McLaren High School

Former Pupils’ Newsletter

June 2009

2

3

Editorial Moyra McLaren

Contents

Dear Former Pupils Welcome to the 2009 edition of the McLaren High School Former Pupils’ Newsletter. Thank you to all the Former Pupils who have written to me in the last year and especially to those who have contributed to this edition of the Newsletter. As always I would welcome contributions for the next Newsletter! If you would like to submit articles or photos for next year’s Newsletter I can be contacted at the school or by e-mail at mclarenm04s@stirling.gov.uk As with the last few years we have decided not to charge for this edition of the Newsletter. However, if you would like to make a contribution towards the cost of producing this publication please send cheques to the school. An electronic copy of the Newsletter will be available on our website at www.mclarenhigh.co.uk We are always looking to increase the number of Former Pupils on our database. If you know of anyone who is not currently on our mailing list please forward their details to me at the school. I look forward to seeing you all at the reunion in September! Moyra McLaren

Page 4 Rector’s Message, Peter Martin

5 Official Opening/School Minibus

6 A Celebration Lunch, Amy Yarnall

8 End of an Era, Peter Ireland

9 Classical Memories, Helen Scott

10 Recollections of the McLaren High School 1941-1945, Allan Dickie

11 Miss J S Kemp, Mary Ross

12 Memories of McLaren, Clair Barrass

13 The Pug, Isabel Cowan

15 Obituaries

14 The Gallery

16 Reunion Information

4

Rector’s Message Peter Martin, Headteacher

Dear Friends of McLaren High School In August 2008 the refurbishment work ended and the completed building has been very well received by pupils and staff. With two new 3-storey extensions, we now have bright modern teaching spaces – with no ‘huts’ for the first time in 30 years. Pupils are also enjoying the benefits of the new cafeteria and social spaces, as well as a traffic-free area between the school and the leisure centre. We held an open evening in November 2008 for the local community to visit the school to view the alterations and in April 2009 Provost Fergus Wood joined our head boy, Niall Sutherland and head girl, Lucy Waite, and the staff and pupils to mark the official opening of the refurbished school. On 1 December 100 pupils travelled to the Outward Bound Centre at Loch Eil to take part in our annual Residential Course. The week long course gave pupils the opportunity to work outside their usual friendship groups and to work together in teams to complete the various challenges they had to face during the week. We also launched a new contribution to Activities Week this year: a three day residential visit to an outdoor activity centre near Kinross called Lendrick Muir for all S1 pupils. The focus was on developing communication skills, problem solving and team working skills as well as promoting health and well-being and an appreciation of environmental issues. In May 2009, McLaren hosted our first National Park Day. This included a networking lunch provided by Tom, Dick and Melanie Lewis (former pupils at McLaren High School) and who now operate the Award Winning Monachyle Mhor Hotel in Balquhidder Glen, and Mhor Fish and Mhor Bread in Callander. This was followed by the first National Park Debating Competition, which was won by McLaren High School’s team, continuing the debating success we have recently enjoyed. In January 2009 we were delighted to take delivery of our new school minibus. Thank you to everyone who helped us to achieve our fundraising target. Our second annual sponsored walk took place in May to raise funds for pupil activities. In addition, our S6 charity team raised the fantastic sum of £3,592 during the session for external charities. Throughout the year, pupils have continued to be involved in a wide range of activities both during and after school including two ski courses, a variety of sporting and music activities, ‘rapping’ on Flanders Moss, a ‘litter pick’ in the local community, a VE day ‘Street Party’, a creative writing master class and the ‘Murder in the Library’ competition. The school show also makes a welcome come back this year with a production of ‘Grease’. I look forward to welcoming many of you to our new facilities at the September reunion. Meanwhile our present school community send our best wishes to all our Former Pupils. Peter Martin Headteacher

