Chapter 3

Stewarton Schools

Stewarton has always been a town where education was important and although there is nothing unique about its educational history, there has been an adherence to learning that was not the case in other places.

   Back in 1620 there was a school in the Kirkton of Stewarton and even in those days when education was not compulsory, parents in Stewarton were keen to give their children the opportunity to read and write at least, and in some cases they were even taught Latin and Greek. Arithmetic was also taught, the reading of the Catechism was encouraged and considerable importance was attached, to "gude manners."  Schoolmasters were encouraged "to teach the scholars to abandon all uncivil gestures such as shaking of the head or hand .... And to compose their countenance, hands and feet."  Later into the 19th century, in addition   to   the   subjects   already mentioned, the scholars could pursue the study of mathematics, geometry, navigation, French and a crude form of science. 

It was once claimed that there was not one illiterate person in Stewarton and proof of this is the fact that in the times of the Society of Bonnet makers in the 18th Century almost all the members could write their names and the only ones to use initials were the older men.

   Prior to tile late 19th century art, woodwork, cookery, needlework, singing and physical instruction were all out with the school curriculum. Those were the times when  education  was  neither compulsory nor free and it was not until the Acts of 1872 and .1891 that this was changed. When the local Parish School was established a tax of 22s was levied for education for all lands that had a value of £100 Scots. Not infrequently in the 17th century the heritors ignored this tax and about 1680 we read that "the Skoolemaster at the Kirk pursued the “Haill tennantis” within the Lairdship" for his dues. Revenue from this source was inadequate to meet all the educational costs so fees were charged individually for different subjects. Although those fees were not high, money was scarce and most of the children received instruction in reading and writing only and in 1820 pupils taking these subjects outnumbered pupils taking arithmetic by four to one.

   At certain seasons scholars were also expected to bring gifts to the "Skoolemaster" and on New Year's Day, for example, children presented gifts according to their parents' means. Distinction was given to the best givers and the boy and girl who brought the most expensive presents were proclaimed th6 King and Queen of the school, literally class distinction. The "King and Queen" were then given the privilege of mixing a jug of toddy, albeit weak, and treating their classmates.  Afterwards a holiday was usually granted.

   Schools were only open during the winter months but to compensate for loss of time, much longer hours were in force and in the Parish School; it is believed the scholars started as early as seven in the morning probably not finishing until six in the evening.

   Although there was no free education, for many years ten poor children were taught gratis in the Parish School on a mortification left by William Smith of Cutstraw, and as long ago as 1647, the Parish  of  Stewarton  contributed  £7 annually to the cost of maintaining a bursar at College from the Presbytery of Irvine.

   Prior to 1876 there were five schools in Stewarton. The oldest was the Parish School which met in the two-storey buildings which used to stand just outside the gates of the Laigh Kirk, now St. Columba's Church. The classes were conducted on the ground floor rooms with the dominie living upstairs. In 1872 Robert Sinclair was the master. His predecessor, Duncan MacFarlane, held this post for fifty years and it was he who introduced one of Stewarton's famous sons, Dr Robert Watt, to the study of Latin and Greek. A different type of school existed not far away which devoted its teachings to needlecraft and its pupils were mainly young maidens in the process of establishing a "bottom drawer." The United Prestbyterian Church maintained a school named Bridgend School at Bridgend and the last head was Mr Simpson. The Free Church (John Knox) School was in High Street and it was managed by Mr Holburn for twenty years. When he died in 1873 the Bridgend pupils were transferred to the Free Church School which was renamed the High Street School under Mr Simpson. Incidentally, the Bridgend School, which had been the original United Prestbyterian Church, was purchased by the Good Templars and to this day some people still refer to the building as the Templars Hall although it is now the Masonic Lodge.

   The fifth school was the Cunninghame Institution School which met in the Cunninghame Institute, owned by Mr Cuninghame of Lainshaw, now the Institute Hall building, also known as "The Academy;" and it was because of this past association that Stewarton Academy of today is so-named. This school was probably founded by a Mr Manson who wrote an arithmetic text book and he was succeeded by Mr Struthers. In 1875, Mr Alexander Leslie Watt from Edinburgh accepted the Headmaster's post.

