Allan Glen's School was, for most of its existence, a
local authority, selective secondary school for boys in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland, charging nominal fees for tuition.
It was founded by the Allan Glen's Endowment Scholarship Trust on the death, in 1850, of
Allan Glen, a successful Glasgow tradesman and businessman, "to give a good practical education and preparation for trades or businesses, to between forty to fifty boys, the sons of tradesmen or persons in the industrial classes of society". The School was formally established in 1853
and located in the
Townhead
Townhead ( gd, Ceann a' Bhaile, sco, Tounheid) is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated immediately north-east of Glasgow city centre and contains a residential sector (redeveloped from an older neighbourhood in the mid 20th ...
district of the city, on land that Glen had owned on the corner of North Hanover Street and Cathedral Street.
School's evolution
Although notionally fee-paying, the school offered a large number of
bursaries
A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some aw ...
and enrolled pupils from all social classes, selected on the basis of academic ability. The school's emphasis on science and engineering led to it becoming, in effect, Glasgow's High School of Science. As such, in 1887
its management merged with the nearby Anderson's College to form the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College which later became the Royal Technical College in 1912, the
Royal College of Science and Technology
The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964, and is the predecessor institution of the University of Strathclyde. Its main building on George Street now serve ...
in 1956, and ultimately the
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
in 1964. By the end of 1888 a new building was ready for the school in North Hanover Street.
Glasgow corporation
In 1912, the school was transferred from the newly designated Royal Technical College to the School Board of Glasgow run by
Glasgow Corporation
The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament.
Local government
As one o ...
.
Parents who paid domestic or business rates to Glasgow Corporation were charged a much reduced fee, enabling children from less wealthy households, but who had passed the entrance exam, to benefit from the high standard of teaching at the school. In 1923, playing fields were acquired for the school in the suburb of
Bishopbriggs
Bishopbriggs ( sco, The Briggs; gd, Achadh an Easbaig) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the city centre. Historically in Lanarkshire, the area was once part of ...
and in 1926 the school itself moved into the building previously occupied by Provanside Public School in North Montrose Street.
In 1958 a new school building was planned on Cathedral Street, adjacent to the existing one. The new school building was opened in 1964.
Merger with City Public School
Selective schooling was discontinued in Scottish local authority schools in 1972, and Allan Glen's was merged with the City Public School to become a local co-educational
comprehensive school on 22 August 1973, known as Allan Glen's Secondary School.
Following a major re-organisation of school provision, brought about by falling birth rates, population migration and declining school rolls throughout the city, including Allan Glen's, the school was formally closed in 1989.
City of Glasgow College
Following the closure of Allan Glen's Secondary School, the buildings on Cathedral Street were converted into an annexe for the nearby Glasgow
Central College of Commerce
Central College, formerly Central College of Commerce, was a college situated in the centre of Glasgow. It merged with Glasgow Metropolitan College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in 2010 to form City of Glasgow College. The college had ...
.
The Cathedral Street buildings were demolished in 2013 to enable construction of the
City of Glasgow College, a new entity created by the merger of three former further education Colleges,
Central College,
Glasgow Metropolitan College and
Glasgow College of Nautical Studies
Glasgow College of Nautical Studies was a further education college of nautical and maritime studies, and a provider of marine and offshore training courses. On 26 March 2009, it was announced that the college would merge with the Central Colle ...
.
Playing fields
The playing fields first opened at Bishopbriggs in 1923 and are still owned by the Allan Glen's School Club. They provide the home ground for
Allan Glen's Rugby Football Club, which currently plays in the
West Regional League Division 1. In 2012, proposals were announced to sell part of the playing fields, following a change in the legal structure of the Trust that controls the assets of the Allan Glen's School Club.
Notable alumni
Although the school emphasised science and engineering, many of its former pupils are also present throughout politics, business, industry, and the arts.
*
Bill Aitken MSP, politician
*
Sir John Anderson, 1st Baronet, of Harrold Priory, businessman
*
William Auld
William Auld (6 November 1924 – 11 September 2006) was a British poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto.
Life
Auld was born at Erith in Kent, and then moved to Glasgow with his parents, attending Alla ...
, poet, author, translator
* Prof Dr
James Allan Jamieson Bennett
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
, pioneer of helicopter flight and designer of the
Gyrodyne
A gyrodyne is a type of VTOL aircraft with a helicopter rotor-like system that is driven by its engine for takeoff and landing only, and includes one or more conventional propeller or jet engines to provide forward thrust during cruising flig ...
