter M.A., joined this school in 1925 and left in 1926.
Miss Robena S. Kerr, came to
Headmaster Mr Bowden (at left wearing a hat), stayed at
The last major building work to the school was in 1929 when the old cookery/handwork room was demolished and the five classrooms at the back built with a boiler room and cookery room below, the boiler room provided central heating for the school thus solving problem of keeping the classrooms at a reasonable temperature. Overcrowding was a problem that was not going to go away. During this period some classes were held in the Welfare Hall situated opposite the school (The Police Station now occupies the site).
Control of the school now passed from the School Management Committee in to the County Council under the 1930’s Education Act which required Councils to set up Education Committees.
The school regime was very different to what we see to-day, the boys and girls having there own entrances gates at the front of the school, cloakrooms and playgrounds divided by central walls at the back and front of the school, the only one remaining is at the front. As traffic increased a barrier was placed at the edge of the
In 1932 the Qualifying classes moved out of
Top Corridor
End of session services, Easter services and Christmas Services were sometimes held in
Maddiston School in the 1920's
Maddiston, the very name means 'School' to me for I spent many years of my life there teaching hundreds of children.
When I first came to Maddiston it was a long straggling village stretching from Cairneymount in the South to Bellvue in the North with many residences between.
It was Lady Well Cottages with Mrs. Hunter's shop, a stretch of field then Johnny Miller's chip shop. Then Carron View spread-eagled along the side of the road to the school. The road to Rainhill and on the other side of that Pender's Buildings, nothing on the other side - oh yes, Johnny Clayton's caravan and a row of cottages beyond the school. Beyond the bridge was less familiar to me but I recollect several cottages on either side of the road leading up to the busy part of the village. Here we find Janet and Jemima Hunter's shop, the Salvation Army Hall, Bella Hastie's shop and on the other side of the road, the Store, the Public House and more cottages between there and Cairneymount.
In school we taught
The most exciting day of all was our Gala Day. On that occasion the children arrived at school dressed in their best. I well remember Archie coming to school in full Highland Dress complete with plaid on a sweltering June day.
I remember the same Archie coming in late one morning and informing me that “the knock was stoppit and we did not ken the time ".
When ready each class would move off, bands playing, flags waving, children singing down past Carron View, along through Rumford back to the
We teachers had simple duties to perform as the indefatigable committee carried out all arrangements.
Races were run - ordinary races, three legged races, washing day races, egg races, and sack races etc - the finals of the football matches were also played off.
At intervals the committee members saw that each child received a bag of goodies and that his or her tinny was filled with milk.
A lovely day was had by all.
Miss Smart.
Teacher,
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Helen McOwan |
1914-04 |
04-1934 |
|
Miss Margaret (Maggie) Binnie |
1914-05 |
06-1927 |
|
Miss Janet Brown |
1923-09 |
08-1933 |
|
Miss Christina P Kirk |
1923-10 |
12-1933 |
|
Miss Robena S Kerr |
1924-01 |
05-1935 |
|
Miss Margaret N Smart |
1924-01 |
01-1942 |
|
Miss Amy Baxter M.A |
1925-06 |
10-1926 |
|
Mr. Peter Rennie Roy M.A |
1925-08 |
04-1926 |
|
Miss Phoebe E Macdonald M.A |
1926-02 |
03-1926 |
|
Miss Jessie S Peterkin |
1926-03 |
08-1932 |
|
Miss Marion Fraser |
1926-05 |
06-1931 |
|
Miss Harrison |
1926-05 |
08-1926 |
|
Mr. Kenneth J McKenzie M.A |
1926-08 |
07-1928 |
|
Miss Georgina Whyte |
1926-08 |
08-1926 |
|
Miss Elsie B Park |
1926-08 |
02-1927? |
|
Miss Alice Thomson |
1927-02 |
12-1927 |
|
Mr. John Mackay |
1927-02 |
10-1931 |
|
Miss Brown |
1927-06 |
08-1933 |
|
Miss Jessie Milne |
1927-08 |
03-1935 |
|
Miss Isabella Hendry |
1928-11 |
04-1932 |
|
Miss Margaret Taggart |
1929-09 |
08-1932 |
|
Miss Margaret Bilsland M.A |
1929-09 |
01-1930 |
|
Miss Areusa Tiplady |
1930-01 |
10-1934 |
|
Mr. John Paterson M.A |
1928-2 |
04-1931 |
|
Miss Mary Thatcher |
1931-04 |
04-1931 |
|
Mr. John Campbell M.A |
1931-04 |
09-1935 |
|
Miss Margaret Ross |
1931-06 |
08-1951 |
|
Miss Joan Guthrie Mitchell |
1932-11 |
03-1933 |
|
Miss Christina Forrest Hamilton |
1933-03 |
12-1936 |
MR ROBERT FYFE 1933 TO 1942
Mr Robert Fyfe
A wireless set was installed in the school in 1934. The first lesson of a music course for pupils aged 9-11, was taken by senior 1a and 1b on Thursday at 2.30 p.m. Messer’s Stewart and Adam of the B.B.C. were present. All the pupils assembled in the school hall on Wednesday 24 January 1936 to hear the Proclamation of King Edward VIII from
In June of 1938 twenty pupils from senior 1 under the supervision of Mr. Stark and Miss Anderson visited the Empire Exhibition.
