Kelso High School, Scotland

Last updated

Kelso High School
Address
Kelso High School, Scotland
Angraflat Road [1]

Kelso

Scotland
Information
Type Secondary school
Motto'Doe or die'
Established1878
School districtScottish Borders
Head teacherJill Lothian [1]
Enrolment613 [1]
HousesKale, Bowmont and Teviot
Colour(s)   
Red, black and white
Website kelsohighschool.org.uk

Kelso High School is a state-funded comprehensive secondary school in Kelso, Scotland, under the control of the Scottish Borders Council. [2] It is one of nine secondary schools in the Scottish Borders and the only one in Kelso. Pupils come to Kelso High School from the town of Kelso, the villages of Ednam, Eckford, Stichill, Smailholm, Morebattle, Roxburgh, Yetholm and other hamlets in the surrounding area. [3] The current building was opened to students in November 2017. [1]

Contents

History

The first documentation of a grammar school in Roxburgh is in 1152. When Roxburgh was abandoned, the school became part of the Kelso Abbey and after the Reformation, it became known as Kelso Grammar School. It was a boys only, fee-paying school run by monks from the Kelso Abbey and was overseen by the Duke of Roxburghe, the Kirk Session and the Heritor. Fees were based on the number and type of courses taken. In 1156, it was mentioned as one of the four principal schools in Scotland. A new school was built in 1670 and was added to in 1780. The Kelso Grammar School was considered in very poor condition and closed its doors in February 1873.

On a site near the Abbey a new Kelso Public School was built and opened in 1879 with 523 pupils. In 1919, following the First World War the school came under control of the Education Authorities and the numbers attending the school exceeded 200. The school remained open until 1939 when the Army took possession. The school was opened in 1939 on Bowmont Street with 693 pupils. [4] [5] It was designed by Edinburgh architects George Reid and John Smith Forbes and today is Category B listed by Historic Scotland as a building of outstanding architectural interest. [6] [7] On 14 November 2017, the current building opened on Angraflat Road. [8] [9] In 2021, approval was sought for plans to demolish much of the old premises, retaining the listed facade. [10]

School badge

The Kelso High School badge was adopted when the school was opened and is based on the Coat of Arms of Douglas of Springwood, an estate just across the River Tweed from Kelso. Its design commemorates an event that took place during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Following Scottish King Robert the Bruce's successful fight for Scottish independence from England, he felt the need to join the Holy Land crusades. His desire was not fulfilled due to poor health that led to his death in 1329. Sir James Douglas, a close friend, promised to take his heart to the Holy Land after he would die.

Following Bruce's death, his heart was wrapped in lead and put into a silver casket. Douglas kept his promise and with some followers, headed off to fight in the crusades. They joined the fighting in Seville, Spain where Douglas was killed on 25 March 1330 in the battle of Zebas de Arcales. His body, along with Bruce's heart were brought back to Scotland and Bruce's heart was buried at Melrose Abbey.

Douglas was awarded the coat of arms with the heart and crown symbolizing Bruce's heart following his actions and carrying out his promise. The motto 'Doe or Die' symbolizes 'let us do or die,' Bruce's rallying cry to his troops before the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. [11]

Notable alumni of Kelso High School and the former Kelso Grammar School

Notable staff

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Roxburghe</span> Title in the peerage of Scotland

The Duke of Roxburghe is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford, Earl of Kelso and Viscount Broxmouth. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder of these titles. The title is derived from the royal burgh of Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders that in 1460 the Scots captured and destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jedburgh</span> Town in Scotland

Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in support of the D-Day invasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peebles</span> Town in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK

Peebles is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 was 9,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxburghshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. To the southwest it borders Cumberland and to the southeast Northumberland, both in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxburgh</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Roxburgh is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at least as much importance as Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, for a time acting as de facto capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Douglas, Lord of Douglas</span> Scottish knight and feudal lord

Sir James Douglas was a Scottish knight and feudal lord. He was one of the chief commanders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dryburgh Abbey</span> Former monastery in Scotland

Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place on 13 December 1152.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelso Abbey</span> Ruined abbey in Kelso, Scotland, UK

Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Scotland in the reign of Alexander I. It occupies ground overlooking the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot waters, the site of what was once the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh and the intended southern centre for the developing Scottish kingdom at that time. Kelso thus became the seat of a pre-eminently powerful abbacy in the heart of the Scottish Borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ballantyne</span> British publisher

James Ballantyne was a Scottish solicitor, editor and publisher who worked for his friend Sir Walter Scott. His brother John Ballantyne (1774–1821) was also with the publishing firm, which is noted for the publication of the Novelist's Library (1820), and many works edited or written by Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melrose Abbey</span> Monastery in Melrose, Scotland

St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of that order in the country until the Reformation. It was headed by the abbot or commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelso, Scottish Borders</span> Market town in the Scottish borders

Kelso is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire, it lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence. The town has a population of 5,639 according to the 2011 census and based on the 2010 definition of the locality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jedburgh Abbey</span>

Jedburgh Abbey, a ruined Augustinian abbey which was founded in the 12th century, is situated in the town of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders 10 miles (16 km) north of the border with England at Carter Bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxburgh Castle</span> Ruined castle near Roxburgh, Scotland

Roxburgh Castle is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of Scotland. The town and castle developed into the royal burgh of Roxburgh, which the Scots destroyed along with the castle after capturing it in 1460. Today the ruins stand in the grounds of Floors Castle, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe, across the river from Kelso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale</span> Scottish nobleman and soldier

Sir William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale, also known as the Knight of Liddesdale and the Flower of Chivalry, was a Scottish nobleman and soldier active during the Second War of Scottish Independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halydean</span> Scottish feudal Crown Barony and Lordship in Roxburghshire

Halydean is a Scottish feudal Crown Barony and Lordship in Roxburghshire in the neighbourhood of Kelso, in the Borderlands of Scotland, along the River Tweed. This area along the Tweed is home to the Scottish border clans, including the Armstrongs, Douglases, Elliots, Johnstones, Kers, Moffats, and many others. The Barony and Lordship of Halydean (Holydean) is one of the oldest Norman feudal baronies in Scotland with a living claimant.

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus and Margaret Hay of Yester. Known as the Great Earl of Angus. He succeeded to the Earldom following the death of his childless brother James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus in 1446. He was to become the first Red Chief of Douglas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowmont Water</span> Stream in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, England

Bowmont Water is a stream in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, England.

Plenderleith is a Scottish feudal Crown barony comprising approximately one half of Oxnam Parish, Roxburghshire, in the vicinity of Kelso, Scottish Borders. The earliest references to the estates of Plenderleith date to 1175, when John de Plenderleith witnessed a charter in lands in Teviotdale during the reign of William the Lion. By the mid-13th century, the lands of Plenderleith were held by Nicholas de Prendrelathe, lay abbott of Jedburgh Abbey. In 1292, the estates passed to his daughter, Johanna, the wife of Sir John Wishart (Wishard/Wischarde/Whyssard/Wyssard).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavers, Scottish Borders</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cavers is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former county of Roxburghshire, south and east of Hawick. The largest village in the parish is Denholm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprouston</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Sprouston is a village, parish and former feudal barony in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire, located 2 miles north-east of Kelso.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "School Handbook 2018-19" (PDF). Kelso High School. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Life in the Borders - Kelso Schools". Scottish Borders Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  3. ↑ "Catchment Area". Kelso High School. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  4. ↑ "Schools in Kelso". City of Kelso, Scotland. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  5. ↑ "History of KHS". Www.kelso.scotborders.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Edinburgh's Best - 150 Years of the EAA". Edinburgh Architectural Association. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Kelso High School, Bowmont Street, Kelso, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Kelso High School, Morrison Construction. Retrieved 1 February 2022
  9. ↑ Kelso High School, Hub South East Scotland. Retrieved 1 February 2022
  10. ↑ Approval for widescale demolition at former Kelso High School is being sought, The Southern Reporter, 23 November 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022
  11. ↑ "School Badge". Www.kelso.scotborders.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  12. ↑ Dow, Gwyneth, "Christina Smith Montgomery (1870–1965)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 11 January 2024
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.