5

Official Opening/ School Minibus

Learning beyond the classroom plays an important role in the life of the school, helping pupils to develop their personal and social skills. A wide range of additional activities are available to our pupils including football, rugby, hockey, skiing, canoeing, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, debating, orchestra and choirs. All of these groups use our school minibus. In planning to replace our current minibus we set ourselves the ambitious target of raising £20,000. We have been very fortunate to receive funding from the following sources to achieve this target: • McLaren High School PTA • Awards for All • McLaren High School Former Pupils We were delighted to take delivery of our new school minibus on Friday 30 January. It was used for the first time later the same day to transport pupils taking part in a football match in Airdrie. Thank you to everyone who helped us to achieve our fundraising target.

Stirling Council’s Provost Fergus Wood joined the head boy, Niall Sutherland and head girl, Lucy Waite (pictured below), and the staff and pupils of McLaren High School in Callander to mark the official opening of the fully refurbished school on 24 April 2009. Work on upgrading the school in a number of phases included a major refurbishment and remodelling of the school totalling £10million; large sections of new build classrooms, new music and drama provision, a new community room, new administration block and provision for visiting services. Headteacher Peter Martin said: “The refurbishment has delivered first class learning and teaching spaces together with attractive social areas. It has been very well received by pupils and staff, and I am sure that the physical environment will help motivate and engage young people.” The existing three-storey building has increased in size with sixteen classrooms being added to replace the huts that were previously used. Inside other additions include new build music practice rooms and a new indoor social space and drama area.

6

A Celebration Lunch Amy Yarnall (nee McNaughton), Former Pupil

As I left the FP lunch in 2007, I thought how nice it would be if our year (the 1950 intake) had a lunch to celebrate the fact that we would be 70, or there abouts, in 2008. The idea grew on me and in the autumn I put the idea to Janice Benson (nee Finlayson) who said she would meet up with me whatever the response! She suggested the venue and I made tentative arrangements from my home in Cheshire. With the date and venue fixed, I started to put the plans into action. The initial invitations, including a request for contacts, went out with my Christmas cards. Next, I used Friends Reunited but only had one response from that source. Replies were due by 31st January so that I could judge the response and at that time the decision was taken to go ahead. Eventually twenty one former class mates and spouse/partners/friends met for lunch at the River House in Stirling on 3 May 2008. For many of us, this was the first time we had met since school days, so there was a lot of catching up to do and all too soon the afternoon was over. It was just like a large family gathering except that the common bond was our days at McLaren High. I, for one, will treasure the memories of that day for a long time to come. If you joined first year in 1950 and would like to know more, please get in touch (amy.yarnall@ukonline.co.uk). I kept a detailed spreadsheet of all the contacts I made. Everyone I was in touch with was given or sent a copy . I am willing to forward a copy to any class mates who didn't hear about the lunch and would like my contact list. The photo of us in 2AB on the next page was circulated but we weren't able to add to the information I had. Fortunately, all the names are on the back so we were able to put names to the faces but we wondered where everyone is now. If you can help, please let me know. After our happy celebration lunch in May, we had sad news in November when Janice died and again in December when Heather McNiven died, both from cancer. Janice and I have been friends since primary school in Dunblane but the lunch was the first time I had had any contact with Heather, from Aberfoyle, since school days. On reflection, both ladies had more in common than their fight with cancer. They were both in “H.M.S.Pinafore”, Heather having the part of Raef, then they left school at the end of 4th year. Both went on to marry former pupils. Janice married Sam Benson, Heather married Teddy Lamb and went to Canada with him. At the time of their deaths, Heather had returned from Canada and was with her new partner running a catering business in Crieff while Janice spent her working life with the electricity board, firstly as a tracer but eventually she was Chief Cartographic Draughtswoman in the Area Office in Hamilton. She was still married to Sam, and the proud mother of three sons, Alistair, Ewan and Calum. The sympathy of all who attended the lunch is extended to the families and friends of Janice and Heather.