September 1939, owing to the war emergency primary pupils only were in attendance. Each class was divided into two equal sections, one section attending in the forenoon during the period, 9.30am till 12 noon, the other section attending in the afternoon during the period 1 pm till 3.30. The headmaster and staff were instructed by the director of education to be on duty every day from 9am till 4pm and to take lunch in school. Twelve evacuees were admitted. All classes received instruction in the use of gas masks and air raid drill was taken daily. Miss Isabella McClelland Milroy, teacher, evacuated from Parkhouse School Glasgow - under the government's evacuation scheme- began duty.
In November another 22 children arrived at Maddiston where they were fed then taken to the people who were looking after them, 10 went to Standburn and 11 stayed at Maddiston, most of the children stayed here till the end of the war.
In December the cookery room was darkened for the use of the school cinema projector. The first film "Life in the Desert" was shown to primary V.a, V,b and VI. b.
In April 1941 more evacuees arrived from St. Mary’s'
In December a beginning was made with the feeding of pupils under the County scheme when 166 pupils were provided with dinner.
Mr Fyfe (Cherry Ripe was his nickname after a song he constantly tried to teach the children, much to their amusement) was transferred to
A day at the school in 1934
At 9 o’clock every school day morning each class stood in their lines, boys at the bottom of the stairs at the boys entrance, girls at the bottom of the stairs at the girls entrance, waiting for the bell to ring. We marched into school 2x2 to the sound of the piano being played in the hall, we had to march round the outside of the hall until we came to our classroom, never across the centre of the hall. Once in our classrooms we sat at our desks then we said our prayers,
The Lord’s Prayer –
‘Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever’.
Amen.
Religious Instruction continued until 9.30 am when the Roman Catholic children came in after attending their own church from 9 o’clock. After that we usually got Arithmetic, which meant learning our multiplication tables and chanting them out loud in unison time and time again until we learned them off by heart (even now at 83years of age I can still repeat them all). Then it was time to do our sums, long division was the hardest, no calculators in those days! During the morning we got a small bottle of milk 1/3 of a pint, for which we paid ½ d., not much when we think that 12 old pence equalled 5 new pence, just think, 24 little bottles of milk for 5p!
Then we had to learn English which would be spelling, meaning of words, dictation and composition (writing essays).
One day in the week we would get History, one day Geography, one day singing and learning music and one day we had drill (P.E.) in the hall.
We had a 10 minute playtime in the morning and another in the afternoon out in the playground, boys and girls were separated by a high wall in the playground, there was a small opening in the wall but woe betide anyone caught on the wrong side.
It was around this time that the school got a wireless (Radio) and occasionally we would have a lesson from the wireless that we did look forward to because it was so unusual, something new and a bit different.
Dinner time lasted for one and a quarter hours in the summer and for three quarters of an hour in winter, because in winter time the school finished at 3.30pm and in the summer at 4.0 o’clock
If you lived too far away to get home at dinnertime you had to bring sandwiches with you as there were no school dinners in these days.
If there was any spare time before 4 o’clock we sometimes had mental arithmetic and if you were quick enough to answer a question correctly you could get away 5 minutes early.
Then it was time to go home and do your homework.
Lucy & John Hynds (Lucy McNiven and John Hynds both appear in the picture below)
Primary 5, 1932
Back Row;
Frank Buchanan, Adam Ferguson, William Ferguson, Robert Wilson, John Reid, Alec Easton, William Thomson, ? , Peter Wilson.
