Old School House Cottage over the River Etive, Argyll, Scotland

Best enlarged

Glen Etive School House

Now a holiday cottage (The Old School House). The school house appears on an Ordnance Survey map of 1843 (the earliest I can find) and possibly closed at the time the new Glencoe Primary School opened in 1981. The building appears to have been very well constructed of good stone with walls approximately 60-70 cm thick.

According to local knowledge the school had between 1 and 14 pupils at any one time. The classroom was situated in what is now the kitchen, the teacher and any family would have occupied the upper floor.

The kitchen (classroom) is the only room in the building to have windows in both walls and are positioned quite high up, presumably to stop the children being distracted from their lessons;-) In the front of the school is a small walled grassed area that was, according to local sources, the playground.

Again, according to local sources, in the early 20th century two boys, the McGregors, who lived in a cottage across the River Etive from the school had to cross the river in a 'bucket' suspended on a rope in order to attend the school. Along with their books and their lunch they were also expected to bring a couple of blocks of peat each for the fire! At the time these two boys were the only pupils.

The boy's cottage




if anyone can add to, or correct the above information I would be happy to hear from them.