   Two years earlier Stewarton's first School Board was elected, a body which administered over schools in Stewarton as well as Kingsford and Auchentiber. Its First meeting was held on 10th April, 1873 and its members were Thomas Young, Manufacturer, Chairman; James Miller, Stacklawhill Alex Aitken; David Stevenson, Whitlee; Robert Mackie, Clerkhill James Wyllie, Greenbank; and  David Whiteford. James Love, Writer, a local Bank Manager, was appointed Clerk to the Board.

   The prime function of the Board was to provide Stewarton with a school which had adequate and healthy accommodation as none of the existing schools fulfilled this criterion. The Parish School “was a very small school with low ceiling," another building was described as a place of "rotting desks, mouldy walls and poisoned vapours." Cunninghame  Institution  had  drainage problems,  mouldy  water barrels  and smells  coming  from  "the  privies"  of nearby houses.

    It was the original intention of the Board to build two schools, one at Reddan's Park next to the bowling green and one behind "The Store" in High Street in a field owned by Gabriel Dunlop. This decision was subsequently reversed and in September 1874, the plans for the New Street School and schoolhouse at Reddan's Park were sealed and approved by the Board of Education Department.

   Two years later the project was completed. It was 150 feet in length, the infant department being in one wing, "standards" 3 and 4 in the centre and "standards" 5 and 6 to the other side of the impressive Gothic style structure. There was a large playground to the rear and shrubbery was planted at the front. It was built by a local firm, Messrs. Boyd and Forrest, with sandstone from Hillhouse Quarry and decorative red sandstone from Mauchline, and the total cost including furnishings and fittings was £3850 with accommodation for 640 pupils. The adjacent Schoolmaster's house cost about £800 and it was the general opinion of the School Board that they had received very good value for money.

   Some of the cash was raised locally with the remainder coming from grants and loans over a period of thirty or fifty years, in one case at 3.5% interest rate.

   Stewarton Public School, as it was named, was opened on Thursday, November 9th, 1876 "amid great rejoicing." The day's proceedings commenced at noon with a procession along the principle streets of around five hundred children and although it was unfortunate that the local brass band had been disbanded just a few days earlier and could not lead the parade, the Free and U.P. Churches rang their bells on that clear and frosty day. After the Rev. George Peill from the Congregational Church had "given out" the 100th Psalm and engaged in prayer, speeches were made by the then Chairman of the Board Mr Robert Mackie and others, and the Rev. Mr Corradale urged parents not to grudge the fees. That evening, a Dinner for the dignitaries was held in the Railway Hotel.

   The First Headmaster was Mr A. Leslie Watt at a salary of £160 per annum plus £20 provided that 90% of the pupils passed then- examinations each year. Mr Watt, who was also a long-serving Session Clerk of the Laigh Kirk, remained until 1907 when he was succeeded by Mr T.G. Philip, a strict disciplinarian who is still remembered by older Stewartonians and he was the man who produced a Stewarton Roll of Honour after the Great War.

   In 1920 Mr William B.Waddell became Headmaster of the school that was situated in Dunlop Street, not New Street, and he remained for 26 years until he retired in 1946. It was during his time in 1925 that the "Advanced Division" building was added and the School was renamed Stewarton Higher Grade School catering for up to third year secondary education. Numerous former pupils still talk of “Auld Billy," as he was nicknamed, and he too was very strict. Once termed "the singing dominie" by T. McFee Kerr a local poet, Mr Waddell had a love, nay passion, for choral music and he would produce his tuning fork at the drop of a schoolboy's cap then lead an individual or class into one of his large repertoire of songs.

   Although regarded as a martinet, Mr Waddell was, in his way, a kindly man who took a genuine interest in all those under his charge through the years, both during schooldays and afterwards. During his headmastership in 1936 the school's Diamond Jubilee was celebrated with a reunion of former pupils in the Drill Hall.