Fourth Row;
Jim Stewart, Tom Scobbie, Hugh Mc Cauley, Pat McCutcheon, Allan Mitchell, John Lambie, William Sheilds, Charles White, John Hynds, George Dalrymple. Third Row, Mary Stewart, Jean McLay, Agnes Love, Georgina Easton, John Anderson, Cathy Inglis, Jessie Laird, Isa Wilson, John Allison, Nessie Bernard.
Second Row;
Jean Black, Mary Thomson, Bessie MacGgregor, Margaret Bryce, Betty Wilson, Nellie
Front Row;
Annie Jack, Lucy McNiven, Euphemia O'Donnell, Prudence Aitken, Sarah Convoy.
Teacher Miss Areusa Tiplady, joined
Below is a list of staff while Mr. Fyfe was Headmaster.
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Helen McOwan |
1914-04 |
04-1934 |
|
Miss Christina P Kirk |
1923-10 |
12-1933 |
|
Miss Robena S Kerr |
1924-01 |
05-1935 |
|
Miss Margaret N Smart |
1924-01 |
01-1942 |
|
Miss Jessie Milne |
1927-08 |
03-1935 |
|
Miss Areusa Tiplady |
1930-01 |
10-1934 |
|
Mr. John Campbell M.A |
1931-04 |
09-1935 |
|
Miss Margaret Ross |
1931-06 |
08-1951 |
|
Miss Mary A Clelland. M.A |
1932-02/33-08 |
05-32/01-1934 |
|
Miss Christina Forrest Hamilton |
1933-03 |
12-1936 |
|
Miss |
1934-01 |
08-1937 |
|
Miss Mary C D Scott |
1934-01 |
09-1939 |
|
Miss Isabella Fleming |
1934-04 |
10-1945 |
|
Miss Jessie Baldwin M.A |
1935-05 |
11-1935 |
|
Miss Catherine Gillespie |
1935-05 |
08-1935 |
|
Miss Jessie Reid M.A |
1935-08 |
08-1937 |
|
Miss Anita Sheilds M.A |
1935-08 |
11-1935 |
Primary 5 1935/6
Robert Hamilton, Alec Finney, Alec Easton, Jock Reid, John Donaldson, Mitchell, Jimmy Kenny, Henry Orr, Jimmy Dougall
Third Row;
Frank Jarvie, Wullie Fullerton, Alec Anderson, Nan Forsyth, Nan Bradley, Jean Todd, Annie Bryce, Agnes Penman, Fred Dougall, Jimmy Robertson.
Second Row;
Lexie Allardyce, Isa Gow, Mary Craw, Lizzie Duncan, Margaret Kelly, Jean Johnston, Helen Gardener, Sarah Convoy, Mary Mills, ? McKenzie, Mary Henderson.
Front Row;
George Hunter, Bobby Robertson, Tam Muirhead, Corry Kerkhoff, John O'Conner, Benny Montague.
Teacher, Miss C.D. Scott, came to
Mr. Fyfe Staff - Continued
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Mary Cooper M.A |
1935-11 |
02-40/04-40 |
|
Miss Janet Foley |
1935-11 |
11-1941 |
|
Mr. Alexander L Stark |
1935-12 |
09-1940 |
|
Miss Catherine Dickson |
1937-01 |
02-1950 |
|
Miss Thomasina Brownlee |
1937-08 |
09-1937 |
|
Miss Violet Anderson M.A |
1937-08 |
09-1941 |
|
Miss Isabel Webster Nicol M.A |
1937-08 |
11-1940 |
|
Miss Henrietta Bilby Goodfellow |
1939-09 |
12-1962 |
|
Miss Isabella McLelland Milroy |
1939-09 |
12-1939 |
|
Miss Peggy Robertson (Mrs. Scott ?) |
1940-09 |
08-1948 |
|
Mrs. Mary Grant |
1941-09 |
10-1945 |
|
Mrs. Agnes Bennie |
1941-09 |
01-1957 |
|
Miss McCarron |
1942-12 |
01-1942 |
|
Miss Jane Sheils |
1942-01 |
01-1942 |
|
Mrs Jamieson |
1942-01 |
02-1944 |
MR JOHN WHITE 1942 TO 1952
Mr John White took over as Headmaster.
