Archive Photo of the Month – September

As we look forward to welcoming former pupils and staff back to Kingarth Street for our ‘Tea and Tours’ this month, we reflect on the buildings history.

The Foundation Stone for the new Hutchesons’ Girls’ Grammar School was laid in 1911, and the School officially opened on 31 January 1912. Designed for 800 pupils, it was at the forefront of school architecture, with 22 classrooms, dedicated art and science rooms, music rooms, a gymnasium, library and dining hall. Remarkably, the new school was also equipped with electricity, years before the boys’ school.

Over the decades, Kingarth Street has witnessed many changes. Around 95 trees were planted in the grounds in the 1920s, a ‘Garden School’ opened in 1938, and during the Second World War the School played a role in evacuation arrangements, with the girls evacuated to Dumfriesshire and air raid shelters constructed in the playground. Following the amalgamation of the Girls’ and Boys’ Schools in 1976, Kingarth Street became the Primary School. The building was listed in 1991.

Our archive also holds a newspaper photograph of the laying of the Foundation Stone in 1911. Perhaps amongst those watching were girls who would later walk through the doors of the new school themselves.

We look forward to welcoming former pupils and staff to Kingarth Street to share memories, revisit familiar surroundings and discover more about the history of the school.

School Archive:

Committed to the collection, preservation and maintenance of the records of the school, its activities and pupils, our archives hold a range of material from class registers and magazines to photographs, trophies and uniforms. Pupils are encouraged at both Primary and Secondary to engage with archive material, with the aim to provide a dynamic educational resource for pupils and our wider community.
Would you like to know more about Hutchesons’ Grammar School’s history? Contact our School Archivist at archives@hutchesons.org with any enquiries.