Beath High School is a non-denomational

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

secondary school in

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

, Fife. The school is run by

Fife Council Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members. Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...

and the current roll stands at around 1200 pupils aged from 11 to 18. It serves

and

Kelty Kelty (Scottish Gaelic: Cailtidh) is a former coal mining village located in Fife, Scotland. Lying in the heart of the old mining heartlands of Fife, it is situated on the Fife/Kinross-shire boundary and has a population of around 6,000 r ...

and the villages of Crossgates,

Hill of Beath Hill of Beath (; sco, Hill o Beath) is a hill and a village in Fife, Scotland, just outside Dunfermline and joined to Cowdenbeath. On 16 June 1670 the Hill of Beath was the location of a celebrated meeting of the Covenanters at which preachers ...

and

Lumphinnans Lumphinnans (Scottish Gaelic: Lann Fhìonain) is a small, former mining village along the B981 road, from west to east between the towns of Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly, in central Fife. Lumphinnans Primary and Community School is the local prima ...

. Some pupils from

Lochgelly Lochgelly ( ; gd, Loch Gheallaidh, IPA: �ɫ̪ɔxˈʝaɫ̪ai is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is located between Loch Ore, Lochs Ore and Gelly to the north-west and south-east respectively. It is separated from Cowdenbeath by the village of ...

and

Ballingry Ballingry ( or locally or (older) ); sco, Ballingry, Bingry, gd, Baile Iongrach) is a small town in Fife, Scotland. It is near the boundary with Perth and Kinross, north of Lochgelly. It has an estimated population (2016) of . The once separ ...

attend the school. The current rector is Stephen Ross. CowdenbeathSept03GU1

History

Beath High School was built in 1890 as ''Beath Higher Grade School'', catering for the children of local people who wished to proceed to higher education. This building was located on Stenhouse Street, close to the town centre. In 1964 a 'modern' school was opened on Foulford Road on the edge of the town. From 1964 until 1981 the two buildings operated as separate schools with the new building housing ''Beath Senior High School'' and catering for pupils perceived as more academic while the older building, then known as ''Beath Junior High School'', provided a more vocational education up to

O-grade The Ordinary Grade (commonly known as the "O-Grade") of the Scottish Certificate of Education is a now-discontinued qualification which was studied for as part of the Scottish secondary education system. It could be considered broadly equivalent ...

standard. Pupils from Beath Junior High, Ballingry Junior High and Auchterderran High had an opportunity to move to Beath Senior High at the end of their 2nd year or for 5th and 6th year if they wished to take '

Higher Grade In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher () is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualification ...

' qualifications. In 1981 the two schools were combined as Beath High School with the older building acting as an annexe for S1 and S2 pupils. The opening of the new

Lochgelly High School Lochgelly High School is a non-denominational secondary school located in Lochgelly, Fife. The school's catchment area covers Lochgelly and the surrounding towns and villages of Ballingry, Cardenden, Crosshill, Glencraig and Lochore Lochore i ...

in 1987 resulted in a significant change in the school catchment area and a reduction in the school roll. This reduction in headcount together with the poor state of repair of the Old Beath building resulted in the closure and, in the 1990s, the partial demolition of the Stenhouse Street building. Part of the Old Beath building, the Art Department, can still be seen on Stenhouse Street at the junction with Rowan Terrace. By the 1990s, the Foulford Road building was also in a poor state of repair and struggling to provide suitable teaching accommodation with many classes being taught in outdoor huts that were supposed to be temporary but were there for twenty years. In 2003 a new school building was completed to the east of the previous Foulford Road site allowing everything apart from the games hall built in the early 1980s to be demolished and a new all-weather sports pitch to be built on the former school site. In 2002, the school was awarded with the National Curriculum award.

Notable former pupils

Notable alumni of Beath High School *

Stuart Adamson William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...

; musician with the

Skids (band) Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jo ...

and

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scott ...

* Eric Archibald: footballer with Cowdenbeath F.C. *

Jim Baxter James Curran Baxter (29 September 1939 – 14 April 2001) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a left half. He is generally regarded as one of the country's greatest ever players. He was born, educated and started his career i ...

; footballer with

Raith Rovers F.C. Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football L ...

Rangers F.C Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fo ...

and Scotland FC * Sir James Whyte Black; winner of the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

in 1988 for his work leading to the discovery of

propranolol Propranolol, sold under the brand name Inderal among others, is a medication of the beta blocker class. It is used to treat high blood pressure, a number of types of irregular heart rate, thyrotoxicosis, capillary hemangiomas, performance anx ...

and

cimetidine Cimetidine, sold under the brand name Tagamet among others, is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist that inhibits stomach acid production. It is mainly used in the treatment of heartburn and peptic ulcers. The development of longer-acting H2 rec ...

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

;

Hibernian F.C. Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...

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 Scotland FC midfielder * Archie Campbell;

Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

, Cowdenbeath F.C.,

Morton F.C. Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

Dumbarton F.C. Dumbarton Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Dumbarton, Scotland. Founded on 23 December 1872, they are one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland. The club plays home games at the Dumbarton Football Stadium next to Dumbar ...

and

Clyde F.C. Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club who play in Scottish League One. Formed in 1877 at the River Clyde in Glasgow, the club host their home matches at New Douglas Park, having played at Broadwood Stadium from 1994 ...

forward *

Harry Ewing, Baron Ewing of Kirkford Harry Ewing, Baron Ewing of Kirkford, (20 January 1931 – 9 June 2007) was a Labour politician in Scotland. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 21 years, from a by-election in 1971 until the 1992 general election, when he became a ...

; politician *

Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge Janet Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge, PC LLD HonFRA (3 November 1904 – 16 November 1988), known as Jennie Lee, was a Scottish politician. She was a Labour Member of Parliament from a by-election in 1929 until 1931 and then from 1945 to ...

; politician *

Jim Leishman Jim Leishman MBE (born 15 November 1953) is a Scottish Labour Party politician and former professional footballer who is currently Provost of Fife and an honorary director of Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. Career Player ...

; footballer with

Dunfermline F.C. Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...

, Cowdenbeath F.C. and football manager * William McLaren; artist and illustrator * Iain Paxton;

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, ...

and

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

rugby international * Andrew Polhill; Mr Universe 2012 * Sir Ian James Rankin; Scottish crime writer

Current building

The current building stands on three floors, separated into three blocks, joined together at the back of the school.

Houses

Beath High School has four houses, each named after the lochs In Scotland. Each house has House Captains, made up from pupils across S1-S6. *Katrine *Lomond *Ness *Rannoch Previous House Names were *Oakfield *Cantsdam *Fordel *Mosside Beath (senior) high school used to have 4 houses named: *Glencraig *Kirkford *Lindsay *Aitken

References

External links

School info pageBeath High School's page on Scottish Schools Online
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1910 Secondary schools in Fife 1910 establishments in Scotland Cowdenbeath