The summer holidays were extended to mark the end of the war in
Miss Fleming, the Infant Mistress retired after 45 years of service in August 1945 (12 of them in Maddiston) and the pupils and staff held an assembly in the hall to honour her parting, led by the School Chaplain, Rev. James Hamilton. Mr Joseph Bland took over as the Janitor around this time as well.
The school leaving age was increased to 15 in 1945 and Secondary Education was now free to all children.
Changes in the structure of the school continued, in 1946 rooms 2ſ were altered to create a large Infant room; the school received a new piano in October of 1949.
School camp became an annual event, Dounans Camp, Aberfoyle, Meigle and Glengonnar Camp are mentioned in the Log Books.
Road Safety became a bit of an issue with the rising traffic levels the children had to become a bit more aware of the dangers of crossing the road and the Traffic Police from Falkirk visited the school every year to give the children instruction on Road Safety (This became “The Mobile Safety Exhibition” as the trend grew to give anything a fancy name).
All the Royal holidays, births of Princes and Princesses, weddings of Princes and Princesses, Silver Weddings, Coronations, deaths were all held in common with the other schools in the country and as a bonus sometimes there was even a mug or a medal handed out as well. In 1951 because of the lack of space, Primary VII moved over to the Miners Welfare Hall and in 1952 the dining room was taken over as a classroom, (shades of 1929 all over again). . A new School Chaplain Rev. J.C. Downie took over in 1952.
It was during Mr. White’s time that the Gala Day took a change of direction from being a glorified sports day into being a full blown Gala Day with a coronation ceremony, the procession still went walked round the streets of the village and ended up in the Welfare Park, but now a stage was set with bunting and flags for the ceremony.
Queen, Irene Gavin 1950
? , Nelson Gray Bill Fyfe, John Paterson, Jimmy Robertson, Billy Gow, Peter McGuiness, Robin Roberts, Jackie Leadbetter.
Middle row;
? , Donaldson Sandy Gow, ? ? , ?
Front row;
George Anderson, ? ? , ? ?, ? Angus, ? McLay, Richard McMeechen, Jim Johnstone, Tom Risk, Richard Greive, Jim Kelly, George. ?, Alec Anderson, Richard Wilson.
Queen Jessie Forgie 1952
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Henrietta Bilby Goodfellow |
1939-09 |
12-1962 |
|
Miss Peggy Robertson (Mrs. Scott ?) |
1940-09 |
08-1948 |
|
Mrs. Mary Grant |
1941-09 |
10-1945 |
|
Mrs. Agnes Bennie |
1941-09 |
01-1957 |
|
Mrs Jamieson |
1942-01 |
02-1944 |
|
Miss Hay |
1942-08 |
04-1947 |
|
Miss Mary Margaret Wood M.A |
1943-01 |
08-1943 |
|
Mrs. Nesta Grant |
1944-05 |
02-1946 |
|
Miss Annie Hendry Fleming Thornton M.A |
1945-10 |
04-1946 |
|
Miss Christina Laing |
1945-11 |
08-1946 |
|
Miss Anne Shaw Mitchell |
1945-11 |
01-1947 |
|
Miss Margaret M K Graham M.A |
1946-04 |
07-1947 |
|
Miss Marjory Kinross, M.A. |
1946-08 |
01-1948 |
|
Miss Isabella Jarvie Wilson |
1947-01 |
11-1957 |
|
Miss Catherine Doris Mallon |
1947-01 |
08-1948 |
|
Miss Mary Peebles |
1947-04 |
08-1947 |
|
Mrs. Janet McLeod Steele M.A |
1948-01 |
03-1948 |
|
Mrs. Mabbott |
1948-05 (First mention) |
08-1948 |
|
Miss Wiiliamena Harrower |
1948-08 |
04-1952 |
|
Miss Mary Anderson Shaw |
1948-08 |
08-1952 |
|
Miss Isabella Russell |
1948-08/1958-08 |
08-1952/09-1958 |
|
Mrs. Elizabeth McNeil |
195? |
10-1977 |
|
Mrs. Margaret Crombie |
1950-01 |
08-1953 |
|
Mr. Penman |
1950-04 |
06-1950 |
|
Miss Eleanor Helen Mann M.A |
1950-06 |
08-1953 |
|
Miss Margaret Thomson Smith M.A |
1950-06 |
08-1955 |
|
Mr. Robert Lapsley |
1951-04 |
08-1960 |
|
Mr. William Howie M.A |
1951-08 |
08-1952 |
|
Miss Janet Dunn Liddle |
1951-08 |
08-1954 |
|
Mr. Martin (First Assistant |
1952-01 |
08-1952 |
|
Mr. Frank Brooks |
1952-04/1959-03 |
03-1957/08-1960 |
|
Miss M Robertson |
1952-08 |
04-1954 |
|
Mr. John McKenzie |
1952-08 |
04-1954 |
|
Miss Ishbel Primrose |
1952-08 |
08-1955 |
Baxter Arthur, George Muir, Brian Murray, Alan Gow, J. Higgins, Norman Cairns, Tom Brown, G Dick, Billy Kane.
