Thurso High School

Last updated

Thurso High School
Address
Thurso High School
Ormlie Road

,
KW14 7DS

Scotland
Information
TypeSecondary
Established1958
School district Caithness
Local authority Highland
Head teacherH Flavell
GenderMixed
Age11to 18
Enrolment774 (Jan 2016)
HousesPentland, Olrig, Dirlot, Brims, Forss
Colour(s)Red and black
Website http://thursohighschool.org.uk/

Thurso High School in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, is the most northerly secondary school on mainland Great Britain.

Contents

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 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. [1]

Related Research Articles

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

Thurso 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 Britain. From a latitudal standpoint, Thurso is located further north than the southernmost point of Norway and in addition lies more than 500 miles (800 km) north of London.

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

Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island of Stroma</span> Island off the coast of Scotland

The Island of Stroma or Isle of Stroma or Stroma, is an uninhabited island off the northern coast of the mainland of Scotland, just north of John o' Groats. It is the most southerly of the islands in the Pentland Firth between the Orkney islands and the traditional county of Caithness and therein the civil parish of Canisbay, the northeasternmost part of the mainland. Stroma is part of the county of Caithness. The name is from the Old Norse Straumr-øy meaning "island in the [tidal] stream".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dounreay</span> Location of two former nuclear research establishments in northern Scotland

Dounreay 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 nine miles west of Thurso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnet Head</span>

Dunnet Head is a peninsula in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.

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

Wick is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population of 6,954 at the time of the 2011 census, a decrease of 3.8% from 2001.

Thurso Bay, known also as Scrabster Bay, is a bay of Atlantic water between the points of Clairdon Head and Holborn Head on the north coast of Caithness, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It is the most northerly constituency on the British mainland. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

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

Reay is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. It is within the historic Parish of Reay and the historic county of Caithness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reay Parish Church</span>

Reay Parish Church is a Church of Scotland parish church serving Reay, Caithness. It is one of the most northerly communities on the Scottish mainland, located several miles to west of Thurso. The largest local employer is the Dounreay nuclear facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgemas Junction railway station</span> Railway station in Highland, Scotland

Georgemas Junction railway station is a railway station located in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves several rural hamlets in the historic county of Caithness, including Georgemas, Roadside and Banniskirk. It is also the nearest station to the village of Halkirk, which lies approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) west of the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurso railway station</span> Railway station in Highland, Scotland

Thurso railway station is a railway station located in Thurso, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town of Thurso and its surrounding areas in the historic county of Caithness. It is also the nearest station to the port of Scrabster, which has ferry services linking the mainland with Stromness on the Orkney Islands. It is the northernmost station on the National Rail network.

The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was a Scottish railway company that built a line from Helmsdale, the terminus of the Duke of Sutherland's Railway to Wick and Thurso in Caithness, giving the northern towns access to Inverness. It was driven through by the efforts of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland and the engineer Joseph Mitchell in the face of apathy from interests in Wick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandside Chase</span>

The Sandside Chase was a Scottish clan battle which took place in 1437 in Caithness, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Thurso. The Clan Mackay launched a raid from Strathnaver towards Thurso until they encountered resistance from the locals at Dounreay. The Mackays then pulled back to Sandside, where they were joined by reinforcements and slaughtered the defenders on the coast north of Reay.

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

Bower is a village and civil parish in Highland, Scotland It is 10 miles from Thurso and around 11 miles from Wick. Bower is served by Wick, Thurso and Castletown for shopping, taxis and post offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfburn distillery</span>

Wolfburn distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. After ceasing production in the 1860s, a new distillery of the same name opened in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caithness Shinty Club</span>

Caithness Shinty Club is a shinty team from Caithness, Scotland. They are the most northerly club in Scotland, based primarily in Thurso but pulling players from across the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ousdale Broch</span>

Ousdale Broch, also known as Ousdale Burn or Allt a’ Bhurg Broch, is an Iron Age broch located between the villages of Helmsdale and Berriedale in Caithness, Scotland.

Dounreay Castle is a ruined 16th-century L-plan castle, about 8 miles (13 km) west of Thurso, Highland, Scotland, within the grounds of Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment. It is also known as Dounreay House. The castle and its associated structures are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurso Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Thurso, Scotland

Thurso Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Thurso, in the Highland area of Scotland. The structure, which is used as a museum, is a Category B listed building.

References

  1. "Part of Thurso High School shut after engineer inspection". BBC. 26 October 2022.

Coordinates: 58°35′14″N3°31′56″W / 58.58726°N 3.53234°W / 58.58726; -3.53234