Changing times for Glenburn PS
Little has changed about Glenburn Primary down the years.
The Prestwick school has seen thousands of pupils pass through its corridors since first opening the doors in 1915.
I was one of them – starting life as a P1 in 1989 and enjoying seven great years that followed.
So stepping back inside the old school this week as it prepares to meet the bulldozers was somewhat surreal.
Glenburn and nearby St Ninian’s Primary are to make way next month for a new £18 million ‘super-school’.
Currently being constructed on the Glenburn footprint, the ‘Prestwick Education Campus’ will give the next generation an incredible learning space.
But included will be plenty of memories from the last 107 years.
Karen Blackwood has been at Glenburn for 35 years and will make the journey from old to new.
Karen, who taught me all the way back in P2 and is now depute head, said: “It’s a hugely exciting time for the pupils who will make the transition.
“And for us as staff, we take great memories from the old building to the new.
“As someone who’s been here for so long, it will be emotional for me to leave the old school behind.
“It has a charm to it that makes it very special and we’ve had lots of special memories shared by old pupils during the last few weeks and months.
“Those memories will live on in the new campus, I’m sure.”
A stand-alone nursery will be included as part of the ambitious new campus, which will see 22 classrooms spread over two-storeys.
Both schools will retain their separate identities as part of the move to share facilities on the same campus.
Outside, a range of sports facilities and will also include a sports hall, an astroturf playing field and a gym hall.
A new allotment garden, willow garden, and sensory garden will help children to learn about local nature.
Gaynor Hartley, who joined Glenburn as head teacher last year, will be first head at the ‘new’ Glenburn, over 100 years after John Steele was first ever head in 1915. She said: “It’s a great honour. “We are moving to a truly inspirational learning space that is fit for the 21st century.
“It will provide both schools with a great environment for education, but we’re very aware of the history being left behind in the old Glenburn and are keen to take as many of those memories with us.”
A drop-in event will take place on Thursday, June 23 at 6.30pm for past pupils to take one last walk down memory lane in their own corridors and classrooms.