Middle Row;
Mary Ferguson, Jean Cockburn, June Small, Ann Rogers, Muriel Thomson, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jessie Hutcheon, Betty , A. Fabishak.
Front Row;
Betty Brown, Janette Barron, Freda Mochar, Jean Muir, Buff Hynds, John T , John Anderson, Marta Llatoska, Janette Heeps, Sandra McNiel, Ann Fowler.
MR JOHN MARSHALL 1952 TO 1961
In August 1952 Mr John Marshall took over as Headmaster. Alexander Mochar (he was in Primary IIB) must have a lingering memory of how half of the school gate fell on him one morning (the 7th of June 1953 at 11:15 in the morning to be precise) and broke his leg, but of course that was the girls side of the playground so he shouldn’t have been there in the first place, one wonders if this taught him a lesson or not.
The building that I remember being called nothing other than “The Wee School” was started in April 1956 and was occupied by the Infant Classes in August of the same year. It was of course the Infant School and in December 1956 it was formally opened by Councillor A Cockburn.
Some alteration took part in the main school at the same time as it is mentioned in the School log book that “all rooms are now of a good size”.
The spectre of the 11+ still hung over all the children, the general idea seemed to be, pass and your future was rosy fail and you were a failure, the children were still sent to the three Secondary Schools (Redding – oh dear, could have done better, the ‘Tech’ – well done but could’ve done better, Falkirk High – the best, the cream of the crop, are you going to be a teacher, a doctor ?). Falkirk Tech changed to Graeme High in 1957 to save confusion with the newly opened
In 1957 the school opened 65 children short; these children had been transferred to
The school roll stood at 359 in 1959. Mr Marshall left
Queen, Anne Robertson 1953
Queen, June Bryce 1954
Queen, Agnes Strang 1955
Back Row;
? , Tam Smith, Alan Crooks , Ronnie Hamilton, Norman Davie, Andrew ? , Stewart McCallum, ? , Kenny Anderson, Ernest McKluckie.
Third row;
Helen Mochar, Freda Mochar, Hilda Wilkinson, Helen Smith, Mary Gillespie, ? , Janice Kanieu, Rossanah Gray.
Second Row;
Wullie Spiers, James Paterson, Roy Cochrane, Irene Watson, Annie Winning, Milka Zlotoswka, Betty Smith, Jean Muir, Carol Callaghan, Anne Ferguson, Jane Duncan, ? , ? , Hugh Hunter.
Front Row;
Sammy Small, William Ellis, Jimmy Easton, Roy Leask, ? , Lesley Paterson, Wullie McMeechan, Ronnie White. Teacher, Miss Primrose.
After 118 years of service to the Parish of Muiravonside,
Queen, Isabel Rae 1956
Queen, Isobel Morrison 1957
Queen Muriel Thomson 1958.
Back Row;
Ronald Rankine, Gordon Gavin, Jim Graham, Joe Allison, Andrew Millar, Richard Davis, Gordon Ferri, Raymond McNeil, Alan Kenny.
Third Row;
Morag Scobbie, Anne Forsyth, Alana Kenny, Wilma Gow, Lorraine Gardener, Sandra Hutchinson, Katrina Scobbie, Morag Stevenson, Irene McLeish.
Second Row;
Elizabeth Campbell, Morna Gavin, Margaret Kilpatrick, Janet Reid, Jacqueline Wilson, Linda Scobbie, Lorraine Arneil, Jean Sneddon, Evelyn Scobbie.
Front Row:
Simon Heeps, Jim Strang, Hugh Gray, William Muir.
