Lochardil Primary pupils past and present pack into Inverness school to celebrate 60th anniversary
The Supremes were top of the UK charts with Baby Love, Martin Luther King Jnr received the Nobel Peace Prize and Mary Poppins was first released in the cinema.
That same year, 1964, a new primary school in Inverness opened its doors to pupils.
Sixty years later, pupils past and present from Lochardil Primary gathered to celebrate the milestone anniversary along with members of the community.
On Monday, pupils at Lochardil were enjoying party games after hundreds of people visited the campus for a special get-together on Sunday.
Among the people in the packed school hall, where there was an exhibition of photographs, memorabilia and interviews of former staff and pupils, were some of the first pupils to attend the school in 1964.
Peter Palombo and Jim Fraser were in the first classes when the school opened its doors – a few months later than planned – while Billy Mackenzie joined in 1967.
Audrey Kellacher has been head teacher at Lochardil for the last 10 years. She welcomed the large crowd to the anniversary celebration and said there was immense pride at all the pupils who have made Lochardil the school it is today.
“Monday marks the formal opening of Lochardil Primary School 60 years ago in 1964 by Provost WJ MacKay,” she said. “It opened with six classes and no P7 class. Four of the classes were taught by probationer teachers and the head teacher taught the P6 class.
“Now, 60 years on in 2024, we have almost tripled in size with 405 pupils across 16 classes, including nursery and after-school childcare.
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“One line the provost used in his opening speech 60 years ago that is still relevant today was: ‘Our children are our greatest asset; on them our future depends.’”
One of those probationary teachers, Barbera MacColl, wrote a card to the school explaining that it was her first job, and she was very excited. “I left to get married after two years but I have such happy memories of my time at Lochardil,” she wrote.
As well as an exhibition looking at life at Lochardil through the years, there were also craft stalls and games, food and drink vendors, fire and rescue truck, and first-team players from Inverness Caley Thistle who were pupils at the school.
The busy event was organised by the school’s parent council, while pupils designed the special 60th anniversary logo and P4 and P5 designed and ordered products to sell to mark the occasion. P7s ran a number of stalls and games throughout the afternoon, as well as leading party games on Monday for the younger pupils.
The school’s Glee Club choir entertained people in the main hall on Sunday with songs and dances, and classes in the school were open for people in the community to view.
Mrs Kellacher thanked the pupils, staff and the parent council for their hard work in putting on what she said was a really successful day to mark the school’s 60th anniversary. “Here’s to many new memories to make, and the next 60 years,” she added.
