Jordanhill School
Encyclopedia
Jordanhill School educates children from age 5-18. It is located on Chamberlain Road in Glasgow
, Scotland.
Uniquely among mainstream Scottish schools, it is funded directly by the Scottish Executive
, rather than through the local authority, in this case Glasgow City Council. It is nominally categorised as a non-denominational school, although at the end of each term the school attends the local Church of Scotland
for a brief service, and some assemblies involve hymn singing and bible readings.
The school consists of a primary department
and a secondary department
. In the primary, P1-P3 have three classes of twenty-two pupils each while P4-P7 have two classes of thirty-three. Pupils in upper Primary spend a substantial part of their week working in the Secondary department. The secondary school takes in an additional thirty-three pupils in S1 to bring the number per year up to 99.
The school is state-funded by direct grant from the Scottish Executive, and is non fee-paying. The school catchment area encompasses predominantly owner-occupied housing in West Glasgow. The school regularly records among the best exam results in Scotland.
In a 2005 inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education
the school received a report.
for Jordanhill College of Education. It was known as the Jordanhill College School.
The college was an out-of-town location that sought to merge two teacher training centres that were heavily influenced by education training pioneer David Stow
, a Glasgow merchant
. These were the Free Church Normal Seminary and the Dundas Vale Normal Seminary, two of the earliest teacher training colleges in Scotland. This merger was a government-sponsored initiative of 1905, when it was decided that teacher training should be taken away from the church and placed under the control of a provincial committee.
The site of the college - and now the school - was on the old Jordanhill Estate grounds. The old Jordanhill House was demolished around 1915, with the Glasgow Provincial Committee effecting purchase of the land to build their new college, though the plot had been for sale since 1911. The school buildings were completed in 1921, although the school was actually founded a year earlier, in 1920. Notable headmasters include the respected Andrew Walker (1891-1974), who led Jordanhill College School from 1936 to 1956, having earlier served from 1921 to 1932 as a mathematics and science master and - initially - the only teacher in the new secondary department, formed in 1921 with just twenty pupils. Most vividly remembered, though, is his successor, William T Branston (1915-1984), who at the time of his 1956 appointment was the youngest headteacher in Scotland and whose long reign - Branston finally retired in December 1980 - saw successive challenges, from sustained upheaval in Scottish school curricula to a serious bid to shut Jordanhill College School down in 1969. (It survived, the controversy concluding in December 1970, with the school adjusting readily to non-selective and non fee-paying status; but it would not be its last fight for life.)
A former naval officer and veteran of the Second World War, committed to a host of good works from amateur dramatics through the YMCA (he chaired the Glasgow organisation) to the Scottish National Orchestra Chorus and influential lay service in the Church of Scotland, William Branston - of Gladstonian countenance - was to most pupils an 'astonishingly remote, God-like figure' and perhaps the last of the really great Scots dominies. Certainly he enforced regular religious observance - such as morning assembly - and the school was noted through the 1970s for its rigid uniform code (which survives, and has become increasingly strict under the present rector) and highly conservative, rote-learning traditional teaching methods, notably in arithmetic and English grammar, which do not. While corporal punishment survived in the Scottish state system until 1986, and the belt was certainly a sanction at Jordanhill until the 1982-1983 session, it was used surprisingly seldom, generally as a last resort for atrocious offence and most frequently by the least competent teachers. Branston himself was a most humane and genial man whose majestic carriage - particularly in the conduct of school worship - left an abiding impression.
The school remained under control of the College until 1988, when it switched to its current directly-funded status. This move caused considerable controversy at the time, with various other options considered (including becoming a Council-run establishment or, indeed, a fee-paying school). In the end a combination of a spirited "Save Our School" campaign spearheaded by Branston's successor, Alistair Cram and ingenious political machinations led to the school becoming directly funded by the Scottish Office (and later the Scottish Executive). Unrelated difficulties, some local spite and gruesome publicity forced Cram's resignation in 1988, and in 1989 'College' was dropped from the school name, at the insistence of Jordanhill College.
