Photos of August days in Aberdeen during the 1970s and '80s

As the end of the school holidays is in sight, our look back at August days in Aberdeen takes us back to the 1970s and ’80s.

For Hilton Academy pupils in 1984, the new term was met with relief not dread, as they successfully saved their school from closure.

Pupils at Hilton were in top form after winning an eleventh-hour reprieve from closure after “a vigorous campaign” by parents, teachers and pupils.

August 1984 brought joy in Aberdeen when Hilton Academy reopened

Their arduous nine-month battle with Grampian Regional Council proved successful in May 1984 when councillors voted to save the school by the narrowest of margins – one vote.

1984: The new pupils at Hilton Academy show their delight at the school remaining open after a campaign to save it. Guidance teacher Arthur Lennox is in the centre. Image: DC Thomson

Labour, Liberal and SNP colleagues put on a united front to save the school, with the victory attributed to the absence of two opposing Conservative members.

After more than three hours of talks, the good news took mere seconds to arrive at Hilton half a mile away.

And there were “scenes of great relief and satisfaction with cheers echoing around the 50-year-old building which had been under the cloud of closure for so long”.

Headmaster Charles Milne said he was “very delighted” and that determined staff members shared his view.

1983: The axe was hanging over Hilton Academy, but parents, pupils and teachers campaigned hard to save it. Image: DC Thomson

August 1977 saw huge archaeological dig in Aberdeen city centre

And going further back in history, the secrets of ancient Aberdeen revealed themselves in August 1977.

Some Aberdonians may recall when the city centre was the scene of a large archaeological dig.

Land underneath a former paint warehouse on St Paul Street was excavated ahead of the complete redevelopment of the area.

A group of 45 young unemployed people were tasked with digging up the mysteries of medieval Aberdeen as part of a job-creation scheme set up by Aberdeen Archaeological Unit.

1977: The scene of the archaeology dig near the Upperkirkgate as workers carefully cleared a large area of ground for the redevelopment of St Paul Street. Image: DC Thomson

Project director Charles Murray said the state of preservation was quite good and the group had quickly found evidence of buildings from the 16th Century.

However, the dig yielded more information about ancient Aberdeen, revealing traces of five houses from the 13th Century and a 14th-Century dwelling.

The workers hoped to find objects like flints from the Mesolithic period, and they weren’t disappointed.

Of 141 pieces of flint uncovered, 93 dated to the Mesolithic period between 6000-4000BC.

Finds from the dig entered the collections of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, and the site is now occupied by the Bon Accord Centre.