Cumbernauld High School

Cumbernauld High School (renamed Cumbernauld Academy from August 2014) was the first comprehensive secondary school in the then 'New Town' of Cumbernauld. It was designed by Scottish architects Gratton & McLean ^[2] and it opened in 1964 and is a non-denominational, co-educational, secondary school. In 2013, North Lanarkshire Council announced amalgamation of Cumbernauld High with Abronhill High to become Cumbernauld Academy in a new building to be built on existing CHS grounds.

Overview

Cumbernauld Academy covers the Scottish education system's stages S1 to S6 and has the capacity for 1100 pupils. It reached about 1600 pupils in 1972 and the current roll is around 600. The school draws students from Cumbernauld and the surrounding area and includes Cumbernauld Village, Kildrum, Abronhill, Carbrain, Seafar, Castlecary, Westerwood, Dullatur, Craigmarloch, Carrickstone Vale and Airdrie. Its associated feeder primary schools are Carbrain primary, Cumbernauld primary, Kildrum primary and Ravenswood primary.

The school is situated in a large area to the south of the Kildrum Ring Road.^[3] It is bordered on the east and backs onto extensive woodland. The predominantly brick-built structure forms around the Robert Burns building which consists of three tower blocks and houses most of the classrooms. These blocks are now known as A, B and C Blocks. In the past these were referred to as Boys, Girls and Senior Blocks respectively, with each having its own dining room. The James Watt building houses the technical workshops and classrooms. The David Livingstone building houses the science labs, art and home economics classrooms. There are also extensive playing fields and indoor sports facilities, including a swimming pool.

There are four houses in the school; all are named after geographical regions in Scotland: Argyll, Braemar, Campsie and Dunkeld. The Dunkeld house was a new addition and was created near the start of the 2010–2011 session.

The school has a highly respected supported learning unit,^[4] which provides on-site support for pupils with special and additional learning needs.

History

Built in the early 1960s, it was designed to accommodate the needs of the rapidly swelling population of Cumbernauld and was a large school with places for over 1000 pupils. As the Cumbernauld Development Corporation's first secondary school, it was finished to an exceptionally high standard for the era, with teak and mahogany used widely throughout.

Pupils attended from the surrounding villages including Luggiebank and Castlecary and after the closure of Twechar Primary School's Junior Secondary Department in 1966, pupils were sent to Cumbernauld High School until the new Kirkintilloch High School opened in 1972.

Notable former pupils

• Craig Ferguson, comedian, former host of 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson' on CBS in the USA
• Isobel Buchanan, opera singer
• Lynn Ferguson, comedienne
• Gregg McClymont, Member of Parliament, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
• Gordon MacDonald, Member of the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh Pentlands
• Bristow Muldoon, former Member of the Scottish Parliament

Notable former teachers

• Liz Lochhead, poet and dramatist^[5]
• Margaret Ewing, MP East Dunbartonshire 1974-9, MP Moray 1987-2001, MSP Moray 1999-2005
• Andy Park, Jazz Musician

References

External links

• Cumbernauld Academy Website
• Cumbernauld Academy's page on Parentzone
• Classic video of the surrounding area