In 1993 the college itself merged with the University of Strathclyde
, with the Jordanhill Campus serving as home to the Education Faculty.
An interesting history by Iain A D Mann, Jordanhill College School 1920-1995, is still available from the Bursar.
As of 2011, William Branston stands as the longest serving rector in the schools history. If the current rector (Dr Paul Thomson) is still serving in 2021, he will acquire this title.
in education by Becta
with an 'ICT in Practice Award'. It has also been recognised as a 'Centre of Excellence' for the use of interactive whiteboards.
The school is in the process of modernising its estate. An all-weather pitch was completed in August 2007 and a Refectory extension in October 2007. A new teaching block opened in May 2008 providing custom built facilities for Art, mathematics, Modern Languages and Social Subjects.
Another addition in recent years is the Macmillan Building, a small building behind the school; housing a classroom used for RE
and additional sports changing facilities. In early 2005 the school acquired the former Laurel Park games hall on Anniesland Road, in partnership with the Glasgow Academy.
and national orchestras
. Jordanhill students and music groups regularly excel in competitions such as the Glasgow Music Festival.
A number of notable Scottish musicians attended Jordanhill School. These include Justin Currie
of the band Del Amitri
, Isobel Campbell
(formerly of Belle & Sebastian
),Justine Watts (formerly leader of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Amy Lindop (formerly of the Alice Band), Roddy Hart
, and Tom Smith (session trombonist
). Other former pupils include politicians - the late Eric Forth (1944-2006), a lively Conservative MP from 1983 and Junior Minister in various departments from 1988 to 1997; Rhona Brankin, née Lloyd (b. 1950), Labour MSP for Midlothian and former Scottish Executive minister; a number of journalists, including former Jordanhill classmates and present Scottish Daily Mail scribes Peter Jardine and John MacLeod (both b. 1966); Scots actor Neil or Alistair Duncan and W A J 'Peter' Cunningham, the Hebridean naturalist. The school is also a popular choice with celebrities.
Good Schools Guide the magazine received a favourable comment in their assessment of the school.
motto
, beneath its coat of arms
is "Ad summa nitor", which translates to "Strive for the highest". The school uniform consists of dark trousers for boys (brown shorts were obligatory in the Primary Department until 1977, when the option of 'longs' was ceded to Primary Seven boys) a brown skirt (or pinafore for primary girls) for girls, a white shirt (the option of cream was permitted into the early 1990s) and a brown blazer. Seasonal options include waxed Barbour jackets in winter and gingham summer dresses. The tie is yellow, brown and green for everyone except the seniors who have a brown tie and pupils achieving excellence in extra-curricular activities (for example representing their country at their chosen sport) who may be awarded a green Honours tie. All pupils are required to wear the uniform at when they are inside the school or its grounds, at lunchtime and when travelling to and from the school.
Jordanhill's Senior Management Team currently consists of:
The railway station closest to the school is Jordanhill railway station
.
The school is featured in the 1996 film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting
and also int the Music Video of Dark of The Matinee by Franz Ferdinand, a Scottish rock group. It also provided the location for two episodes of Taggart, serving as the exclusive Glasgow Grammar School. More recently, the school was used as the setting for the BBC
drama Single Father
starring David Tennant
.
One of the school's pupils, Rory Elrick, appeared in the tv show, Half Moon Investigations
. The 13 episode 'comedy' drama was based on the novel by Eoin Colfer and ran from January 2009. The show was cancelled after its first series.
Current pupil Paul Sanders was highly commended in the Pushkin Prizes in 2009.
Former pupil, Neil McNulty
currently stars as Fraser Crozier in the BBC
soap opera River City
.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland.
Uniquely among mainstream Scottish schools, it is funded directly by the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
, rather than through the local authority, in this case Glasgow City Council. It is nominally categorised as a non-denominational school, although at the end of each term the school attends the local Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
for a brief service, and some assemblies involve hymn singing and bible readings.
