Kilmarnock Grammar School opened on February 1st 1878. The building itself no longer exists, but it was situated at the town end of Dundonald Road at roughly the point where the new Sheriff Court car park now is. Grammar took in children from some of the most affluent areas of the town, but also had children living in extreme poverty along the river or ‘Swine Row’ as it was called. The river water was used for washing alongside all the animals which drank there. Old records show that many children came to school bare foot and hungry.
This image from the first log book of Grammar School names staff and gives a less than complimentary comment on the standard of the children’s work!
“This school was opened on Monday in the presence of the Board. Rev. Mr. Martin engaged in prayer and the Rev. Mr. Aitken said a few words to the scholars, and introduced to them Mr John C. Lindsay FEIS of Dunlop Public School to be Headmaster, and Miss Collins Certified Mistress. Wm. Y. Lindsay Pupil Teacher of the 3rd year. Jemima Semple P.T. of the 2nd year.
The attendance this week improved. The week has been occupied chiefly in organising and arranging the classes. Reading very faulty, and Arithmetic very unsatisfactory.”
Mr Lindsay continued as Head Teacher until his sudden death in 1895. On the day of his funeral the school closed as a mark of respect. He is buried in St Andrew’s Church graveyard where his headstone shows his proud link to Grammar School: “First appointed Headmaster of The Grammar School Kilmarnock.”
The picture above taken in the 1920s, helps us to see where Grammar was built. St Andrew’s & St Marnock’s Parish Church (as we know it now) is clear at the bottom of the shot. The road running up through the middle is Portland Road running up towards Irvine Road. If you turned left after passing the church, there was a short row of terraced buildings and then a gap before houses. The ‘gap’ was the playground in Grammar School.
This map of Kilmarnock shows the area just after Kilmarnock Grammar School opened. The red pin marks approximately where it was. The yellow star shows where Gargieston went on to be built.
These two photographs are of Grammar School staff. We know from class photo information that the lady front row 2nd from left, then front row 3rd from the left in the second picture, is Mrs Mitchell. She had previously been Miss Parker and married later in life, when she was 50. By the school records however, she worked in Grammar from 1934 to at least 1961, so that does not help us much with the pinpointing of a year! The gentlemen in the middle each time is Head Master, Mr Smith Robinson. He was HT from 1949 to 1971.
Thanks to Mr McQueen, the last ever HT of Grammar School (1971-1975) and first Gargieston PS Head Teacher (1975-1996), we have been able to fill in more information on the photographs. This first one, in Mr McQueen’s opinion, must be around the late 1950s to early 1960s. The second one is certainly the 1960s.
In the second picture we see Mr Smith Robinson sitting with the staff. He retired in 1971 and passed away in 1983 aged 76. To his right ,as we look at the picture is Miss Smith. Mr McQueen remembers her as “quite a character”. The lady at the end with her legs crossed is Mrs Elizabeth Rankin. She was qualified as both a PE teacher and a Primary Teacher. She was skilled in calligraphy and her classes always had beautiful handwriting! The gentleman at the other end of the front row is Mr Jeffrey Smith. He left Grammar to become Head Teacher at Darvel Primary sometime before 1971. He also wrote material for the BBC, specialising in children’s history. In the middle row standing next to the janitor is Mrs Sadie / Sarah Kelly. She arrived at Grammar to do some short-term supply work and ended up staying for 40 years! Thanks to Jimmy Osborne we know the lady in the front row, second from the right is Miss McInnes. The tall man in the back row is Mr Bryce. He went on to be a lecturer in Drama at Craigie College of Education. The final piece of information from Mr McQueen is on the lady to Mr Bryce’s left as we look at the picture. She is Mrs Margaret Parker who went on to be Provost in 1977 and was awarded an MBE. Mrs Parker led a very full life. She was an Ayrshire tennis champion, Burns enthusiast, Chair of the local Duke of Edinburgh – the list goes on. Her husband, Irvine Parker, was HT at Grange Academy. Mrs Parker past away in 2003, aged 94.
This final picture is said to be of three teachers from Grammar. It’s a beautiful photograph – unfortunately we know nothing else about it.
As an old “grammarian” I remember many of the teachers well.
