School was touch

Former staff and pupils bid farewell to historic building

THE final bell has tolled for the old Baldragon Academy building — but the decades of memories will never fade.

Pupils at the Dundee school, which began its life as Kirkton High, are gearing up for their long-awaited move into the new £28.7 million building in Harestane Road.

But for the thousands of students who passed through its doors, the old building will always hold a special place in their hearts.

“The school has been in the blood,” said Sandra Cannon, a former student who would later become deputy head.

“I started there as a pupil in 1968. I went back as a student teacher in 1978 and I retired as deputy head in 2015. Kirkton High and latterly Baldragon was a fantastic school.

“The old school had become rather sad and tired. It wasn’t fit for purpose.”

Built in 1960, at the time Kirkton High was the largest to be constructed in Scotland since the end of the Second World War. It was hailed as a showpiece school and cost about £580,000.

The school served the areas of Downfield, Kirkton, Macalpine and St Mary’s, with a combined population of 25,000.

The school hit national heights in December 1967 when about 16 million people sat down to watch four Kirkton kids become quiz champions. Two boys and two girls from the school were victorious in the BBC’s Top of the Form. Some of the surviving members were reunited for the 50th anniversary last year.

For three decades, the school played a key role in teaching children from these areas — but talks of a closure surfaced in 1987.

They were initially denied and plans for the school’s future were discussed. Finally, in 1997, Kirkton and

Pupils at Baldragon Academy during the school’s glory days.