   Mr Harry Milford, a Yorkshireman who was raised in Edinburgh, first arrived to teach in Stewarton in 1922 and his subjects   were   mathematics,   science, geography and religious instruction. A man of many talents, he was a tremendous organiser of after-school activities and he was involved with the school football team, the annual sports, the Christmas Social and summer trips. A fine musician who could play several instruments, he ran a youth club during the war known as the Under Twenties Club, nicknamed "The Penny Hop." He was promoted to the Headmaster's chair when Mr Waddell retired in 1946 in the school that was by this time a Junior Secondary. Later it became Stewarton High with a fourth year and in 1961 the staff and pupils moved down to the new High School at Lainshaw.

   When Mr Milford retired in 1967 after 47 years' service, Mr William Crichton took over and three years later Mr Alan B. Barker came from Darvel to become Head  Teacher,  the  title  Headmaster having been scrubbed by the Educational Department .In 1985 Stewarton Academy, which cost £2 million to build at Nether Robertland, opened its doors for the first time  and this was the  educational breakthrough that the town, now greatly increased  in size  and  population, had been awaiting for many years. The High School, which had risen to six year status, had been desperately overcrowded and only survived by the erection of several unsightly huts outside the main building. Finally,  after  several  years  of  local prompting,  pleading  and  demanding, Strathclyde Regional Council agreed to provide a new school in Stewarton.

  Earlier, “the auld schill” at Dunlop Street had been converted into a primary only and named Lainshaw Primary under Head Teacher Mr William Smith, a Stewartonian who had once been a pupil at this same school. In 1976 Willie Smith formed a committee, of which the writer was a member, to organise a school centenary celebration week. This included a parade similar to the original one a century before but on this occasion the High   School Brass Band led the procession, and to capture the atmosphere of 1876 the church bells were also rung. The week's events  included an interschool  sports  challenge  with  Nether Robertland Primary, which had opened three  years earlier, parents' night, an exhibition of old school photographs etc.

   Nether Robertland Primary introduced a new concept in teaching methods to Stewarton as it was designated a semi open-plan school meaning there were no walls or partitions between some classes. Mr Tom Neil was the first Head Teacher followed by Mrs Jessie Hunter, who is still in post today,

   When Mr Smith retired in 1977 along with his wife, Agnes, a long-serving teacher, he was succeeded by Miss Aileen McKinnon who is still the head in 1988 although not at Dunlop Street.  In December 1986, Lainshaw Primary finally arrived at Lainshaw when the whole school moved down there to the refurbished and re-designed former High School.

   Many fine teachers have made their marks — sometimes on the boys' hands in the days of the leather strap — at schools in Stewarton and several deserve mention due to long service. One man who received the first ten years of his education and later returned as a teacher was Mr James Auld, better known as Jimmy, who was the Dux Pupil in 1927. After attending Kilrnarnock Academy and Glasgow University, followed by a short spell teaching at Galston, he returned to Stewarton in 1936 and spent the remainder of his scholastic life at local schools teaching mathematics and science. Jimmy was also associated with after school pursuits and he ran the football team, he played the fiddle at the school dances and he was prominent at all the sports meetings.  Although he retired officially in 1974, he taught in a part-time capacity for several years afterwards.

   A contemporary and friend of Mr Auld was Mr Alfred Smith or "Wee Alfie" as everyone called him, the woodwork and technical subject’s teacher for many years.

   Mr John W. Mainds was another long serving teacher, who, for some unknown reason, was nicknamed "Tony" in his early days at Stewarton. A Kilmarnock man, Mr Mainds taught English and History and, as one of his pupils, it is partly due to his patience, perseverance and persistence that I am able to write this journal all these years later.

   Another well-remembered teacher was Miss Maggie Dunlop who started as what was known as a pupil-teacher and she eventually became the Headmistress of the Infant Department and retired after fifty years' service.

