At the age of 91, you’d think your schooldays are behind you. But former pupil Margaret Massie returned to Pitmedden School to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
Margaret, who soon turns 92, left Pitmedden School in 1946, making her the oldest surviving former pupil.
Remarkably, she attended the 150th anniversary celebrations with her sister Elizabeth Duguid, 90, and brother Henry Pirie, 84, who all attended the school.
The spritely trio, who still live in Pitmedden and whose children also attended the school, reminisced with staff and pupils.
Margaret was last pupil allowed to leave Pitmedden School aged 14
Margaret was the star of the show on June 17, where party guests listened to her precious memories.
She was also the last pupil to be allowed to leave Pitmedden School aged 14.
Legislation changed in 1947 meaning scholars had to remain in education until at least the age of 15.
When Margaret attended Pitmedden, it was an infant and secondary school, as was common in the early 20th Century.
It opened in 1874 with 72 pupils and had four classrooms, where the school nursery is now.
What Margaret remembered as being the dominie’s office has long since been swallowed up by 1960s extensions.
‘I knew everybody in the village’
Margaret said: “We stayed outside Pitmedden at Allathan Farm where my father was a horseman.
“We walked to school, and we also used to walk to an annual picnic at Udny Castle.
“Pitmedden School had outdoor toilets in those days, they were very cold. And there was no school uniform.
“But I liked school, the teachers were nice and the headmaster Charles Scott in particular was nice.
“There was cookery for the girls and joinery for the boys.”
In the event of an air raid during the war years, Margaret explained pupils would be evacuated to a nearby care home.
She added: “Many evacuees came to Pitmedden from Glasgow and they stayed a good while.
“I got a good education and when I left school, I went to work at the grocer’s shop in Pitmedden as an assistant, which is where the chip shop is now.
“I liked that job – I knew everybody in the village and everybody in Tarves.”
Pupils learned about history of Pitmedden School
Certainly, plenty of familiar faces were keen to chat to Margaret and her siblings.
Elizabeth went on to work in Pitmedden School’s canteen for 20 years.
While brother Henry joked that “he liked walking to school, and he liked leaving school, but didn’t really enjoy the bit in the middle”.
At the other end of the scale, Chloe Clyne, 5, is the youngest P1 pupil at Pitmedden.
She said her favourite thing about school is learning, and she contributed to the 150th anniversary by “learning to draw the school”.
While the eldest girl at the school is P7 Taylor Finnie, who will be attending Meldrum Academy after summer.
Taylor said: “As well as drawing pictures of the school we’ve been looking at old maps and seeing which buildings remain in the village today.”
Having attended Pitmedden since P1, Taylor said her favourite thing about school is seeing her friends.
Taylor has enjoyed her primary years at Pitmedden and admitted that children may not have felt the same 150 years ago.
She added: “We learned school was very different back then – there is no punishment now and no cruel teachers.”
Infant classrooms used to have open fires to keep warm
Certainly life at Pitmedden these days is in stark contrast to the school 80 years ago.
Former pupil Isobel Taylor recalled how her infant teacher Miss Watson had a “long pointer” which was used to point at the blackboard.
But it was also used to “jab pupils in the chest”.
“It was rather sore”, added Isobel.
Back then, infant classroom desks were laid out on a series of steps – a tradition that lingered from the Victorian era.
Isobel explained: “The clever children would be allowed to sit at the desks at the top of the steps.
“There also used to be an open fire in the classroom where Miss Watson would dry her wellies, and she would make us cocoa.”
Old ways are the best for longest-serving staff member, Gladys
These days there is no such intellectual hierarchy. Every child at Pitmedden School has his or her merits, whether academic or not.
But in the digital age, one tradition remains.
Gladys Allan diligently hand writes the registers at Pitmedden and Barthol Chapel schools.
Gladys, who helps take care of the administration, is the longest-serving member of staff at Pitmedden School having been there for 30 years.
In her time, she has seen 14 different headteachers, and what Gladys doesn’t know about the school isn’t worth knowing.
Having decades of rolls neatly written out means generations of pupils still have a presence in the school – albeit tucked away in a book.
New motto unveiled at Pitmedden School for 150th anniversary
It is very apparent that it’s the people that make Pitmedden School.
Headteacher Lyn McGibbon is very quick to point out that running the school is a team effort.
In 1874, the headteacher’s word would be final, but Lyn is proud that even the pupils get involved in decision-making.
From the pupils to the teachers, behind-the-scenes staff like Gladys to janitor Stuart (who made the cakes for the celebration), the PTA, parents and former pupils, everyone has a role at Pitmedden School.
And this is reflected in the school’s new motto which has been devised by pupils for the 150th anniversary.
The youngsters decided they wanted the new school ethos to be: “Pitmedden School: where everyone shines bright”.
Pupils were asked what school means to them, and the overwhelming response was it’s “a place to belong” and “a place for children to be safe”.
‘The pupils bring me such joy – I love it’
This is unsurprising, because the sense of care and community within Pitmedden School is palpable.
Lyn knows the names of every one of the 200 children at the school and nursery, and she knows about their families and lives.
While she admits the challenges now are very different to 150 years ago – the negative aspects of technology, the internet and misinformation – Pitmedden School’s place in the heart of the community remains the same.
Lyn said: “It’s a privilege to be headteacher and have an impact on pupils, it’s an amazing job.
“The pupils bring me such joy, I absolutely love it.”
Lyn is no stranger to the chalkface and still likes to cover classes when she can.
School has come a long way from Victorian beliefs
The old Victorian adage when Pitmedden School first opened was that “children should be seen and not heard”.
But Lyn is adamant that children must be seen and must be heard.
“If we’re going to have an impact on pupils, their voices must be heard”, she adds.
Unlike the dominies of the 1800s, Lyn has an open-door policy in her office, which is furnished with touching keepsakes from past pupils and staff.
Pitmedden pupils know they can approach her about anything.
During the celebrations, there was no shortage of pupils running up to Lyn with glee to point out old photos of their parents.
Former pupils crowded around photos in the hall, looking at the rows of young children of the last 150 years peering back out.
Aberdeenshire provost Judy Whyte, and councillors Ron McKail, Andrew Hassan and Derek Ritchie, were also there to join the celebration.
Fraser family affair as four generations attend Pitmedden School
And for some, Pitmedden School is truly a family affair.
Two former pupils who enjoyed looking at the photographs were Wilma and Ian Fraser.
The couple are part of four generations of one family who attended Pitmedden.
Ian’s parents Harry and Renee Fraser were the school’s janitor and cleaner.
While Wilma returned to school as a cook, which she said was “good fun, but hard work”.
Wilma and Ian’s daughter Amanda Dundee also attended Pitmedden School, and now grandson Finlay is a P6 pupil there too.
Their memories, along with pupils’ drawings, will all be going in a time capsule to be buried as a lasting memento of the occasion, to be discovered by scholars in decades to come.
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