119583: Knockiandue School

Knockiandue School, which served the villages of Keose and Laxay, was formally opened by the School Board of the Parish of Lochs on 30 October 1878, and this heralded the closure of the Parish School. The school became the first new government school to open in Lochs with Mr Alexander Crawford its first headmaster. He moved into the new schoolhouse and remained there until 1892 when the number of pupils on the roll was 106.

Mr Crawford was succeeded by Miss M Campbell who remained for only a very short time. Her successor was Mr William Bruce (Am Brusach) and when he took over in 1893, the school roll had risen to 120 pupils. Mr Bruce resigned in September 1894 and Mr William Neilson was subsequently appointed in January 1895 and as was the case with his predecessor, he remained for only two years.

Mr John Montgomery took over in 1897 and he remained at the school for only three years until 1900. A severe epidemic of measles had caused the closure of the school for a period of six months and when the school was re-opened in March 1901, Mr Robert Paterson was installed as Headmaster on a salary of 105 per year with house. Mr Paterson held the post of Headmaster in Keose for over 26 years. By 1927 the school roll had dropped to 55 pupils.

From 1927 until his retirement from the teaching profession in 1955 the headmaster’s post was held by Mr Malcolm Macleod. Miss Macaulay, who had been assistant in the school for 22 years took over as Head Teacher. The roll had fallen to 23 pupils which warranted only the services of a single teacher. Miss Macaulay retired in 1958 and Miss Maggie Macleod was appointed Head Teacher where she remained until 1965. Miss Greta Mackenzie became Head Teacher at the start of the following session in August 1965 and there she remained until the summer of 1993.

Mrs Margaret Macleod, Laxay was appointed as Head Teacher and at the same time a Gaelic Medium Unit was established at the school. The roll of the school by then had fallen to 18 pupils.

After 120 years, Knockiandue School’s doors were finally closed in June 2000 and the pupils were transferred to Balallan School.

The following table shows the Head Teachers of the school:

1878-1892	Mr Alexander Crawford
1892-1892	Miss M Campbell
1892-1894	Mr William Bruce
1895-1897	Mr William Neilson
1897-1900	Mr John Montgomery
1901-1926	Mr Robert Paterson
1927-1955	Mr Malcolm Macleod
1955-1958	Miss Joan Macaulay
1958-1965	Miss Margaret M Macleod
1965-1993	Mrs Greta Mackenzie
1993-2000	Mrs Margaret Macleod

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Record Location

Details

Record Type:: Building or Public Amenity

Record Maintained by:: CECL

Related Media

Knockiandue School Group, 1930s