Blairmore School was an independent boarding preparatory school in Glass near Huntly,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

until its closure in 1993. The site is now owned and used by a Christian organisation called Ellel Ministries International as a prayer, training and healing retreat centre.

History

Blairmore School was established in 1947 as an independent

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

for boys aged 8–13 by Colonel D.R. Ainslie D.S.O., B.A., a keen educationalist, Cambridge graduate and retired Seaforth Highlander. The school turned co-ed in 1975 and closed in 1993. Blairmore had its own tartan.

Former pupils

Ken Ballantyne Ken Ballantyne (15 October 1940 – 10 November 2016) was a Scottish athlete who specialised in the mile. He represented Scotland in international competition between 1961 and 1966. Athletics Ballantyne was born in India and educated at Bl ...

(1940–2016), Scottish athlete. *

Malcolm Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness Malcolm Ian Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness, (born 3 November 1948), is a Scottish Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords as one of the remaining hereditary peers. He is also 20th Lord Berriedale, 15th Baronet, of Canisbay, C ...

(born 1948), Conservative politician. *

Grenville Johnston Lieutenant Colonel Grenville Shaw Johnston, (born 28 January 1945) is a retired British accountant and Territorial Army officer. He is the former Lord Lieutenant of Moray. Early life Johnston was born on 28 January 1945 in Nairn, Scotland. At a ...

(born 1945), accountant and Lord Lieutenant of Moray. * David Sole (born 1962), Scottish rugby union captain.

Blairmore House

Blairmore House, the former school's premises, is a Victorian country house set amid of park and woodland beside the River Deveron, from Huntly, from Aberdeen and from Inverness. The house was designed by the architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and was built in 1884 as a private house for Alexander Geddes, a wealthy businessman and great-great grandfather of the former British Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

. Cameron's father, Ian Donald Cameron, was born in the house in 1932. Geddes made his fortune in Chicago in the US in the trading of grain in the 1850s, and a safe belonging to him which survived the Great Fire of Chicago was installed in the house's Billiard Room. During the Second World War it served as GHQ Home Forces for some of the Auxiliary Units based in Aberdeenshire and had a training area within the grounds of the house and nearby land. Auxunit Patrols was a special force consisting of between six and eight men trained in the utmost secrecy to a high standard. In the event of a German invasion, they would go to ground and carry out a clandestine war against the occupying forces. After the school's closure, Blairmore House was run as a private hunting lodge for several years. The building is now used as a prayer and intercession training school and retreat centre run by an evangelical Christian group called Ellel Ministries. Blairmore House is a Category C listed building.

Footnotes

{{authority control Defunct boarding schools in Scotland Defunct schools in Aberdeenshire Defunct preparatory schools in Scotland Defunct private schools in Scotland

History

Former pupils

Blairmore House

See also

Footnotes