St Gerard's RC Secondary was a secondary school in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

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, formerly known as St Gerard's Senior Secondary School. The school took pupils from a number of areas designated by

Strathclyde Region Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. ...

as being a priority in terms of social deprivation. It was quoted in 1991 that almost 50 percent of pupils were entitled to free school meals.

History

In the 1960s, the school became a comprehensive. An attempt was made by

Glasgow District Council 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 ...

to close the school in 1993, along with a number of other schools in the city. A joint action group representing the parents of the various schools was formed, and they put forward a request for the school to be opted-out of local authority control within the terms of the Self Governing Schools (Scotland) Act 1989 which was then in force. The dispute surrounding the closure and the use of the opt-out legislation went to the House of Lords, where it was ruled that Strathclyde region had acted unlawfully when the councillors voted to close St. Gerards after a ballot for the opt-out had been called. The campaign by the joint action group was successful in keeping the school open for at least a few more years. The school was finally closed in 1998 as part of a

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

plan which included the closure of seven secondary schools in the city, including five denominational Catholic schools. Pupils moved to

Lourdes Secondary School Lourdes Secondary School, established in 1956, is a school in the south-west of Glasgow which serves a large catchment area, including the communities of Cardonald, Craigton, Crookston, Drumoyne, Govan, Hillington, Ibrox, Kinning Park, Mosspa ...

Cardonald Cardonald ( sco, Cardonal, gd, Cair Dhòmhnaill
) is ...

. This proposal was publicly criticised by Cardinal Thomas Winning as sacrificing the needs of the children in the Catholic community for the sake of short term financial gain.

Former pupils

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

Trish Godman Patricia Godman (née Leonard; 31 October 1939 – 21 July 2019) was a Scottish Labour Party politician who served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2003 to 2011. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for ...

* Roderick Wright * Joe McBride * Jim Craig *

Johnny Quigley John Quigley (28 June 1935 – 30 November 2004) born in the Govan area of Glasgow he was a Scottish football midfielder and coach. His career peaked when he won the 1959 FA Cup Final with Nottingham Forest. Playing career Celtic He began his ...

Johnny Quigley profile
acumfaegovan.com; accessed 30 August 2017. *

Harry Haddock Henry Haddock (26 July 1925 – 18 December 1998) was a Scottish footballer who played as a left back and spent almost his entire career with Clyde. He was also selected in the Scotland squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was renowned for ...

Johnny Beattie John Gerard Beattie MBE (9 November 1926 – 9 July 2020) was a Scottish actor and stand-up comedian whose career spanned over six decades. He appeared on shows including the sketch show '' Scotch & Wry'' and the sitcom ''Rab C. Nesbitt'', and ...

Jimmy Dewar James Dewar (12 October 1942 – 16 May 2002) was a Scottish musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for Robin Trower and Stone the Crows, the latter having its beginnings as the resident band at Burns Howff in Glasgow. Biography Dewa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Gerard's Roman Catholic Secondary School, Govan Secondary schools in Glasgow Defunct Catholic secondary schools in Scotland Defunct secondary schools in Glasgow Govan Educational institutions disestablished in 1998 Educational institutions established in 1937 1937 establishments in Scotland 1998 disestablishments in Scotland