West Coats Primary School is a listed building at 60 Brownside Road in Cambuslang on the south east fringe of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built in the late 19th century and is still an active school with over 400 children. It has been extended to accommodate the increasing number of pupils.
The school has several classrooms, a gym/dining hall and a Computer Suite. P6 and P7 performed with Scottish Opera at a performance in February 2006.
In the early 21st century, West Coats demand for places far outstrips capacity - even with the new extension erected in the upper playground (the erstwhile boys' playground) in the early 2000s.
Due to the age of the buildings and the demand for places - which worsened as a large amount of new houses for young families were built in the surrounding area such as at Greenlees, while the school itself continued to receive very good ratings in inspections [1] - the campus was extended in 2003 and refurbished in 2015–16. During the latter process, the pupils had to attend a decant facility at the former Cairns Primary School (which had itself already been rebuilt on an adjacent site) in the Halfway district of Cambuslang. [2]
As well as central Cambuslang south of the Main Street, the catchment zone for West Coats includes the Kirkhill and Holmhills (the northern part of Whitlawburn) areas.
The original stone buildings have been B-listed since 1993. [3] [4] When first constructed, West Coats Road did not extend south past Brownside Road, but contemporaneous with a southern extension of West Coats Road the three-storey extension was added on that side of the school; it is portrayed on the 1910 map of the area but not the 1896 version. Similarly, the railway line (Glasgow to Newton) in a deep cutting that bounds the school site to the south did not appear until that map edition.
Originally West Coats was a Higher Grade (or HG) school that pupils attended from age five to fourteen and left for the workplace. Later it became a primary school for children aged between five and eleven, (or twelve, depending on when their birthday fell).
At one time West Coats had a smart uniform comprising blazers, white shirts or blouses, ties, grey flannel short trousers or gym-slips, grey themed jumpers with matching knee-length socks, and black shoes. Today’s uniform is rather different. [5]
Eminent former pupils of West Coats include Robert Crawford, current Professor of English at St. Andrew’s University, and the late Duncan Glen, Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Nottingham Trent University. Whereas an eminent former head teacher of West Coats was poet John Buchanan, who reigned at the school somewhere around the period 1905–1919. The well-known boxer Scott Harrison went to this school.
Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, three miles from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own right for more than 800 years, in 1975 Rutherglen lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow District within the Strathclyde region. In 1996 the towns were reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.
Cambuslang is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be considered the largest village in Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire and directly borders the town of Rutherglen to the west. Historically, it was a large civil parish incorporating the nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, Westburn and Halfway.
Dunblane is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Shawlands is a Southside suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, located two miles south of the River Clyde. The area, considered the "Heart of the Southside", is known for its independent restaurants and cafés, art scene, public parks, period terraces, and red and blond sandstone tenements. Shawlands was named one of the best places to live in Scotland in 2022 and 2023 by The Sunday Times, and one of the world's coolest neighbourhoods by Time Out Magazine with judges describing it as "the city's best area to live and socialise”. It is located between Pollok Country Park, the home of the Burrell Collection and Pollok House, and the acclaimed Victorian park Queen's Park.
Uddingston is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city.
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Eastfield is a mainly residential district in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located between the industrial towns of Rutherglen and Cambuslang in the south-east of the Greater Glasgow urban area. It is situated south of the River Clyde, adjoining the Stonelaw and Burnside neighbourhoods of Rutherglen, and Silverbank in Cambuslang.
Bourtreehill is a large housing estate built by the Irvine Development Corporation (IDC) in the late 1970s which forms part of the Irvine New Town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The estate has two main parts, known as Bourtreehill North and Bourtreehill South. Along its southern border runs the Broomlands estate. The Bourtreehill South area has suffered from anti-social behaviour. However, with more frequent police and Community Warden Patrols, this has gone down, though the area still suffers from the lack of employment opportunities in North Ayrshire.
Burnside is a mostly residential area in the town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Including the neighbourhoods of High Burnside and High Crosshill, respectively south and north-west of its main street, it borders Overtoun Park in Rutherglen plus several other residential areas of the town, as well as western parts of neighbouring Cambuslang.
Kirkhill is a district of the town of Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Hyndland Secondary School is a non-denominational state comprehensive school in the Hyndland area of Glasgow, Scotland.
Trinity High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in Eastfield, Rutherglen, Scotland near the city of Glasgow. It was established in 1971. The current head teacher is Allison Craig who took office in 2021 with incumbent Peter Bollen leaving his post.
The History of Cambuslang is explained to a great deal by its geography. Now in South Lanarkshire, the town of Cambuslang is an ancient part of Scotland where Iron Age remains loom over 21st century housing developments. It has been very prosperous over time, depending first upon its agricultural land, then the mineral resources under its soil.
Stonelaw High School is a non-denominational state high school located in Rutherglen, Scotland near the city of Glasgow.
Cathkin High School is a state secondary school in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Halfway is a largely suburban area in the town of Cambuslang, Scotland, located within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire. It borders the smaller areas of Lightburn, Cairns, Flemington, Drumsagard and Hallside.
Drumsagard Village is a new construction village in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. It is built around the site of Drumsagard Castle and immediately south of the site of Hallside Steelworks, also known as the Cambuslang Iron and Steel Works. One of the first facilities of their kind and eventually extending over an area of around 33 acres, the steelworks were established in 1873 and closed in 1979.
Newton is a mainly residential district in the town of Cambuslang in Scotland; it is situated directly south of the River Clyde. Newton is within the Cambuslang East ward of the South Lanarkshire Council area. Formerly a mining settlement from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries then sparsely populated for several decades, in the early 2000s it was designated a 'Community Growth Area' for residential development with several hundred houses, a new primary school and associated infrastructure constructed in phases over several years into the 2020s, mostly on fields previously used by a farm which had operated for several centuries before closing around the turn of the 21st century.
Westburn is a district of the town of Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was formerly home to a steel works and power station which were the area's major employers; the sites are now occupied by a housing development and modern industrial estate respectively. Administratively, Westburn is within the Cambuslang East ward of the South Lanarkshire Council area and has a population of around 2,000.
Whitlawburn is a residential area in the town of Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located south of the town centre on high ground overlooking the Greater Glasgow urban area.