Before the outbreak of War, preparations were quickly put in place for a mass exodus to the countryside, so by Friday 1 September 1939, the morning of evacuation arrived for the staff and pupils of Westbourne School. A wonderful Neo-Georgian mansion called Symington House near Biggar in Lanarkshire was to be their home for the duration of the Second World War. The house was owned by Mrs Prentice whose daughters and nieces had previously attended Westbourne, and after the sad death of her son, she kindly allowed the school full use of her magnificent home which was designed in 1915 by Andrew Noble Prentice, her late Husband Thomas’ Architect brother. The house had wonderful gardens with plenty of space for them all to enjoy fresh air and exercise.
The party were waved off by a small group of parents at 6am when they boarded a bus to take them to Calton School which was the designated meeting place for evacuation. Another bus took them from there to the station where the place was filled with many little boys and girls labelled and forlorn saying a tearful goodbye to their mothers as they were sent away to live with strangers in a strange place. The Westbourne girls were lucky to be going somewhere with their friends and teachers, so would not have to endure the uncertainty of not knowing whether the people they would be staying with would be kind or not!
Then – as now – the staff rallied round during this time and made the transition into this new way of life within a few short days, with the house being expertly organised and transformed into classrooms and sleeping quarters.
Schooling was rather different to what the girls had been used to but offered many opportunities fora different type of learning compared to the academic teaching of before. The only pupils who had school desks were the Preparatory classes, so the older girls had to clear the dining room immediately after morning prayers and breakfast in order to use it for a schoolroom. They all helped with housework (staff included!) and the Headmistress, Mrs Henderson, would wash up all the breakfast dishes in the pantry with great efficiency. The staff understood that learning existed in many ways such as housework duties and this served as a useful grounding for the girls when it came to running a household in later life. Although the traditional form of teaching carried on (albeit to a lesser extent), the girls realised that much of what they did on a daily basis was teaching them life skills, social skills, communication, teamwork, pragmatism and resilience – many of the things needed to succeed in life.
Outdoor activities were encouraged, and Symington House had a grass tennis court and croquetlawn where the girls regularly played. There were no pitches therefore hockey was suspended for a time, but competitive sports still carried on in the form of rounders against the Edinburgh Academy Team who were evacuated to Hartree House. Cycling parades to the nearby Biggar Church happened on a Sunday and excursions to the river and trips up the Tinto Hill were other ways the staff encouraged fresh air and exercise as well as amusement for the girls. There was an air of creativity and musical and dramatic performances were the weekly norm. For many who recalled their time here, it is described with much affection, even to the point there hardly seemed to be a war going on outside this countryside escape.
However, reminders of the outside world still happened in the form of watching searchlights in the night sky and the accompaniment of hearing gun fire coming from the Clydeside during the Blitz.
During that time of national crisis, then, as now, the focus was on health and wellbeing, learning life skills, looking after one another and being more flexible in the approach and methods of teaching to meet all the requirements of a new type of daily life. The girls who studied during this time went on to have happy and successful lives and future careers.
As we look back to the challenges experienced by our former pupils and staff, there are many parallels to what is happening now. But the school remained a supportive community then and will still do so now.
Nihil Sine Labore or “Nothing without Effort” could not be more apt!
Memories of the Merger
At the time of the merger I was a new parent governor on the Westbourne Board, our daughter was in primary and I had been involved with the Old Girls Club for many years, latterly as President. Although I had extensive committee experience, nothing prepared me for the lead-in to the merger. At the time Westbourne was struggling financially and the news that The Academy was going co-educational was the final straw. As a Board we decided it was far better to join forces to retain the name and ethos of Westbourne and be able to offer our pupils a positive, long-term education. Without the benefit of understanding the financial position, some families struggled with this decision and I had many discussions with irate parents, trying to reassure them that merging with The Glasgow Academy was the best course of action for Westbourne.
An enormous amount of background work went on as the logistics of merging two proud traditions was not straightforward. The three female governors (Alison Bruce, Alison Thompson and myself) who joined The Academy board were allocated some interesting roles. We were put in charge of creating the new uniform which caused some of the older board members some degree of anxiety, as change was not encouraged at that time. Imagine their horror when the boys voted for the inclusion of purple in the school tie! We were also one of the first schools to introduce tartan, again, predominantly purple, to continue the Westbourne tradition. I was also on the Education Committee and caused the chair of Governors, Bill Mann, some consternation when we pushed through a decision to start the Nursery/Kindergarten. All was forgiven when it proved a great success.
Looking back, it was not an easy time but one I am pleased to have been involved with. My mother found it wonderfully ironic that her only daughter was blazing a feminist trail through her perceived chauvinism of The Academy – all 4 of my brothers having previously attended. My wish was to be able to provide thebest education for all the pupils and incorporate the Westbourne ethos of care. Our daughter enjoyed a wonderful Senior school life with experiences that would never have been possible at Westbourne – driving a tank for example!
I know the older girls and the staff left at Winton Drive had a more difficult time being part of the joint venture, but it proved impossible to move everyone at once.
In 2019, 50 years since we left Westbourne, I arranged for my year group to visit The Academy and was quite nervous as my class had nothing to do with the school. We had a lovely reception with a chance to peruse memorabilia and take a tour of the school. Everyone was so impressed by the facilities and educational attainment. The fact that the Westbourne name, ethos and traditions were embedded in the school was very apparent to my classmates. They were also not aware of The Academy’s proud war memorial tradition.
So my memories of the merger are a mixture of the old and the new. I am proud to have played a small part of the joining of two educational establishments that has made The Academy the powerhouse it is today. I feel we managed to incorporate the culture, traditions, education and extracurricular activities from both schools to make ‘The Best in the West’. The Academy needed girls and Westbourne needed the support of The Academy. I believe we succeeded.
Inez Murray, Westbourne School (Class of 1969)