The school consists of a primary department
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
and a secondary department
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
. In the primary, P1-P3 have three classes of twenty-two pupils each while P4-P7 have two classes of thirty-three. Pupils in upper Primary spend a substantial part of their week working in the Secondary department. The secondary school takes in an additional thirty-three pupils in S1 to bring the number per year up to 99.
The school is state-funded by direct grant from the Scottish Executive, and is non fee-paying. The school catchment area encompasses predominantly owner-occupied housing in West Glasgow. The school regularly records among the best exam results in Scotland.
In a 2005 inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for the inspection of public and independent, primary and secondary schools, as well as further education colleges, community learning, Local Authority Education Departments and teacher...
the school received a report.
History
Jordanhill School was formerly a Laboratory schoolLaboratory school
A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentation, educational research, and professional...
for Jordanhill College of Education. It was known as the Jordanhill College School.
The college was an out-of-town location that sought to merge two teacher training centres that were heavily influenced by education training pioneer David Stow
David Stow
David Stow was a Scottish educationalist.-Life:Born Paisley, Renfrewshire, the son of a successful merchant, he was educated at Paisley Grammar School before entering the Port-Eglinton Spinning Co. in 1811, an affiliation he was to maintain to the end of his life...
, a Glasgow merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
. These were the Free Church Normal Seminary and the Dundas Vale Normal Seminary, two of the earliest teacher training colleges in Scotland. This merger was a government-sponsored initiative of 1905, when it was decided that teacher training should be taken away from the church and placed under the control of a provincial committee.
The site of the college - and now the school - was on the old Jordanhill Estate grounds. The old Jordanhill House was demolished around 1915, with the Glasgow Provincial Committee effecting purchase of the land to build their new college, though the plot had been for sale since 1911. The school buildings were completed in 1921, although the school was actually founded a year earlier, in 1920. Notable headmasters include the respected Andrew Walker (1891-1974), who led Jordanhill College School from 1936 to 1956, having earlier served from 1921 to 1932 as a mathematics and science master and - initially - the only teacher in the new secondary department, formed in 1921 with just twenty pupils. Most vividly remembered, though, is his successor, William T Branston (1915-1984), who at the time of his 1956 appointment was the youngest headteacher in Scotland and whose long reign - Branston finally retired in December 1980 - saw successive challenges, from sustained upheaval in Scottish school curricula to a serious bid to shut Jordanhill College School down in 1969. (It survived, the controversy concluding in December 1970, with the school adjusting readily to non-selective and non fee-paying status; but it would not be its last fight for life.)
A former naval officer and veteran of the Second World War, committed to a host of good works from amateur dramatics through the YMCA (he chaired the Glasgow organisation) to the Scottish National Orchestra Chorus and influential lay service in the Church of Scotland, William Branston - of Gladstonian countenance - was to most pupils an 'astonishingly remote, God-like figure' and perhaps the last of the really great Scots dominies. Certainly he enforced regular religious observance - such as morning assembly - and the school was noted through the 1970s for its rigid uniform code (which survives, and has become increasingly strict under the present rector) and highly conservative, rote-learning traditional teaching methods, notably in arithmetic and English grammar, which do not. While corporal punishment survived in the Scottish state system until 1986, and the belt was certainly a sanction at Jordanhill until the 1982-1983 session, it was used surprisingly seldom, generally as a last resort for atrocious offence and most frequently by the least competent teachers. Branston himself was a most humane and genial man whose majestic carriage - particularly in the conduct of school worship - left an abiding impression.
The school remained under control of the College until 1988, when it switched to its current directly-funded status. This move caused considerable controversy at the time, with various other options considered (including becoming a Council-run establishment or, indeed, a fee-paying school). In the end a combination of a spirited "Save Our School" campaign spearheaded by Branston's successor, Alistair Cram and ingenious political machinations led to the school becoming directly funded by the Scottish Office (and later the Scottish Executive). Unrelated difficulties, some local spite and gruesome publicity forced Cram's resignation in 1988, and in 1989 'College' was dropped from the school name, at the insistence of Jordanhill College.