Queen, Elma Fields 1960
Queen, Janice Kay 1961
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Henrietta Bilby Goodfellow |
1939-09 |
12-1962 |
|
Mrs. Agnes Bennie |
1941-09 |
01-1957 |
|
Miss Isabella Jarvie Wilson |
1947-01 |
11-1957 |
|
Miss Isabella Russell |
1948-08/1958-08 |
08-1952/09-1958 |
|
Mrs. Elizabeth McNeil |
195? |
10-1977 |
|
Mrs. Margaret Crombie |
1950-01 |
08-1953 |
|
Miss Eleanor Helen Mann M.A |
1950-06 |
08-1953 |
|
Miss Margaret Thomson Smith M.A |
1950-06 |
08-1955 |
|
Mr. Robert Lapsley |
1951-04 |
08-1960 |
|
Miss Janet Dunn Liddle |
1951-08 |
08-1954 |
|
Mr. Frank Brooks |
1952-04/1959-03 |
03-1957/08-1960 |
|
Miss M Robertson |
1952-08 |
04-1954 |
|
Mr. John McKenzie |
1952-08 |
04-1954 |
|
Miss Ishbel Primrose |
1952-08 |
08-1955 |
|
Miss Muriel Elisabeth Hood |
1953-08 |
06-1965 |
|
Mrs. Margaret Gardiner (T.Y) |
1953-08/ 1960-8 |
08-1958 / 08-1961 |
|
Mrs. Elisabeth Hall (T.Y) |
1953-08 |
10-1953 |
|
Mr. Alex Stewart |
1953-04 |
08-1953 |
|
Mrs. J Leitch |
1954-04 |
08-1956 |
|
Mrs. M McNiven |
1954-05 |
09-1954 |
|
Mrs. Joyce R Ferguson |
1955-01 |
10-1955 |
|
Miss Margaret Campbell |
1955-08 |
01-1956 |
|
Miss Anne D Shierlaw |
1955-08 |
08-1958 |
|
Miss Janet Waugh Gray |
1955-08 |
12-1968 |
|
Mrs. Jean Butcher |
1955-10 |
08-1956 |
|
Miss Margaret Muir Hay |
1956-08 |
08-1959 |
|
Miss Margaret Reid Millar |
1956-08 |
08-1961 |
|
Mrs. Rebecca S Baird |
1957-11 |
01-1964 |
|
Mrs. Jane Pratt |
1958-09 |
08-1962 |
|
Mrs. Barbara Niven |
1959-08 |
08-1961 |
|
Mrs. Mary Mitchell |
1961-08 |
08-1963 |
|
Mrs. C Corbett |
1960-08 |
06-1963 |
|
Mrs. Muriel Bedwell |
1961-08 |
06-1964 |
Two sets standing back left and right.
Left, Margaret and Ann Smith. Right,
Two sets inside the semi circle.
Front, William and Janet Jack. Behind, Linda and Morag Scobbie.
Semi circle from left, Thomas and Dorothy Alison, Billy and Bobby Robertson, Rosemary and Richard McCarthy, Charles and Thomas Ballie, James and William Kane, Jacqueline and Campbell Dixon
Dux Medal presented to Elizabeth (Betty) Brennan 1957 - 58
MR DANIEL BLACK M. A. 1961 TO 1971
Mr. Daniel Black M.A. became the new Head-teacher and the school said a fond farewell to Miss Goodfellow who retired from teaching; she had been in
The dreaded 11+ was finally done away with and the comprehensive system of education was introduced, Redding Junior Secondary was closed (Laurieston Primary School moved in while a new building was built for them) and the last of the pupils went to the Graeme High which became the school for all children to the East of Falkirk.
In 1964 the school choir which was composed of members of Primary 5, 6, and 7 gained first place in the Music Festival (the School log book doesn’t say where) and another stalwart of the school, Mr Joe Bland, retired as Janitor after 18 years service and was replaced by Mr Robert Jack.
The Cadets at Larbert station, Joe Bland, back row , extreme right.
1965 brought two firsts to the school, the first time ever a Nativity Play was mentioned and the first student attending the school for teaching practice from Callander Park College of Education, any student before this time came from Moray House College of Education. The Reverend J. C. Downie, the School Chaplain for 14 years left to attend Moray House College of Education to train as a teacher of religious education in schools.
Queen, Janet Kolosowski 1962.
Queen Elisade Lister 1963.
Queen Elizabeth Morrison 1964
Queen Ann McCall 1965
Queen Jennifer McGlaughlan 1966.
Charles McIntosh, James Hastings, David McEwan, Gordon Myles, Stuart Wilson, Walter Watson, Alex Kane, Alan Dalgleish.
