Bishopbriggs High School

Log Books, 1896-1982; Admission Registers, 1916-1942; Marks Register and Exam Candidates List, 1962-1975; Photographs, 1890s-2000s; School Handbooks, 1975-2000; School Magazines, 1948-1974; Certificates, 1994-2005; Newspapers and Cuttings, 1980-2004; Ephemera, 1989-2001

Arranged within series

Permission to access closed records must be obtained from the Head of Education.

Descriptive list

Paper, photographs, ceramic and textile

Catalogued and collection level description compiled by Julie Devenney, Archive Volunteer, November 2016

Edits to catalogue and collection level description by Janice Miller, Archivist, March 2020

Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements.

With the introduction of the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, Cadder School Board took over the privately maintained school on Kirkintilloch Road from the family of Sir John Stirling Maxwell. By 1895 a new school was needed to serve the needs of the growing population. The new school, sitting directly behind the old school buildings on Kirkintilloch Road, opened on 25th August 1896. Designed by David Woodburn Sturrock it was built to accommodate 420 pupils. On 7th September 1908 the school enlarged with the opening of the new Higher Grade school, catering for pupils up to the age of 15. Previously these pupils had to transfer to Lenzie Academy. The school was then called ‘Bishopbriggs Higher Grade School’. On the night of 7th April 1941 the school was badly damaged during the bombing of Glasgow. Seven people were killed, including the school janitor, when a bomb hit nearby housing, burning down part of the school. The school house was also damaged by the blast and from shrapnel. From August 1965 onwards pupils could continue their studies into a fifth and sixth year at the school where previously they had to transfer to Lenzie Academy or to a secondary school in Glasgow. Due to the rapid expansion of the local population in the 1950s and 1960s, a new school was built ‘Bishopbriggs High School’ and opened on 25th April 1966. This new school was situated on South Crosshill Road, directly behind the old school building which was then converted into the present day Bishopbriggs Library which opened in March 1969. In 2006 Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir High School merged to form ‘Bishopbriggs Academy’, as part of a £100 million PPP (Public Private Partnership) plan to build six new secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire. The new school was built on the site of the former Thomas Muir High School on Wester Cleddens Road and was completed in August 2009. The old Bishopbriggs High School building was demolished in June 2010 to free up the land for commercial development. As of 2016 the school had over 100 teachers and was able to accommodate up to 1200 pupils.