Thurso High School in

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great ...

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

, Scotland, is the most northerly secondary school on mainland Great Britain. The Highland Council employs about 75 staff which work at the school. The current rector is Mrs H Flavell and the deputy rectors are A Nicoll, C Omand and J Miller. The school has just under 800 students. It consists of two main buildings and three huts.

History

In 1954 Basil Spence & Partners, along with Caithness County Architect Sandy Giavanni, were commissioned by the Thurso County Council to build a new high school. A large green-field site was chosen on the east side of County Road (now designated as Ormlie Road), to the south of the town. Officially opened in October 1958, Thurso High School is the most northerly secondary school on mainland Great Britain. The main campus is made up of a number of informally grouped buildings of varying heights surrounding a central courtyard. Each building is given individual surface treatment and a variety of contrasting materials have been used including Caithness stone, polished stone, timber boarding, and concrete slabs. The building featured a carved granite abstract 'Education' by Ann Henderson RSA, who was born in Thurso and studied and taught at Edinburgh College of Art. The school was commissioned in two phases, the first completed in October 1958 and the second begun in May 1959. The reason for the extension to the school was the growth in Thurso and the surrounding area's population after the development of the

Dounreay Dounreay (; gd, Dùnrath) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland. It is on the A836 road west of Thurso. The nuclear establishments were create ...

nuclear power station. Although the school was built in anticipation of a population increase, the growth was greater and more rapid than expected, and at its peak Dounreay's staff of 2,400 people trebled the size of the town. In October 2022, part of the school was closed off following potential concerns about part of the building's concrete frame, following an inspection by engineers of a three-storey 1960s-era extension block.

References

External links

thursohighschool.org.uk Official website

Thurso High School's page
on Education Scotland's ParentZone Buildings and structures in Caithness Secondary schools in Highland (council area) Thurso 1958 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1958 {{Scotland-school-stub