St Andrews pupils leave school for the very last time

Jul 3 2009 by Kieran Westbrook, Dumfries Standard Friday

DELIGHTED SCHOOL pupils at St Andrews Primary ran out the school gates yelling with joy – their summer holidays started early.

The school is one of four moving into brand new buildings for the new term and pupils have been given a few extra days of holiday to allow teaching staff to move.

And St Andrews pupils were the first to finish, having their last day on Tuesday.

St Andrews pupils will be moving into a brand new PPP school in the new term, and for head teacher Mrs Murray, Tuesday was a historic day.

She said: “There’s a mixture of excitement and sadness about the move.

“This has been the school building for over 100 years, and there’s a lot of happy memories here.

“But the school isn’t big enough and the new site will make us into a 21st century education institution.”

Kids from the other schools moving – Troqueer, Castle Douglas and Lincluden Primary – packed their school bags for the last time on Wednesday.

The teaching staff affected by the move have remained in their school and helped with the clear-out.

A number of the schools held special days to commemorate the history of their institution, with former pupils and teachers returning to the building.