7

Where are they now? Class IIAB

Back Row Alistair McQuarrie 3rd Row Cherry Ainslie Deceased?

Alisdair Duncan Canada Margaret Low Arbroath

David Cramb Deceased Morven Cameron

James Brough Janice Finlayson Hamilton

Ian Mailer Kippen Kathleen Wilson

David Cox Forres Fiona Naismith Aberfoyle

William Dick Deceased Margaret Moir Culross

John Patterson Amy McNaughton Wilmslow

Robert Myles Heather McNiven Crieff

Michael Scott New Zealand Fiona Faulds Bedlington

2nd Row Betty McDonald Front Row Raymond Reed

Rosaline Mathers Alan McGeoch Dunblane

Margaret Smith Forfar William Grant

Doreen Petrie South Queensferry Charles Kirkwood

Isabel Allan Arbroath Derek Jamieson

June McKenzie Andrew Watt London

Janet Cameron John Carruthers

Janet MacCall Callander

Margaret MacFarlane Deceased

Gena Stewart Strachur

8

End of an Era Peter Ireland, Former Teacher

When I was appointed Principal Teacher of Classics in 1979 it was one of the best moves I ever made. At the time I never expected to spend the rest of my working life in Callander, nor did I think that I would still be teaching Classics when I retired. Over the years I saw too many of my fellow Classicists forced to retrain, or even forced out of the profession by unsympathetic head teachers. In McLaren High School not only did I find a succession of supportive head teachers (I got through five of them!) but also most congenial and sympathetic colleagues who seemed to value what the subject offered. I arrived from a school in Castlemilk, where only a handful of pupils were capable of attempting Latin (and other departments fought internecine wars over them), to find Room 7 packed with Higher Latin candidates. I soon realised that this mega-class represented the last intake from Dunblane, and future classes were much more modest in size, but the subject survived until a change of policy sounded the death knell for both Latin and German, and my timetable was then taken up with Classical Studies, with the language relegated to a 6th Year option for a very few interested pupils. While regrettable, I was not too dismayed, because I have always been fascinated by the culture of the ancient world and I was given the opportunity to indulge this interest to the full. One of the “perks” of being a Classics teacher is the excuse to go on holiday to Italy and Greece and pretend that you are actually completing in-service training, or Continuing Personal Development, to use the current jargon. Over the years I built up a large collection of holiday slides, which I would show on any pretext to classes which I fondly believed were as fascinated as I was. One former pupil later told me how much he looked forward to the slides because it gave him the chance to rest his eyes when the blinds were drawn. Be that as it may, one of the most valuable school experiences must be the foreign trips. My first school trip, to Greece, was made before I came to MHS, and was a fairly stressful affair, largely because I organised it without the support of a tour company, to try to save money, and had not vetted my staff helpers sufficiently beforehand! In fact, l remember telling friends that I was never going to repeat the exercise. Luckily I changed my mind and later ran trips to Italy, Greece, Turkey and even Romania. These trips were not without incident: for example, I was mugged by gypsies in Rome and had to be rescued by the pupils, but overall the trips were great fun for both the pupils and the outstanding staff helpers who came with me time after time. Whether or not these trips would be possible now, when you have to fill in a “risk assessment” before you can do anything, is another matter. Although the trips were very carefully programmed, and I had visited all the sites myself previously, half the fun comes from the unexpected: a visit to a Turkish Bath, for instance, or chartering a yacht, after much haggling, for an impromptu sail along the Turkish coast. I have always tried to imagine what my lessons were like from the other side of the classroom. It is the teacher’s job to try to avoid boring the pupils, or talking about things that nobody can understand. So, whenever possible, I would introduce model making, or demonstrations, or even play acting. When I was still in Room 7, with HE only a stone’ s throw away, we could organise Greek cooking, or pizza (a bit of a cheat since the Romans didn’t have tomatoes). I even cooked in the classroom on a portable hot plate. I fear that such behaviour might not be tolerated today, when PPP forbids teachers to stick a drawing pin outside the strict confines of the official notice board. Times change, but I wonder if something has been lost in the process, despite the vast possibilities offered by computers and smart boards. I was perfectly happy with my chalk, a slide projector and a video. I have been lucky to speak to some young teachers in training who are hoping (probably in vain) to have the chance to teach Classics along with their other subject, and I realise that they are fully in tune with the new technology and that Classics can be adapted to any means of transmission. It is most regrettable that, all over Scotland, Classics is being dropped from the curriculum. If it was irrelevant, or if pupils were choosing not to opt for it, I would have no objection, but it seems to me, and to many others (who, unfortunately, do not have the influence to change things), that Classical Studies in particular does appeal to pupils across the ability range, and can offer valuable insights into what is happening in the modern world. McLaren High School was the last school in Stirling District to offer Classics and I think it would have been to the school’s advantage to maintain this distinction. However, tempora inutantur, and I will always have a deep affection for the place, and for the memory of so many pleasant and enthusiastic pupils whom I’ve had the pleasure to teach for so many years.