Mr Bryce, Mr J Smith, and his father Mr Smith the music teacher.
Miss McInnes, Miss Smith, Mrs Kelly, Miss Rankin, Mrs Donnelly,
Miss Wilson and Mrs Shaw. My attendance at the grammar was from 1954-1960. Perhaps the happiest years of my life, it was a great wee school.
Leslie Auld, Paisley.
Hi Leslie! Thanks so much for your sharing your memories with us. Are any of the teachers you mentioned in photographs on our blog? It would be great to put more names to faces.
My late mum was Vivienne Smith, she attended the grammar school. I remember her being friends with Mattie Mckenna in her class
Hello,
I do recognise many of the names on the second photo, but unfortunately, these are the ones which you already have. I would say that this photgraph would have been taken around
1958-1960. In my last year at the Grammar, my teacher was Mr , Kenneth Bryce, who moved to the Academy at the same time as I did, summer 1960. Unfortunately I had no younger brothers or sisters to follow me at the Grammar, but my older brother, Andrew Douglas Auld did attend also, during
1950-55. I am sure that he would know almost all of your
unnamed teachers, but although he is still alive , I have no contact with him. His teacher in the final year was Mr Ferguson, who moved to the Academy also, and the other qualifying teacher was a Mr Lindsay.
Any other thoughts which may spring to mind, and I shall be in touch.
I am sure Mrs. Mitchell was still there in 1965 as she taught my class and I believe it was then Mrs. Hume who took over. Mrs Hume always had her hair set with two buns side by side. I also believe Mrs Mitchell lived in Beith back then. The janitor would be Mr Mair in the second picture and I think he lived in Bonnyton. I also remember Mrs Smith, Parker, and Kelly from my time there and a Miss Ferguson who became Mrs Shields. Mrs Mitchell was a small woman with a great way of teaching and used the belt sparingly but knew when and how to. I was lucky enough to be taught well by all my teachers enough to pass the qualifying exam to get me into Kilmarnock Academy in Aug 1967
Thanks for sharing all your memories, Gilbert. I hope you enjoyed looking at our photographs.
Hi Gilbert
I believe I was in your class at the Grammar – Eileen Hynd. I remember most of these teachers but not Mrs Mitchell. If I was in your class she must have taught me. What primary did she teach?
George Ferguson , my father, was a teacher at the grammar in the early and mid fifties. He is not in either photograph. He went on to teach Maths at the Academy, then electronics at the technical college before being appointed as Head Teacher at High Street. When this closed he became the founding head of New Farm.
I went to the Grammar from 1962 – 68 (I started at school in Galston for the first year) and am in the photograph posted by Jimmy Munro – Kay Ferguson. He misnamed Ian McMurtrie but the other names are spot on.
I recognise the same teachers as the others but don’t remember any male teachers so that might help date the second photo. Mrs Rankin taught me to write in cursive and I have used these skills in my own classroom. I eventually followed in my father’s footsteps and became a primary head but in rather more exotic locations – Monaco, Toronto and Mauritius – specialising in bilingual French and English education.
Thank you so much for your information Kay. I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures and going down memory lane! Mr McQueen was quite right then about Mrs Rankin’s handwriting lessons. Lovely to hear you also went into teaching – and in such exotic locations.
If you have any pictures of your Dad you would like us to add, we can do that for you. Someone may well remember being taught by him.
Thanks again, Kay.
I attended Kilmarnock Grammar School from 1948 till 1955. I remember Miss Smith and knew her as Aunt Jenny because she was a friend of my aunt. She had spent some time in Canada and yes, was a character. In the back row second from the right is my sister, Margaret Duff. My memories of Miss Parker are mixed. She was a good teacher but she gave me the belt on my first day in her class for not curling my fives exactly as she had written them on the board ! I also remember her wearing a flowery smock and going behind the blackboard to change out of it before the end of the school day.
Thank you so much for sharing your memories, Wilma. I hope you enjoyed looking through the photographs and if you have any photographs of your time at Grammar or of Miss Smith we would love to see them.
