Lesmahagow High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The new school building opened in 2007. The current head teacher is Barbara Lee. The school has four deputy head teachers: David Robertson, Linda Wright, Pamela Docherty and Alistair Gray.

Overview

The school's catchment area includes the villages of Lesmahagow, Auchenheath, Blackwood, Coalburn, Hawksland,

Kirkmuirhill Kirkmuirhill is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It borders Blackwood, near Lanark and is sited near Junction 9 of the M74 motorway. Its postal sector is ML11 9. History In 1810 John Begg, husband of Robert Burns youngest sister Isabe ...

and surrounding areas. The school uses a traditional house system. The pupils are organised into one of three guidance houses. The three houses are ''Kerse'' (red), ''Logan'' (yellow) and ''Milton'' (blue). The head teacher Barbara Lee took up the post in August 2021,taking over from Richard McGowan . Lesmahagow's affiliated primary schools include Bent Primary in

, Blackwood Primary in Blackwood, Milton Primary and Woodpark Primary in Lesmahagow and Coalburn Primary in Coalburn.

History

According to photographer David Hall, "In 2004,

South Lanarkshire Council South Lanarkshire Council ( gd, Comhairle Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas) is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and a budget of almost £1b ...

began an ambitious School Modernisation Programme to modernise or replace all primary and secondary schools in its area. In Lesmahagow, Lesmahagow High School and Woodpark and Milton Primary Schools were all replaced with new buildings." The new school building opened in 2007, replacing the former Lesmahagow Higher Grade School buildings. The school consists of two buildings, linked by a footbridge. Like other schools in Scotland, Lesmahagow aims to fulfil the requirements of

Curriculum for Excellence Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for Scottish schools for learners from the ages 3–18. It was developed out of a 2002 consultation exercise – the 'National Debate on Education' – undertaken by the-then Scottish Execut ...

. Lesmahagow High School was inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) in November 2009. Following the publication of the report in January 2010, the Head Teacher and staff prepared an action plan to address the main recommendations; an interim report on progress was published in 2011. In 2012, a report by EKOS Consultants for South Lanarkshire County Council noted that pupils' Year 4 attainment was typical for Scotland, but "examination results for both 5th and 6th years are aubstantially below local and national levels". The report also notes that unemployment for the school's ex-pupils was higher than average. The school has celebrated National Science and Engineering week and provides pupils with careers advice. In 2015 Keith Anderson the CEO of

Scottish Power Scottish Power is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola. ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, Nor ...

visited the school. In 2016, a pupil at the school achieved grades that were among the highest in Scotland that year. The school has longstanding adoption of a strong anti-bigotry policy.

Buildings

The new school building was built close to the original site. Demolition of the old school building started in mid-December 2007 and was completed in 2009. File:Higher Grade School Building - geograph.org.uk - 1050782.jpg, 2005 Higher Grade School Building File:Lesmahagow High School - geograph.org.uk - 56132.jpg, 2005 (old building) File:Lesmahagow High School (old site) - geograph.org.uk - 1050767.jpg, 2008 (old building)

Notable alumni

Lesmahagow Higher Grade School

Alexander Cairncross (economist) Sir Alexander Kirkland Cairncross (11 February 1911 – 21 October 1998) was a British economist. He was the brother of the spy John Cairncross and father of journalist Frances Cairncross and public health engineer and epidemiologist Sandy Cair ...

* Tom Fraser, politician

Lesmahagow High School

* Jimmy Hood, politician * Alasdair Grant Taylor, artist

References

External links

Lesmahagow High School websiteLesmahagow High School
on ParentZone at education.gov.scot
Images:Old buildings now derelictEstablishment Improvement Plan 2019 - 2020
{{authority control Lesmahagow School buildings completed in 2007 Buildings and structures demolished in 2009 Secondary schools in South Lanarkshire