Demolition work has begun on the high school where Gregory’s Girl was filmed.
Abronhill High, in Cumbernauld, was the backdrop for Bill Forsyth’s 1981 classic coming of age romantic comedy starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan.
Opened in 1978, it was earmarked for the axe in 2012 as part of cost-cutting moves by North Lanarkshire Council and finally closed to pupils on June 27 this year, despite a campaign to save it.
As the demolition vehicles moved in this week, groups stood on the football pitch made famous in the film and watched workers begin to tear down the distinctive blue-panelled walls.
Actor Rab Buchanan, 53, who played schoolboy Andy in the low-budget movie, said yesterday: “It’s sad to see the old school go – it’s the end of an era.
“When we made Gregory’s Girl, most of the filming was at the school and I have fond memories.
“It was a big thing to happen to Cumbernauld at the time, and I think the film served the school well over the years.”
Scott Campbell, spokesman for the Save Abronhill High School campaign group, said: “It’s a sad moment.
“It was the main location for filming Gregory’s Girl and it attracted tourism to Cumbernauld as people came to see all the locations from this famous film.
“The closure was a blow to the community but we’ve been promised a new building and hopefully that will see a phoenix rise from the flames.”
A plaque commemorating the school’s role in Gregory’s Girl has already been removed as demolition begins.
Lee Smart and girlfriend Jordan Woodruff, both 17, were in the final year to complete their secondary education at Abronhill High this summer.
Lee, who played right back in the school football team, said: “Everyone was really proud of the fact Gregory’s Girl was filmed there. We watched it in English class and then the week the school closed they showed it in the theatre.”
Jordan, now an apprentice hairdresser with Vidal Sassoon in Glasgow, said: “I’ve watched Gregory’s Girl countless times and loved walking down the same corridors. Everyone who went to the school knows the script by heart.”