*
Sir Dirk Bogarde, actor and writer
*
Hugh Dunbar Brown MP, politician
*
Thomas Graham Brown
Thomas Graham Brown FRS (usually known as T. Graham Brown; 27 March 1882 – 28 October 1965) was a Scottish mountaineer and physiologist, most famous for finding three new routes up the east face of Mont Blanc.
Life and academic work
Graham B ...
, Electrical Engineer and co-designer of first medical ultrasound scanner.
*
Walter Brown (mathematician)
Walter Brown FRSE (29 April 1886, Glasgow – 14 April 1957, Marandellas, Rhodesia) was a Scottish mathematician and engineer.
Life
The younger son of Hugh A. Brown, a headmaster in Paisley, Walter was educated at Allan Glen's School and ...
, engineer and mathematician
FRSE
*
Admiral Sir Lindsay Sutherland Bryson KCB, engineer, Controller of the Navy
* Sir
John Buchanan (director of aircraft production) John Buchanan may refer to:
Business
* John Buchanan (oil executive) (1943–2015), New Zealand-born scientist and director
* John C. Buchanan (businessman) (fl. 1846–1848), businessman in San Francisco
* John Murdoch Buchanan (1897–1975), bus ...
CBE, FRS FRAeS MIMechE, President of the Royal Aeronautical Society, director of aircraft production
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*
Sir Kenneth Calman,
Chief Medical Officer of Scotland
*
Donald Cameron, Aeronautical Engineer and pioneer of modern hot air ballooning.
*
Dr. John Arnold Cranston FRSE, Research chemist, co-discoverer of
protactinium
Protactinium (formerly protoactinium) is a chemical element with the symbol Pa and atomic number 91. It is a dense, silvery-gray actinide metal which readily reacts with oxygen, water vapor and inorganic acids. It forms various chemical compounds ...
* Sir
Andrew Davidson (chief medical officer) MB ChB DL (Glasgow),
Chief Medical Officer for Scotland
In the United Kingdom, a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is the most senior government advisor on matter relating to health. There are four CMOs in the United Kingdom who are appointed to advise their respective governments:
* Government of the Uni ...
1941-54, footballer for
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...
and
St Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire, that competes in the Scottish Premiership after winning the 2017–18 Scottish Championship. Founded in 1877, the team has two nicknames, ''the ...
*
Gregor Duncan Episcopalian
Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway
* Prof
William Jolly Duncan FRS, pioneer researcher in aero-elasticity and air flutter
* Dr
Tom Eastop, Engineer, academic and author
*
Leonard Findlay, pediatrician, first person to hold the Samson Gemmell Chair of Child Health at the University of Glasgow
*
Sir Harold Montague Finniston FRS, engineer and industrialist
* The Reverend Professor
John Macdonald Graham CBE,
Deputy Lieutenant of Aberdeen,
Lord Provost of the City of Aberdeen 1961-64, Professor of Systematic Theology at The University of Aberdeen
*
Dr Ian Greer, obstetrician; President and Vice Chancellor,
Queen's University Belfast.
*
Bernard Parker Haigh, professor of
applied mechanics
Applied mechanics is the branch of science concerned with the motion of any substance that can be experienced or perceived by humans without the help of instruments. In short, when mechanics concepts surpass being theoretical and are applied and e ...
in the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich
The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...
*
Robin Hall
Robin Hall (27 June 1936 – 18 November 1998) was a Scottish folksinger, best known as half of a singing duo with Jimmie Macgregor. Hall was a direct descendant of the famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor as well as of th ...
, singer and broadcaster
* Dr
John Vernon Harrison, structural geologist and explorer
* Prof
John Gordon Harrower FRSE, anatomist
* Prof
James Blacklock Henderson, naval architect, inventor, academic
*
Bill Hill (computing graphics pioneer), computing graphics pioneer with
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
*
Sir James Colquhoun Irvine, Scientist, academic and educator, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews 1921-52.
*
James Alexander Jameson CBE, LH, Hon MIMechE, mechanical engineer, director of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
*
SVT Jeffrey, pioneer of the Canadian Pacific Railway, member of the first Scottish Schoolboys' international football team
*
Sir William Alexander Jeffrey, KCB, civil servant
*
David Cunningham King, South African businessman and chairman Of
Rangers Football Club
*
Sir Robert Alan Langlands, academic, educator, vice-chancellor of the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
*
Prof Donald Neil McArthur FRSE, director of the Macaulay Institute of Soil Research
*
Angus John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of Tradeston
*
Michael William Frederick MacKenzie, MSP
*
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...
, architect, artist and designer
*
Hugh Miller MacMillan, Shipbuilding Engineer.