I remember Miss Duff, my P6 teacher 1961, so well! In fact she was younger than all my other teachers and not quite as strict. I don’ t remember her belting anyone. I remember someone organised a whip round for a wedding present. For some reason I was reluctant to ask my parents so didn’ t contribute. This meant my name was not on the card. It was all so upsetting for me. Of course when I recollected this years later my poor parents were amazed and upset. I’ d love it if you could pass on this story to your sister if this is possible!
I became a teacher myself! I shudder to think what memories my pupils have of me!
Heather Swinson
So many memories of Grammar School. Mr Ferguson was my qualifying teacher when I passed the exam and went up to Kilmarnock Academy on an A course. My sister used to fetch Miss Parker her black hair dye from Boots. I was in her class when she became Mrs Mitchell and was designated tea maker for playtime when I took tea and biscuits to Mr Robinson and his secretary Miss Colquhoun. My teachers if I remember correctly were a Miss Burns, Miss Wallace, Miss Wylie, Miss Elliot, Mrs Mitchell, Miss King and Mr Ferguson. At Christmas I was given a box of Cowan s toffees. The top photo has Miss Moore or Muir, who was the gym teacher, sitting next to Mrs Shaw. Other names I remember were Miss Wilson who played piano at the top of the stairs which we had to march up in the mornings. Mrs Kelly and Mr Lindsay who seemed to be quite a jovial teacher. Happy but disciplined days. I remember I had to pass my writing book around the older classes to exhibit my cursive writing which Miss Wylie took great pride in…… and Wilma Duff was in my class as well, so hello Wilma.. from Anna McCulloch….
Hello, hoping someone from around 1940s can tell me if they remember a pupil Called David Paterson Speirs, I’m sure he would of started aound the 1940/50s, he also had a sister Catherine Spiers.
I remember many of the teachers detailed above. I attended grammar from 1962 to 1969. I fondly remember the janitor Mr Mair who would attend to any cuts and grazes with his ‘magic potion’ which he applied to injured knees etc. on his tall chair which sat at the bottom of the main stair. He was often seen walking around with his metal bucket of sawdust soaking up any spills.
Thanks for sharing your memories, Lynne. I hope you enjoyed looking at the old photos we have on our blog.
Yes, I remember Mr Mair (in his brown coat) from 1966 -1970. And you’re right about him tending to our minor injuries. Such a serious face but such a kind heart.
I remember many of these teachers. The lady next to Mrs Kelly in the 2nd picture is Mrs Baxter whose daughter Joan was in my class and my primary 7 teacher. The first teacher I had was Ella Orr later Colman She married when we were in primary 2 or 3 I was at the Grammar 1955 till 1962.
Mr Smith was often on “line duty at playtime and lunchtime and was always pulling us to belt us if we talked when lined up to walk back into class”! His dad I remember being the opposite a gentle person when he tought music.
Thank you so much for sharing your memories with us. I hope you enjoyed looking at our blog.
Looking for information and if possible a class photo of primary 1 from 1961. My name was Susan Porter and I lived in Fairyhill Road I only attended the grammar for primari 1 as we moved to Prestwick when I was six.
I was there from 1966 – 1970. I particularly remember Miss Kelly, Miss Rankin and Miss Hulme. My name is Ian Graham. I can still remember most of my classmates. George Mason, Kenny Railton, David Wallace, John Richmond, Stephen Martin, Mandy Kirk, Sheila Robertson, Diane Bennett, Ian Young, and I think there was another Ian, a Leslie, a Janice, a Roy (might be Brown) and another David. Apologies if there is anyone I’ve forgotten.
Happy days…
Addendum: I found my old school photograph from circa 1970/71 and remembered a few more names (If my memory still works – LOL) There was Roy Craig (Not Brown) – Archie Calderwood – Leslie ((Hope) unsure) – and Janice Johnstone. Sadly, the rest escaped my memory. Another staff member was the Janitor, Mr John Mair. Always there to look after you if you hurt yourself (Which was often from swinging on the rafters) with his little first aid box containing liquid pink Germolene that cured every cut, scrape, and scratch which most of us got every playtime. If anyone remembers me, please get in touch.
Great wee school! I was there from 1952 to 1958. Particularly remember Mr Bryce who introduced me to cricket and to drama.
Enjoyed my time there.