9

Classical Memories Helen Scott (nee Moore), Former Pupil

When you think about Classical Studies and Latin, subjects you would normally associate with ancient history, perhaps you would find it hard to believe that they are subjects that I think about and use regularly in these more modern times. Latin has crept into my everyday life far more than I would have imagined during my time at McLaren High. Whether it’s through the names of plants and trees in my local garden centre, or translating the plaques and mottos on the Harvard University buildings all around me in my new hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts, I find a use for my Latin knowledge in all sorts of random places. It has even given me a rudimentary base from which to try to understand other European languages such as Spanish and Italian. These are the more serious and practical applications, which maybe any student who studied these subjects at school would be equipped with, but if this was all they took with them from their studies then they would have missed out on all my favourite parts of Latin and Classical Studies at McLaren High. Would they have sung the carol “12 Days of Christmas” in Latin each festive season, complete with over the top actions, circling their arms wildly for “5 Gold Rings”? Would they have fond memories of Latin Charades, with Mr Ireland acting out clues to help us guess the meaning of a new piece of Latin vocabulary? Would these memories be so vivid that they would laugh out loud during their exam, when a word that had been the subject of one of Mr Ireland’s more flamboyant interpretations appeared in the text to be translated? Would they have learnt in a classroom decorated with bright murals, where mythical beasts kept guard over the stationery cupboard? A classroom that we enjoyed so much that we made it our homeroom, despite its proximity to the staff room. Would they have been glued to the television in lessons, waiting for the next instalment of the BBC adaptation of “I, Claudius”, ready for the drama, scandal and intrigue of Ancient Rome? Would a student at another school have experienced the fun, enthusiasm and passion that Mr Ireland injected into our lessons, making it impossible not to be engaged with the subjects he was teaching? To make use of an overused but definitely appropriate cliché, Classical Studies and Latin came alive for us, the 2,000 plus years that had elapsed since the events that we were studying, shrank away. I think I can safely say that they would not have enjoyed any of these things, the things which made our Latin and Classical Studies experience so much more unique than the dry rote learning of vocabulary and declensions, the more common experience at other schools. These things which mean that Classical Studies, Latin and Mr Ireland have a fond place in my memories from my time at McLaren High. So I’d like to say thanks, Mr Ireland, you not only taught me something that I’m still using now, but you gave me some funny, fabulous memories along the way, which is what school should be all about.