Middle Row;
Jennifer Arneil, Lorna McKinnon, Carol Mackintosh, Wilma Craw, Karen Page, , Susan Weir, Jacqueline Kenny.
Front Row;
David Meaney, Sanny Cameron, Margaret Wallace, Mary Towe, Senga Morrison, Sheena Gray, Allison Gray, Alan Paterson, John Ainslie.
The Gala Day finished in 1966; maybe the children had become too sophisticated for Gala Days when colour television, video’s and all sorts held their attention, but getting anyone to run a Gala Day (or anything else for that matter) was becoming more and more difficult owing to the scarcity of parents who were willing to give up their spare time.
1967 brought Nativity Plays, Carol Services and a selection box for each pupil at Christmas. By 1968 the school roll had fallen to 300. In 1970 the first Harvest thanksgiving service was held, the new School Chaplain, Rev. Duncan McPherson took the service and fruit and flowers were distributed to the Maddiston and Rumford over 70s by the primary 7 girls. Decimal Day came in February of 1971 and the old pounds, shillings and pence went out of the door to be replaced by the new Decimal Pound.
Below is a list of staff while Mr. Black was Headmaster.
|
Teachers Name |
Date Started/First recorded |
Date Finished |
|
Miss Margaret Reid Millar |
1956-08 |
08-1961 |
|
Mrs. Rebecca S Baird |
1957-11 |
01-1964 |
|
Mrs. Jane Pratt |
1958-09 |
08-1962 |
|
Mrs. Barbara Niven |
1959-08 |
08-1961 |
|
Miss Ann M Mallie |
1961-01 |
04-1961 |
|
Mrs. Mary Mitchell |
1961-08 |
08-1963 |
|
Mrs. C Corbett |
1960-08 |
06-1963 |
|
Mrs. Muriel Bedwell |
1961-08 |
06-1964 |
|
Miss Jane or Jean Ross |
? |
10-1961 |
|
Miss Catherine Reid |
1961-11 |
11-1961 |
|
Miss Marsha Laing |
1961-11 |
11-1961 |
|
Mrs. Alice Brown |
Prior to 1962-01 |
03-1969 |
|
Mrs. Elizabeth M Corbett |
1962-03 |
06-1963 |
|
Mrs. Joyce Fotheringham |
1962-08 |
04-1963 |
|
Miss Agnes Provan |
1962-08 |
09-1962 |
|
Miss Agnes Stoddart |
1962-08 |
03-1963 |
|
Mrs. Christine Macfarlane |
1963-01 |
02-1963 |
|
Miss Maureen Fyfe |
1963-02 |
06-1964 |
|
Mrs. Lillian Shaw |
1963-04 |
01-1973 |
|
Miss Mary J. Baird |
1963-08 |
04-1964 |
|
Miss Lindsay Nisbet |
1963-08 |
09-1964 |
|
Miss Maureen Peace (Mrs. Gillan) |
1963-08 |
03-1966 |
|
Mrs. Linda Phillips |
1963-08/1968-12 |
08-1968 |
|
Miss Doreen Anderson |
1963-09 |
10-1963 |
|
Mrs. Margaret P. Donald M.A |
1964-03 |
06-1969 |
|
Mr. W. Davies M.A |
1964-04 |
07-1965 |
|
Mrs. Catherine Davies |
1964-08/66-05 |
05-1966 / |
|
Mrs. Margaret Chandler |
1964-08 |
03-1968 |
|
Mr. William Davies |
1964-10 |
07-1965 |
|
Miss Geraldine Lloyd |
1964-12 first mention |
06-1966 |
|
Miss Elizabeth Clason |
1965-08 |
09-1966 |
|
Mr. G I Wallace |
1965-08 |
08-1966 |
|
Mrs. Collins |
1965-10 |
02-1966 (Last mention) |
|
Mrs. Lily McLean |
1966-01/66-02 |
02-66 |
|
Mrs. Christil Wilson |
1966-01 |
04.1968 |
|
Mrs. Forsyth |
1966-03 |
01-1989 |
|
Mrs Elisabeth Neish |
1966-08 |
08-1968 |
|
Miss Sheila Williamson |
1966-08 |
08-1968 |
|
Mrs. Joyce Motley |
1966-04/66-08 |
06-66/03-73 |
|
Mrs. Helen Lynn |
1966-09 |
08-1969 |
|
Mr. Bayne |
1966-09 |
11-1966 (last mention) |
|
Mrs. Lorna J McKay |
1966-11 |
08-1973 |
|
Mrs. Maureen Niven |
1967-01 |
10-1970 |
|
Miss Sandra McPhait |