In 1993 the college itself merged with the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
, with the Jordanhill Campus serving as home to the Education Faculty.
An interesting history by Iain A D Mann, Jordanhill College School 1920-1995, is still available from the Bursar.
List Of Jordanhill School Rectors
- E.J.V Brown (1920 - 1923)
- Tod Ritchie (1923 - 1931)
- William Montgomerie (1931 - 1936)
- Andrew Walker (1936 - 1956)
- William Branston (1956 - 1980)
- Alistair Cram (1981 - 1988)
- William Bedborough (1989 - 1997)
- Dr Paul Thomson (1997 - Present)
As of 2011, William Branston stands as the longest serving rector in the schools history. If the current rector (Dr Paul Thomson) is still serving in 2021, he will acquire this title.
Modernisation
Jordanhill School has recently been recognised for integrating ITInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
in education by Becta
Becta
Becta was a non-departmental public body ] funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, in the UK It was a charity and a company limited by guarantee. In the post-election spending review in May 2010, it was announced that Becta was to be abolished...
with an 'ICT in Practice Award'. It has also been recognised as a 'Centre of Excellence' for the use of interactive whiteboards.
The school is in the process of modernising its estate. An all-weather pitch was completed in August 2007 and a Refectory extension in October 2007. A new teaching block opened in May 2008 providing custom built facilities for Art, mathematics, Modern Languages and Social Subjects.
Another addition in recent years is the Macmillan Building, a small building behind the school; housing a classroom used for RE
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
and additional sports changing facilities. In early 2005 the school acquired the former Laurel Park games hall on Anniesland Road, in partnership with the Glasgow Academy.
Music
Jordanhill School is also renowned for its high proportion of students participating in curricular and extracurricular music activities, with many of its pupils taking part in school, regionalWest of Scotland Schools Symphony Orchestra
West of Scotland Schools' Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra run by the West of Scotland Schools Orchestras Trust youth organisations in the west of Scotland and conducted by James Lowe...
and national orchestras
National Youth Orchestra of Scotland
The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland has provided music education and performance experience for young musicians throughout Scotland since its formation in 1979....
. Jordanhill students and music groups regularly excel in competitions such as the Glasgow Music Festival.
A number of notable Scottish musicians attended Jordanhill School. These include Justin Currie
Justin Currie
Justin Robert Currie is a Scottish singer and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the band Del Amitri and, along with Iain Harvie, is one of only two members of the group to be present throughout its entire existence.-Del Amitri:Justin Currie established the band Del Amitri while...
of the band Del Amitri
Del Amitri
Del Amitri were a Scottish pop-rock guitar band, formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1983. The band grew out of Justin Currie's Jordanhill College School band and came together after teenager Currie placed an advertisement in the window of a music store asking for people who could play to contact him...
, Isobel Campbell
Isobel Campbell
Isobel Campbell is a Scottish singer, cellist and composer in the indie and rock genres.-History:Campbell was a member of Belle & Sebastian from their formation in Glasgow in 1996 until 2002, when she departed the band for personal reasons. She played cello and keyboards with the band, and sang...
(formerly of Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
),Justine Watts (formerly leader of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Amy Lindop (formerly of the Alice Band), Roddy Hart
Roddy Hart
Roddy Hart is a Scottish singer–songwriter from Glasgow. He tours both solo acoustic, and with his band The Lonesome Fire.-Music career:After graduating from University with a first-class law degree, Hart put together his 2004 demo album Home Tapes in 4 days on an 8-track recording machine...
, and Tom Smith (session trombonist
Sackbut
The sackbut is a trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, i.e., a musical instrument in the brass family similar to the trumpet except characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, thus allowing them to obtain chromaticism, as...