10

Recollections of the McLaren High School 1941 - 1945 Allan Dickie, Former Pupil

It’s a long time ago but I have many clear recollections of my time at the McLaren High School. My grandparents lived in Callander and I would have started going there around 1936 and having spent lots of holidays there I came to know the place well. However, I didn’t live there until 1941 when family circumstances and the war brought about the change. It was a great place to grow up in and the School was doubtless a part of that. Others have written in detail about the war years and the strain that it put on the staff and facilities. As a child you tend to take it all in your stride and think that it is the norm. I started in the primary school with two classes in each room. Not too long afterwards I moved in to Miss Bayne’s class. I still regard her as a wonderful teacher and of all the people I have been taught by I think I learned more from her than anyone else. She also ran the local cub pack one evening a week and on some weekends from the School gymnasium. The war-time influx must have had considerable impact on the local children but I don’t recall any animosity. There was quite a bit of rivalry between the Channel Islanders, sorting themselves out into Jerseyonians and Guernseyonians. We had children from a number of countries in the School. Because of clothes rationing and shortages many children wore the uniforms of their former schools and the wearing of the McLaren High uniform seemed to be very much a voluntary option. Mr Leckie was Rector when I got there. Pinstripe trousers and black jacket were the order of the day for him; he was always immaculately dressed. He had a remarkable memory for former students and when I was interviewed before entering he recalled a relative of mine who had been in the School around 1913. Miss Bayne got us through the Qualifying Examination and we went up into the secondary school to a completely different environment. I imagine that even today such a move is a culture shock; a more rigid discipline and more personal responsibility. Bobby Marks taught us technical drawing and mechanics. He was a tough taskmaster but I enjoyed his classes and what I learned there stood me in good stead in later life. I think it was Miss Emslie who took us for English and to this day I wish that I had paid more attention in class. “Pop” L’Amie worked hard to instil the basics of science into us. “Pedro” Morrison taught geography and having been in the Merchant Navy he had been to a lot of the places we learned about. We had evacuee teachers for French and Woodwork but neither subject had any long term impact on me. Indeed, I think Miss Wilson despaired of teaching some of us French and we were wisely transferred to other subjects. I know that the School has enjoyed a good reputation in Music. In my time in-depth teaching of the subject must have been confined to students doing certain options. Regrettably for me, it consisted mainly of going over the footbridge to the St. Bride’s Hall and singing to a piano accompaniment. Someone found out that the Boys’ Own Paper fitted exactly into the song book and if you took a back seat you could catch up on all the latest adventures while your classmates sang their hearts out with such gems as “The Ash Grove” and “The British Grenadiers”. I have never been an active sportsman and again I recall that physical education in my time was not taxing in any way. Teddy Moore took us in the gymnasium with rope climbing, vaulting, wall-bars and what seemed to me to be a great deal of running on the spot. Apart from playtimes we didn’t get out on the field very much except perhaps for football. Here the trick was to try and get through a game without getting too near the ball; at the same time you had to ensure that Teddy Moore didn’t catch you. The girls’ physical education teacher, Miss Christenson, attempted to teach us some of the finer points of dancing but I think that she quickly realised that she was wasting her time with the boys and our involvement in dancing fizzled out. I am sure that the physical education curriculum got a boost after Dr McArthur became Rector. We never had a trip away during my time at the School. This might have been due to wartime limitations

11

on transport. There were not even any day field trips although in the primary school we sometimes went down to the Glebe identifying wild flowers. The school had a “wireless set” located on a high shelf in the main hall. I heard it on only one occasion; on the morning of 6 June 1944 we were marched in to listen to a news broadcast announcing the D-Day landings in Normandy. As it probably still does, the School had a wide catchment area. Two residential hostels catered for those from further afield. Morning and late afternoon saw the arrival and departure of packed Alexander’s buses and of course the famous little school train that went up that beautiful line alongside Loch Lubnaig. The buses were so packed that we sometimes referred to them as “Masses of Humanity”. Although we had severe winters during the period of my stay, I can’t remember any disruption to school attendance. The mid-morning milk came in bottles and the milk monitors frequently had to place them on the heating pipes to thaw them out - not always successfully. I left Callander and the School early in 1945 after just four years there. Subsequently I attended other schools but the McLaren High remains firmly etched in my memory as the one where the basis of my education was formed. It is the only one where I can recall most of the teachers and the names of many of my fellow pupils. The foregoing remarks show that I was perhaps an inattentive pupil and I am sure that, like a great many children, I didn’t make the best of the opportunities offered in school. I had to make up for this later in life. Even so I still have fond memories of the McLaren High School, its teachers and my fellow classmates.