1967-08 |
02-1968 |
|
Mrs. Elizabeth B.P Miller |
1968-04 / 1973-08 |
12-1974 |
|
Miss Elspeth F. McLaren |
1968-08/ 69-08 |
12-1968 |
|
Miss Margaret Jack |
1968-08 |
01-1970 |
|
Mrs. Frances Laurie |
1968-08 |
06-1978 |
|
Mrs. Janet. M. Mckenzie |
1968-08 |
06-1976 |
|
Mrs. Janet Monfries |
1969-03/1970-10 |
09-1970 / 03-1986 |
|
Mrs. Ann Nugent |
1969-08 |
11-1969 |
|
Miss Yvonne White |
1969-08 |
02-1971 (Last mention) |
|
Miss Catherine J Liddell |
1969-11/74-01 |
08-1973 |
|
Miss Andria Meichan |
1970-08 |
08-1972 |
|
Mrs. Murdoch |
1970-10 |
01-1971 |
|
Miss Allan |
1971-01 |
03-1984 |
|
Mrs. E Smith |
1971-02 |
06-1976 |
|
Miss Gardiner |
1971-04/71-08 |
Prior to 08-71/08-1972 |
|
Miss Morag McKinlay |
1971-02 |
04-1971 |
|
Mrs. Olive Desmond |
1971-08 |
04-1987 |
|
Mrs. Wilson |
1971-08 |
10-1974 (Last mention) |
1970
Back Row;
William Mitchell, George Kenny, William Hunter, Jim Munro, Robert Gardener, Peter Downie, Colin Pryde, William Smith, Norman MacDonald, Robert Wilson, Jim Laird.
Third Row;
Aileen Cruikshank, Christene McNiven, Fiona Forsyth, Elizabeth Rennie, Elizabeth Gavin, Elaine Hunter, Margaret Winters, Jean Thomson, Marlyne Rankine, Shona Weir, Martha McAuley.
Second Row;
Robin Craw, Steven Bryce, Shona Cameron, Jeanette Small, Elizabeth Gray, Pauline Jakub, Rosemary ? , Mary Watson, Lavinia Meaney, Heather Cox, Glenda Jack, John McTague.
Front Row;
Jim McKinnon, Joe Crawford, John Russell, Gordon Kenny, John Millar, Peter Fellows, Alex Arneil, Jim Alison.
MR JAMES WILSON 1971 TO 1984
Teachers of 1981/2
Back Row;
Mrs. Joyce Ferrie, joined
Mrs. Morag Spence joined the staff in 1977 and retired in 1994.
Mrs. Shanks (Wilma Gow) came here in 1976 and left to become the Assistant Headteacher at
Miss Barbara Gardner was only at
Mrs. Jean McKerrall came to Maddiston in 1976 and left to have a baby in 1982.
Mrs. Angela Hunter joined the staff in 1977 and was promoted to Senior Teacher at
Mrs. Elizabeth Fleming, came to Maddiston in 1973 and left for a post in
Front Row;
Mrs. Linda Blair joined the staff in 1972 and is now the Acting Deputy Head.
Mrs Agnes Hotchkiss, came to
Mr. James Wilson, Headteacher 1971 – 1984.
Mrs. Eileen Hutton joined the staff in 1975 and left in 1984 when she was appointed Headteacher of
Mrs. Catherine McNeil, came to
Mr Black resigned as Head-teacher in 1971 to be replaced by Mr James Wilson; informal Halloween activities (Halloween parties to you and me) were mentioned for the first time this year as well. The next year saw Councillor James Anderson and 14 other
Temporary Classrooms were built at the back of the Infant School in 1978 and were used by P.5 & P.5/6, they were still in use in 1985; the school roll was at 331. In 1982 the Gala Day makes a welcome return to the village after an absence of 16 years and the children of the school voted for the Queen and the retinue. A break in at the school (the school had been broken into many times through the years with minimal damage to the building) led to the need for complete redecoration and refurnishing the Head-teachers room. The Rev. Richard Goodman left for a new charge on the Isle of Mull and work began on the conversion of Room 4 into inside toilets.