). Other former pupils include politicians - the late Eric Forth (1944-2006), a lively Conservative MP from 1983 and Junior Minister in various departments from 1988 to 1997; Rhona Brankin, née Lloyd (b. 1950), Labour MSP for Midlothian and former Scottish Executive minister; a number of journalists, including former Jordanhill classmates and present Scottish Daily Mail scribes Peter Jardine and John MacLeod (both b. 1966); Scots actor Neil or Alistair Duncan and W A J 'Peter' Cunningham, the Hebridean naturalist. The school is also a popular choice with celebrities.
Local community
The school and its pupils have a very active involvement with the local community, with senior pupils undertaking community service as part of their extracurricular activities. Each year a committee of senior pupils produce the 'Jordanhill School Magazine', a not for profit venture, with submissions from pupils in primary, secondary and staff. It records the year’s events from the viewpoint of the pupils in article and photographic form. It is professionally published and sold to the school community. In the 2006 edition of The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Good Schools Guide the magazine received a favourable comment in their assessment of the school.
Miscellaneous
The school's LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
, beneath its coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is "Ad summa nitor", which translates to "Strive for the highest". The school uniform consists of dark trousers for boys (brown shorts were obligatory in the Primary Department until 1977, when the option of 'longs' was ceded to Primary Seven boys) a brown skirt (or pinafore for primary girls) for girls, a white shirt (the option of cream was permitted into the early 1990s) and a brown blazer. Seasonal options include waxed Barbour jackets in winter and gingham summer dresses. The tie is yellow, brown and green for everyone except the seniors who have a brown tie and pupils achieving excellence in extra-curricular activities (for example representing their country at their chosen sport) who may be awarded a green Honours tie. All pupils are required to wear the uniform at when they are inside the school or its grounds, at lunchtime and when travelling to and from the school.
Jordanhill's Senior Management Team currently consists of:
- RectorRectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
Dr. Paul Thomson; - Depute Rector Mrs. Christine Robertson;
- Depute Head Teacher (responsible for Senior Secondary) Mr. John Anderson;
- Depute Head Teacher (responsible for Junior Secondary) Ms. McDade;
- Head of Primary Ms. I. Matier;
- Depute Head (Primary) Mr. Paton;
- Ms. Henrietta Galbraith, the Bursar.
The railway station closest to the school is Jordanhill railway station
Jordanhill railway station
Jordanhill railway station is a side platformed suburban railway station in the Jordanhill area in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. The station, which is governed by Transport Scotland and managed by First ScotRail, lies on the Argyle Line and the North Clyde Line...
.
The school is featured in the 1996 film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting
Trainspotting (film)
Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
and also int the Music Video of Dark of The Matinee by Franz Ferdinand, a Scottish rock group. It also provided the location for two episodes of Taggart, serving as the exclusive Glasgow Grammar School. More recently, the school was used as the setting for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama Single Father
Single Father (TV drama)
Single Father is a four-episode 2010 BBC television drama centred on Dave , a photographer, attempting to look after his children as a single father after the death of his partner, Rita , in a road traffic accident. The series also explores the complicated and growing romance between Dave and...
starring David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
.
One of the school's pupils, Rory Elrick, appeared in the tv show, Half Moon Investigations
Half Moon Investigations (TV series)
Half Moon Investigations is a children's crime/comedy drama television series created by the BBC and based upon the novel of the same name by the author Eoin Colfer. It concerns a schoolboy, Fletcher Moon, who spends much of his spare time solving petty crimes around his school, St. Jerome's. 13...
. The 13 episode 'comedy' drama was based on the novel by Eoin Colfer and ran from January 2009. The show was cancelled after its first series.
Current pupil Paul Sanders was highly commended in the Pushkin Prizes in 2009.
Former pupil, Neil McNulty
Neil McNulty
Neil McNulty is a Scottish actor. He is probably best known for playing the part of Fraser Crozier in the BBC soap opera River City.-References:...
currently stars as Fraser Crozier in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera River City
River City
River City is a Scottish television soap opera, first broadcast in Scotland on BBC Scotland on 24 September 2002. River City storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch in Glasgow...
.