Duncanrig Secondary School

Summary

Duncanrig Secondary School is a secondary school within the town of East Kilbride in the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The original building was designed in 1953 by the Scottish architect Basil Spence.

Duncanrig Secondary School
Duncanrig Secondary School in 2013
Address
Map
Winnipeg Drive

Westwood

, ,
G75 8ZT

Scotland
Information
School typePublic
MottoTogether We Are Duncanrig and Humaniora
Established1960
HeadteacherAnnette Alexander[1]
Age12 to 18
Number of students1768 (August 2023)
LanguageEnglish
CampusMain building with outside football, hockey & rugby fields
HousesAvondale, Blantyre, Cathkin and Drumclog
Colour(s)Black, grey and Light Blue
AccreditationScottish Qualification Authority
WebsiteOfficial website

History edit

Spence is perhaps better known for his design of Coventry Cathedral, the "Beehive" building in New Zealand, or the British Embassy in Rome amongst many others. Although Spence was to design in the modern Brutalist mould, the school he designed at East Kilbride was playful and theatrical.[citation needed]

A feature of the school building was a large mural by William Crosbie representing the history of the Clyde. This was located at the main entrance, visible through a floor to roof line, two storey glass wall. Crosbie's paintings hang in all the major museums and galleries in Scotland as well as the Royal Collection and the British Museum in London, and in private collections throughout the United Kingdom and abroad.[2]

The building was demolished in 2007. A new school was built on the original playing fields, replacing the original building as part of South Lanarkshire's Schools modernization programme.[3] It officially opened in 2008. The new building was designed to be available to the community, incorporating indoor and outdoor sports facilities including a floodlit all-weather synthetic pitch, the home of the Friday Football Project.

The modernisation programme included the merger of Duncanrig Secondary School with Ballerup High School, retaining the name Duncanrig Secondary School, which was temporarily housed in the existing building until the new school was built. The four other mainstream secondary schools in East Kilbride at that time also went through a process of mergers.

Duncanrig holds an annual concert, Rig Rock, which is a multi-band based 'Battle of the Bands'.[4]

Previous headteacher George Wynne retired on 22 December 2017 and was replaced by Lynsday McRoberts on 14 February 2018;[5] for the duration of time between these dates Anna Widdowson was acting Headteacher.

Transport to school edit

Most pupils walk to and from school or get their parents to drive them to school. Communication Support Base Pupils are given free taxi rides, offered and funded by South Lanarkshire Council.

Transport buses operate for free to and from the school. Pupils who live 3 miles or more away from the school are allowed to be transported to and from school on the buses.

Public transport buses from First Glasgow operate in the area: services 6, 21, 201 and M1.

Notable alumni edit

Pupils edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Duncanrig Secondary School information". South Lanarkshire Council website. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Obituary, 16 Jan 1999, Herald Sun Scotland".
  3. ^ "Secondary schools modernisation programme". Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Duncanrig Secondary School". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Appointment of new Headteacher for Duncanrig - Duncanrig Secondary School". Duncanrig Secondary School. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  6. ^ Thomson, Paul (15 October 2013). "Cammy's delight as he pens three-year pro contract with Dundee Utd". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  7. ^ https://www.productmagazine.co.uk/music/just-like-gold/

External links edit

  • Sir Basil Spence Archive Project
  • Scotland Land Court. The Scots Law Times. an action against Mrs Frances Anne Pollok owner of the farm Duncanrig
  • Miles Glendinning; Ranald MacInnes; Aonghus MacKechnie (1996). A History of Scottish Architecture: From the Renaissance to the Present Day. Edinburgh University Press. pp. see p433. ISBN 0-7486-0741-2. [a] theatrical air informed some of Spence's architectural commissions in those days such as Duncanrig Secondary School
  • Brutalist Architecture in KL
  • Holmhills Wood Community Park Action Group (HWCAG) (2005). PPP School Modernisation Projects and the Loss of Open Space in Scotland.
  • Kenneth DavidsonAre public-private partnerships worth the risk?. 2003.
  • School website

55°45′31″N 4°12′15″W / 55.758705°N 4.204229°W / 55.758705; -4.204229