St Gerard's RC Secondary was a secondary school in

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

, Glasgow, 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 Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

as being a priority in terms of social deprivation. It was quoted in 1991 that almost 50 per cent 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 is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

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 (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

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 north-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 (; ,
) is an outlying suburb of the Scotlan ...

. 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, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

Trish Godman Patricia Godman (née Leonard; 31 October 1939 – 21 July 2019) was a Scottish Labour 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 the ...

Roderick Wright Roderick Wright (28 June 1940 – 23 May 2005) was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles from 1990 to 1996. Early life Born in the Kingston district of Glasgow on 28 June 1940, Wright was one of four ...

* Joe McBride * Jim Craig *

Johnny Quigley John Quigley (28 June 1935 – 30 November 2004) was a Scottish Association football, football midfielder and coach. His career peaked when he won the 1959 FA Cup Final with Nottingham Forest. Playing career Celtic He began his career as a pro ...

Johnny Quigley profile
acumfaegovan.com; accessed 30 August 2017. * Harry Haddock * Johnny Beattie * Jimmy Dewar

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