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We have 2 categories of school photographs : class photographs & group photographs. Class photographs are the ones taken of the whole class every 2-4 years. Group photographs can be taken at any time and will generally be taken at school or on school activity, for example, they could be of sports teams, musical groups or the casts of school plays.
Over a number of years we have collected school photographs and then asked around for people to help us to identify when the photo was taken and who is in it.
Girthon had its own parish school at the end of Church Road / Castramont Road. This was built around 1800. It later became the Drill Hall and is now residential property.
Anwoth had its own small parish school which was opposite the Old Anwoth Churchyard. A new school, called Fleetside, was built in 1872 on a site in Dromore Road (by that time most of the children in Anwoth Parish lived in Gatehouse). This school stood on what is now the teachers car park at the present Gatehouse Primary School. Some children from Anwoth parish also attended Kirkdale and Skyreburn Schools.
Girthon and Fleetside schools combined in 1918 and pupils regularly walked between the two sites for their lessons.
In 1927 a new purpose-built Gatehouse school opened and this building is now the Community Centre. The school catered for both primary and secondary pupils. The old Fleetside school buildings were used for several years as a venue for domestic science and woodwork classes.
The modern Gatehouse School behind the Community Centre was opened in the 1960s. This was originally the secondary school, with the primary being housed in what is now the Community Centre. In 1979 secondary schooling was transferred to Kirkcudbright Academy and the 'new' school building was use as the Gatehouse Primary School and this use still applies today.
Help Needed
Many people save their old school photos, some write names on the back, some can remember a large number of the names. The most difficult aspect has been for old pupils to remember the year a picture was taken and the class to which it refers. We would welcome any help to identify or correct any names, years or class references. We would very much welcome other school class photos that are not represented in this collection and we are also looking for better quality photos of ones that we already have. Please email Graham & Margaret.