Park Mains High School
| Park Mains High School | |
|---|---|
 School building | |
| Address | |
 | |
Barrhill Road Scotland | |
| Coordinates | 55°54′09″N 4°27′32″W / 55.9025°N 4.4588°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school |
| Established | 1974 |
| School district | Renfrewshire Council |
| Head teacher | Valerie Mackay (Acting) |
| Enrollment | 1,314[1] |
| Color(s) | Blue and black |
| Website | http://www.parkmainshigh.renfrewshire.sch.uk/ |
Park Mains High School is a secondary school in Erskine, Renfrewshire. It is one of the biggest schools in Scotland. As well as taking in students from the town it also enrols them from the surrounding areas of Bishopton, Inchinnan and Langbank. Valerie Mackay is the Acting Head Teacher.
New school building (2012-present)
Renfrewshire Council granted a new multi-million pound rebuild of the school. The new building was opened in August 2012 at a cost of £31m.[2] It was designed and planned by Holmes Miller. Construction was completed by Bam Construction. FES Ltd were the contractors for the electrical, mechanical, IT installations and fire and security systems.[3][4] The building offers a larger, brighter space for the pupils to feel in a social hub whilst still being in a controlled learning environment. One key feature of the school is the central 'street area' flooded with natural sunlight and creating a more encouraging and peaceful school space. The school's new sports complex boasts an enormous multi-use games hall and gymnasium. In the fitness suite several pieces of equipment have built in TV channels and the room has 2 flat-screen TVs playing out the latest chart hits. The site of the old school building is now a £400,000 multi-use 3G sports pitch with running track. There is also hockey pitches and a rugby field.[5][6] The school building has regularly featured in architectural publications. It has received award nominations for its design and construction.[7][8]
Along with the move to the new building, the school initiated a smarter uniform to help improve the ethos of the school. This required blazers for all S5 and S6 pupils and girls to wear knee length skirts. Blazers remained optional for S1-S4 as did trousers for girls in cold weather.
The old school took 69 days in total to completely demolish.
Guidance
Pupils are assigned to a guidance group in their first year at Park Mains. The guidance groups are named after tributaries of the River Clyde. These are Cart, Calder, Endrick, Gryffe, Kelvin and Leven. Pupils remain in these groups until their departure from the school.
Local connections
Park Mains High serves the following local schools:
- Bargarran Primary School
- Rashielea Primary School
- Barsail Primary School
- Inchinnan Primary School
- Bishopton Primary School
- Langbank Primary School
On several occasions, the school has been known to take in pupils from St. John Bosco Primary School and St. Annes Primary School who tend to lead on to their main connection at Trinity High School in Renfrew.
Notable former pupils
- Dougie Vipond, TV presenter & Deacon Blue drummer
- Wendy Alexander, Former leader of the Scottish Labour Party
- Douglas Alexander, Shadow Foreign Secretary
- Kenny Inglis, Composer & music producer
- Kirsty Mitchell, Actress & former Miss Scotland
- Derek Lilley, Former footballer
- Ross Renton, Politician for Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Stephen Aitken, Former footballer, now manager at Dumbarton FC
- Brian O'Neil, Former footballer
- Eileen Catterson, Fashion model & former Miss Scotland
- Peter Leven, Former footballer
- Blair Spittal, Footballer at Dundee Utd
- Chris Aitken, Footballer at Stranraer FC
Gallery
-
The 3G pitch at the school -
The old school being demolished
References
- ^ Scotland. "Park Mains High School - Renfrewshire - Search for information about a school". Ltscotland.org.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "New high school for Erskine - Opening of £31m Park Mains High School". Clydewaterfront.com. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "News". Fes.ltd.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ^ http://www.renfrewshirechamber.com/documents/renfrewopenevening.pdf
- ^ "Erskine Community Sports Centre - Renfrewshire Leisure Limited". Renfrewshireleisure.com. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Battle for pitches won | News". The Gazette. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "The 30 Most Amazing High School Campuses in the World-Pinnacle Architecture". Pinnaclearchitecture.com. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "News". Fes.ltd.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2014.