Lloyd's Register of Shipping
Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...
. Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Blythswood Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.
*
Wing Commander Norman Macmillan OBE, MC, combat pilot, test pilot and author
*
David Forbes Martyn
David Forbes Martyn FAA FRS (27 June 1906 – 5 March 1970) was a Scottish-born Australian physicist and radiographer.R. W. Home,Martyn, David Forbes (1906–1970), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Austra ...
, physicist, radiographer, founder of Australian Academy of Science
*
Ian McCallum, naval architect and chief designer for the liner
Queen Elizabeth 2,
Lloyd's
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...
Chief Ship Surveyor.
*
Sir John Mills McCallum, MP, politician
* Sir
Andrew McCance DL DSc LLD (Strathclyde) FRS, metallurgist, industrialist, chair of Governors of the
Royal College of Science and Technology
The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964, and is the predecessor institution of the University of Strathclyde. Its main building on George Street now serve ...
*
Duncan MacRae, actor, comedian.
*
Sir Robert Arthur McCrindle, MP, politician
*
Henry Bell McCubbin, MEP, politician
*
Harry Duncan McGowan, 1st Baron McGowan KBE, chairman and managing director of Imperial Chemical Industries
*
Roderick M McKay, chess
international master
*
David Gemmell McKinlay FRSE, civil Engineer and academic
*
Jack McLean (journalist), journalist, author
* Sir
James McFadyen McNeill, principal naval architect for the
Queen Mary and
Queen Elizabeth
*
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...
, comic book writer and playwright.
* Prof
Thomas Crawford Phemister, FRSE, geologist
* Dr
James Phemister, FRSE, geologist
*
Craig Pritchett, chess
international master
*
George Strachan Ramsay, footballer, Royal Air Force, killed in action 1918
*
Jon Rankin, MP, politician
*
Dr Gordon Rintoul, CBE FRSE, director of National Museums Scotland
*
Brian Alexander Robertson, actor, singer, composer
*
Sir David Robertson, MP, politician
* Prof
William Russell FRSE, molecular virologist, founder of Scientists for Labour
* Prof
Alan Sked
Alan Sked (born 22 August 1947) is a Scottish eurosceptic academic notable for having founded the Anti-Federalist League (in order to oppose the Maastricht Treaty) and its successor the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He is Professor Emeritus o ...
, Academic, politician and founder of the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
*
John Kendrick Skinner VC, DCM
*
Robert Haldane Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin, chairman of the Green Investment Bank; BBC governor
*
Alan Spence Author, poet, playwright, emeritus professor of creative writing at
Aberdeen University
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
*
Rev Campbell Stephen, MP, politician
* Dr
Walter Wilson Stothers
Walter Wilson Stothers (8 November 1946 – 16 July 2009) was a British mathematician who proved the Stothers-Mason Theorem ( Mason-Stothers theorem) in the early 1980s.
He was the third and youngest son of a family doctor in Glasgow and a mothe ...
, Scottish Mathematician. PhD in Number Theory, Cambridge University (1972). Proved the
Mason-Stothers theorem in 1981.
*
Hugh Brown Sutherland, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering, Vice President,
Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
, renowned Soil Mechanics expert
*
George Walker Thomson, prominent trade unionist,
President of the Trades Union Congress for 1946/47.
*
Robert Sinclair Thomson RSA, Artist, winner of the
Royal Scottish Academy's Guthrie Award in 1948 and elected a member of RSA in 1952.
*
Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd, OM, PRS, FRSE, Nobel laureate, biochemist
*
Edward Tull Warnock, first professionally-qualified black dentist in Britain.
*
Sir Archibald Boyd Tunnock, Businessman and Philanthropist.
*
Prof George Macdonald Urquhart FRSE FRCVS eminent Veterinarian, developer of the Dictol cattle vaccine.
*
Sir John Weir, GCVO, Royal Victorian Chain,
Physician Royal
*
William Douglas Weir, 1st Viscount Weir GCB, PC, engineer, industrialist
* Prof
Henry Wallace Wilson FRSE, nuclear physicist, first director of the Scottish Universities' Research and Reactor Centre
*
Robert Winter
Dr. Robert W. Winter (July 17, 1924 - February 9, 2019) was an architectural historian. He was the Arthur G. Coons Professor of the History of Ideas, Emeritus, at Occidental College, Los Angeles. He is particularly known for his contributions ...
, politician, former Lord Provost of Glasgow
*
George Ralston Wyllie, MBE, artist and sculptor
References
Sources
Allan Glen's School ClubThe Glasgow Story
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Defunct boys' schools in Scotland
Defunct secondary schools in Glasgow