Addiewell's schools

Happiest days...? Perhaps not, but formative days, certainly.

The first school classes in Addiewell were held in the building that later became the Co-op.  

At this period, very few working class children got a secondary education – fewer than 5%.  Most were educated at the “Public School", attending from age 5 to age 13.   Then they left school, and went straight into a job.  In Addiewell, the boys almost certainly went into the pits or the oil works.  The girls probably left Addiewell and spent a few years in domestic service, before getting married.

In 1872, the government made elementary education compulsory from the age of 5 to 13.  Each parish was required to elect a School Board, and to raise money on the rates (and through a state grant) to build and run schools, open to everyone.  Attendance was compulsory. 

For the first few years, there were small fees to be paid for every child attending.  In a poor area like Addiewell, it was a struggle for many parents to afford the fees.  In 1874, some Addiewell men formed themselves into an Educational Association, which set about raising money for an education fund.  They recruited members and each member was required to pay 2d per week.  If their child required schooling, and they were unable to afford it, the Association would pay the fees for them.   By 1881, they were supporting over 1,000 children through their schooling – a notable example of self-help.  The surplus money was devoted to running evening classes, and reading rooms at Addiewell and West Calder. 

In 1883, schools fees were abolished, and state education became free to all.  The Education Committee continued to assist poor parents with buying books, clothing, boots, etc for their children while at school. 

In Addiewell, a new public (non-denominational) school was built on the raised site on the West Calder road, opposite the tollhouse, and opened in January 1882.  It was a junior school - for younger children.  A few years later, in 1897, a senior school was built alongside it, for older children.  

Detailed reports of the opening of these two schools were published in the local newspapers and can be downloaded as PDFs at the foot of this page.

At the start of the 1916-17 school year, a Roman Catholic school opened alongside the public schools.  Presumably because of the war, the school opened without fanfare, and no report of a formal opening ceremony could be found in the local newspapers.  At the time of the opening, there were 275 children on the school roll.  The scheme to build the school was pushed forward by the parish priest, Father Kenny. He lived in Faraday Place with a family called Aitken, until the Presbytery was built for him next to the church (1922). 

  

In 1978, the Catholic Primary School in Addiewell and the non-denominational primary school were installed on a joint site under one roof.  The children were taught in separate classrooms, but played and ate together.  The joint campus continues to this day.