Miss J S Kemp Mary Ross, Former Pupil

The June 2008 MHS Newsletter pays tribute to Mr F W L’Amie. This has prompted me to write of my regard for another loyal, enthusiastic, stalwart on the MHS staff – namely Miss J S Kemp of the Home Economics Department, a contemporary of Mr L’Amie. The staff photograph on page 6 of the 2008 newsletter shows Miss Kemp seated at the extreme left in the front row. When I started as a pupil at MHS in 1937 I was scheduled to take 2 languages, Latin and French. After a few months, I had had enough of Latin and changed over to Domestic Science as it was called in those days. This was a decision I never regretted. Miss Kemp was a wonderful teacher, strict but fair, and someone who cared about her pupils. When one became a ‘senior’ pupil she was more like a good friend. When I left MHS in 1942 I proceeded to a 4 year diploma at Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science. In 1948 I was appointed to MHS as an assistant to Miss Kemp. Unfortunately, Miss Kemp left during session 1948-1949. Her request for 3 months leave of absence, without pay, to nurse her elderly mother was refused. After 20+ years of service to Perth & Kinross Education Authority and MHS this was shameful. For many years I lost track of Miss Kemp. Somewhere around 1970 when I was a PT of Home Economics Miss Kemp came to examine my pupils at ‘O’ grade stage for their practical cookery examination. What a reunion that was – the former teacher and her former ‘higher’ pupil! We had many excellent teachers at MHS – Miss Kemp, Pop L’Amie, Bobby Mac, Miss Henly (the ‘wee hen’), Lizzie Robb, Wee Jake, Sidney Thomson and Nancy Adam to mention only a few. It is not surprising that we got such a good education with such dedicated teachers at MHS.

12

Memories of McLaren Clair Barrass (nee Turner), Former Pupil

I was at McLaren High from May 1977 to June 1981. I arrived just at the end of S1 having moved to Auchlyne (near Killin) from 'down south'. Trying to settle in to a year group that had already settled and bonded was tricky but some of the pupils and most of the staff made me feel welcome. My early memories of the school was its very different atmosphere from the all-girls Grammar School I had left - aside from the presence of boys, it was a lot less formal and stuffy, and a lot more forward-thinking. I recall that I was one of the furthest away from the school who travelled daily – pupils from further away in Crianlarich and Tyndrum travelled to Callander on Monday morning and boarded in Callander until Friday afternoon. I vividly remember my first school assembly, led by Mr McAskill the rector. He was a native Gaelic speaker and my ear was still completely untuned to Scots accents, and I didn’t understand a single word he uttered. He was an imposing and formidable figure, always dressed in a black suit and tie with white shirt, with his black university gown over the top. Most of the teachers wore gown to teach, but most were not so severe in their appearance as he was, earning him the moniker ‘Black Jock’ amongst the pupils. I remember the wonderful views from the art department - Miss Smilie was our registration teacher at one point, and I warmly remember Mr and Mrs Forrest, who between them somehow managed to get me a B in O'Grade art and, although I've never been much good, I still enjoy dabbling in arty things. I loved the sciences, and despite Mr Hunter despairing of me, and indeed telling me I'd never pass Chemistry, somehow I did. And Mr Morrow and his colour-blind circuit diagrams where none of us were quite sure what colour the wires were supposed to be in physics. And the other physics teacher whose name escapes me, who had two gorgeous 'Dulux' dogs that would sleep under his desk and who we would sometimes be permitted to take out for a walk for him at lunch time. I remember Mrs Stark, the fiercest of French teachers, but with a heart of pure gold, who gave me a love of the language which has lasted a lifetime. And Mrs Tweedie, who took pity on me when I was off school during 5th year for several weeks with Scarlet Fever and then Chickenpox, who took me home with her after school and gave me tea and chocolate biscuits and then some serious maths tuition, and so managed to get me the B I needed to get to university. I also remember my S4 Maths teacher (Mr McNaught?) buying the ZX80 computer when it first came out, and allowing a few of us to help him set it up and have a go. I think I was probably the only girl involved. I think it might well have also been he who arranged for us to visit Stirling University to see their computer and create a few punched-cards to input into it. I suspect that there began my love affair with computers. I remember Mr and Mrs Dunn, the geography duo, and their delight at sharing their holiday slides with classes every year. I remember taking part in the school 'Opera' written by Mr Milligan about the Seven Deadly Sins - and vividly remember standing on the hem of my velcro-fastened skirt on stage - and the resultant embarrassment when I rushed forward, but my skirt stayed behind in a sad little heap.

