Siting of RC Secondary School

In December 1978, plans for Blantyre’s proposed Roman Catholic Secondary school were still up in the air. Whilst Strathclyde Regional Council had advertised their plans to build a new secondary school in Blantyre, choosing a site was causing problems.

The preferred site was the one at Carlowrie Avenue, where the current Tact Hall is. It was the obvious choice being large enough to house the school and playing grounds but there were concerns that it was a distance for many pupils who would attend.

Thornhill Avenue was another choice, more central for pupils, but did not have enough room for playing fields which would need to be accommodated elsewhere. Councillor Malcolm Waugh was a big campaigner for the school to be built at Carlowrie.

So how, ironic, just a year later when a council u-turn was made for budgetary reasons, and opting to expand John Ogilvie, being nowhere near the location that Blantyre’s Roman Catholic teenagers needed. A decision that caused a lot of anger and resentment towards the council. It was the Blantyre school ‘that never was’.

Pictured in more modern times, is the preferred site.
From “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2018

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