   Mr I.T. Parker was the famous Ayr and Scotland cricketer who taught maths and who introduced cricket to the school. The two most-feared teachers for many years were Mrs Smith — "Granny" — and Miss Jenny Jolly and others who are recalled by former pupils are Miss Hannah, Miss Burgess, Miss McFie, Miss Boyd (who returned as Mrs Hume). Miss Sutherland and Miss "Dolly" Lind, the art teacher. From even further back teachers of note included Mr Barton, Mr John A. Thomson (known as "Buff Jock"), Mr Matthew Paton and Mr Ewing Taylor.

   Recently retired Mrs Cathie Cochrane, another former Dux pupil who taught English as well as Maths and Classics at the High School, was a very well-thought of teacher for many years and others who were on the staffs not so long ago include Mr Tommy Hunter, principal teacher of technical subjects, Mrs Agnes Smith and Mrs  Irvine. Mrs Laura McLean, the former head of the infant department at the High School and assistant head at Nether Robertland primary, retired last year.

   The school Janitor was a weel-kent figure about the town back in the old days when he dressed in a smart navy-blue uniform with peak. cap, as his duties as  Attendance  Officer  included  daily rounds of checking up on absentees or on those who played truant, or to use the Stewarton  term,  "plunkt the schifl." For almost twenty years until he died in 1955, my father. Torn Barclay - "Big Tarn" — held this post and he had a fund of amusing stories to relate concerning the various excuses for "wee WuUie" or "wee Betty" being off school.

   Stewarton in the 1980s has come a long way from the times of the Parish School, the Cunninghame Institution and all the other places of learning with their poor standards of hygiene, low ceilings and stenches. Gone too, but not that long ago, are those repulsive HORSA huts which served as classrooms for years. Corporal punishment has been abolished and the dreaded strap, belt, or tawse of yesteryear is now a relic, although it has been said that school discipline has never been the same since.

   Sadly, the  old  school building in Dunlop Street, the pride of Stewarton a century ago, is now a derelict hulk with boarded-up windows, awaiting the demolishers; a remainder of bygone youth and schooldays, some happy, some sad, for countless thousands of former pupils from Stewarton and the surrounding district, including Dunlop and Uplawmoor.

   Kingsford School opened in 1873 and catered for the sons and daughters of the farmers and residents of the hamlet. It was a primary school with two classes — one for the younger children aged 5 to 8 and the other for those 9 upwards. At one time some children received all their education there while others left at 11 or 12 to continue with secondary studies at Stewarton. Ultimately this became compulsory.

   The roll at Kingsford School was around 50 and well-remembered teachers include Miss Galley and Miss Thomson. The building was also used as a recreational centre and dances, whist drives, and other events were held regularly over a long period.

   In 1982 the school was closed by Strathclyde Regional Council when the pupils were transferred to primary schools in Stewarton.  A similar school once existed at Auchentiber.

   Today there are three relatively new schools providing a high standard of education.  Stewarton Academy is a massive and impressive building which is equipped with all the modern aids and facilities associated with learning in the late 20th century. It caters for every aspect of education, including the full range of six-year subjects:  English, History and Geography; Maths I, II, III and IV; Physics, Chemistry and Biology; French and German; Business Studies and Art.   The   new   Standard   Grade Examinations are to be introduced shortly. Other subjects include keyboard and computer studies; a music department in which pupils are taught to play instruments; religious education; and there is a large games hall and a gymnasium, plus outside sporting amenities. The Academy has its own 70-strong wind band under music teacher Nigel Durno. There are around 720 pupils, mainly from Stewarton but also from Dunlop, Lugton, Burnhouse, and a few from Kilmaurs, and the staff numbers 54.

   At Nether Robertland Primary there are 15 teachers in charge of 360 boys and girls, and at Lainshaw Primary the 14 fulltime staff plus auxiliaries teach 350 pupils. As well as the basic subjects like reading, writing, arithmetic and art, other subjects include maths, building construction, language studies, topic and project work, and computer studies.

   Not all local children attend these schools as some Roman Catholic children travel to Kilmarnock to Catholic schools, and others attend private fee-paying or boarding schools in Glasgow and elsewhere.

   Although different views are held on the controversial proposal to give parents a say in the running of schools, the new era, with Stewarton having three well staffed, modem schools, should guarantee local educational standards for many years.