13

I remember Mr Elder in English who we all thought was getting to look more and more like the poster of Shakespeare on the wall behind each year. I remember a few PE teachers – Miss Aiken, and the male teachers I can recall only by their nicknames – Skippy and Beefy! I remember Miss Sim who allowed us to bring in our own records to listen to occasionally in music, and batted nary an eyelid when 'Bat Out of Hell' and 'Never Mind the Bollocks' were amongst the collection presented for playing. And insisted that we all listen to them properly and then discussed their musical artistic merit in a proper and dignified manner. I read the articles in the FP newsletter about the demise and recovery of the Home Economics department with a wry smile. My S2 nightdress dressmaking project probably went down in history as one of the biggest disasters to come about from the combination of fabric and sewing machine in the history of needlecraft! But I also remember that boys were not allowed in the HE department, and girls didn't do techie! In my entire time at the school I never once saw inside the Technical department, a great sadness to me as I know I would have loved it. My final recollection of Mr McAskill was of my fight to get him to sign my UCAS form – I wanted to leave at the end of S5 to study Engineering and Computer Science, but he told me sadly that that was not a ‘suitable’ choice for a young girl, and refused to sign it until I changed to apply for Physics and Computer Science instead! In the end, I did my degree in Computer Science only. I worked for several years as a systems analyst/programmer for Scottish Life before stopping to have my family. Since then I have become a Computing teacher and am now working in schools in both Edinburgh and Musselburgh.

The Pug Isabel Cowan (nee Allan), Former Pupil

I was a pupil at the school from 1948-1953 and my memories are of taking the train from Killin at 8.45a.m. (one engine - one carriage - we called it the pug) from Monday to Friday until I got a place in Ellangowan, the Girls’ Hostel. Miss Milne (Domestic Science) and Miss Sandison (French) also stayed in the Hostel and the Matron was Mrs Cameron. Perhaps someone with a better memory than me can produce an article on these experiences. Since moving to this area (Angus) I have met up with 3 FPs. The journey down to Callander by train was ok but the journey back could be hazardous when snow was on the ground. The pug came to Callander to pick us up after school and dumped the Killin pupils at Killin Junction and carried on to drop the pupils who lived further up the line. We stayed in an empty carriage, with no heating, until the engine came back for us. In the Winter we had snowfights with the boys and the compartments were soaking and we were frozen when we got home.

