Abronhill High School was a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

, comprehensive,

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Abronhill Abronhill () is an area in the north-east of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It extends from Cumbernauld Town Centre. Abronhill was planned with its own shopping centre and has three primary schools, along with several churches. Abronhi ...

, a suburb of the Scottish

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

. The school roll was 473 pupils in January 2009. The school was the setting of the 1981 Scottish film ''

Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...

''. Abronhill High School was located near Abronhill Shopping Centre. It closed in June 2014. The school was used by director

Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films ''Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Ma ...

for the external location scenes of his 1981

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

romantic comedy film

History

The school was opened on 22 November 1978 by a local councillor, Martin Green. Abronhill High School was the third non-denominational high school to open in the Cumbernauld area. It was built for a capacity of around 1000 students although in years before its closure the school roll was only around 500. In 2007 pupils at the school piloted a mountain biking scheme that was developed with Forestry Commission Scotland. On 1 September 2008, pupils at Abronhill High were the first in Scotland to receive the

HPV vaccine Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are vaccines that prevent infection by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Available HPV vaccines protect against either two, four, or nine types of HPV. All HPV vaccines protect against at least HP ...

at their school.

Closure

In September 2012

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

Council (NLC) informed parents that it wished to close Abronhill High from August 2013 and transfer pupils to

Cumbernauld High Cumbernauld Academy (formerly Cumbernauld High School) was the first comprehensive secondary school in the then ' New Town' of Cumbernauld. It was designed by Scottish architects Gratton & McLean and it opened in 1964 and is a non-denominatio ...

. NLC's learning and leisure services committee approved the merger of these schools, saying that they anticipated this would address a falling school roll and be part of £1.3million of savings. It was subsequently delayed until 2014 following a consultation. The plan was criticised for damaging pupils' education. This did not stop NLC from going forward with the closure, and on 27 June 2014, the school was closed. Demolition commenced on 18 November 2014.

Redevelopment

After demolition the site remained vacant for almost a decade. The initial council plan to sell the land to a housing developer stalled due to local and political opposition. In June 2020, NLC announced the area would not be sold for housing instead it proposed a new strategy where the former Abronhill school "will be assessed as a potential site for a future town and community hub, incorporating primary school provision and improved community facilities".

References

External links

HMIE report on Abronhill High School
{{Coord, 55, 57, 33, N, 3, 57, 11, W, type:edu_region:GB, display=title Educational institutions established in 1978 1978 establishments in Scotland Defunct schools in North Lanarkshire Educational institutions disestablished in 2014 2014 disestablishments in Scotland Cumbernauld