14

The Gallery

Mrs Susan MacArthur – Primary School Orchestra 1974

John Niven, Ian Drummond, Sandy Cram, John Newton Bridgend House Hotel 31/8/03

15

Obituaries

Kathleen Brown (nee Campbell) Kathleen’s death on 6 April at the age of 68 came as a great shock to her many friends. Born in Callander, the younger daughter of well-known local baker James Campbell, Kathleen was educated at McLaren High School and often helped in the family firm. Gifted in so many ways, especially art and music, her interests and activities were many and varied. After her marriage to Jimmy Brown they had a family of three, to whom they were devoted. Throughout her life Kathleen gave of her talents to help many people, often helping and inspiring by her skills and her sheer love of life. As both accordionist and singer she was well known in the area: latterly she became fascinated by computers and became an expert in genealogy. Her illness came suddenly, and all her many friends would join in sympathy to Jimmy, their children and all members of the family in their loss. Hutchison Growing up in Thornhill as children of the Manse, all the family attended McLaren High School. The deaths of two members of this family came within days of each other in December 2008. Brenda, the eldest, trained in nursing and midwifery; from 1953 she was employed as a health visitor in Stirling. She lived and looked after her parents in Doune and was very active with the Girl Guides, becoming a District Commissioner. In 1988 she moved into retirement accommodation in St Ninians and died on 24 December, aged 87. Her younger sister, Inga worked as a children’s nurse in Stirling and in Ireland. She married a Devon farmer in 1957 and spent the rest of her life there where she was very active in all local activities. It was stressed at her funeral that “a void had occurred in the community which would be very difficult to fill”. She died on 8 December and is survived by four daughters. My information came from Inga’s twin brother, Philip, who, with his wife Marjory (also educated at McLaren High School), lives in Edinburgh. As we send our sympathy to them and their families in this double loss, it seems an appropriate time to remember their brother, Andrew, who left school in 1940. He attended the Nautical College in Glasgow, and gained a berth with the Clan Shipping Line as an Officer Cadet, but was lost, age 18, on his first voyage when the S.S. Clan McFadyen was torpedoed off Trinidad in 1942. Irene Kerr (nee McLean) Sadly Irene passed away at home in Victoria, BC in October 2008 after a long and distressing illness. Irene belonged to Dunblane and became a pupil at McLaren High in the summer of 1949. Irene was invariably Dux Girl of her year and Dux of the school in 1954. She won the War Memorial Prize for Girls at the end of 3rd year in 1952. Despite struggling with asthma, Irene represented the school on the athletics field and was captain of Katrine. She was Head Girl in session 1954-55 and after studying at Glasgow University she married Norman Kerr who was Head Boy in the same school session. Irene and Norman spent their married life in Kingston, Canada and on retirement they moved to Victoria. A good number of Irene’s friends and former pupils met at the Riverhouse on 2 June 2009 together with Norman, son David, daughter-in-law Mary Rita, granddaughter Ailsa and brother Christopher to remember and give thanks for Irene’s life. Irene Knox Irene was one of the first evacuees from Glasgow who came to McLaren High School in 1939, and was resident in the Girl’s Hostel at Ellangown throughout her time in Callander. A very gentle, quiet and unassuming person, she was a good friend to many of us, and remained in touch even after her return to Glasgow. As long as her health permitted she was a faithful supporter of the Reunions, from the days of F.P. dances in the Ancaster Hotel and the meetings which have taken place since Centenary year. She died in January this year in Glasgow and her death is mourned by many friends and former pupils.

16

Reunion Information

McLaren FP Reunion 2009

Saturday 12 September 2009

12.30pm for 1.00pm

For further information or to order tickets please contact Elaine McClelland on 01877 330156

Class 0f '69 Reunion

There are plans to hold a 40th anniversary reunion on 25 July 2009.

Although this reunion is mainly for the class which entered MHS in 1963 and left (for those who did 6 years) in 1969, we would be only too pleased to see anybody from years before and after. If you were in our class and left after only 1, 2, 3, 4 or

5 years for whatever reason, you are definitely included.

We had a small get together last year and it was highly enjoyable. The chat, friendship and bonmomie were such that it was clear that the intervening years hadn't changed our relationships much. We are sure that you will find the same

this year.

We would like to hear from anybody who would be interested in attending. We have decided to open the evening to anyone from the classes above and below us i.e. those who would have left in 1968 and 1970. Please contact Allan Jack at

allanmjack@hotmail.com for further details.

Allan Jack and Hilda Bywater (nee Taylor)