Dawning of a new era for Notre Dame High School

Notre Dame High School - formerly the last local authority all-girls school in the country - has for the first-time welcomed boys to S1 for the start of the new school term in Glasgow today.

The transformation to co-educational was made by councillors in November 2019 and following an extensive consultation on the future of the school.

The unanimous decision was taken for the new intake to begin from August 2021 with boys enrolling from S1 in the first year and each subsequent year thereafter - there will be no placing requests granted for boys to other year groups.

The new catchment area for the school was part of the consultation and there are now three associated primary schools - Notre Dame Primary School, St Joseph's Primary School and St Patrick's Primary School.

Rosemary Martin, Headteacher, Notre Dame High School and the school staff are excited about the beginning of the new term and the next chapter in the school's history and said: "A lot of preparation, engagement and plans have been in place for many months now to make the transition as smooth as possible for the beginning of a new era for the school in August.

"Adaptations to the school building have been made, visits to the school by the new S1 intake took place before the summer holidays and lots of discussions and plans are continuing to be made by our young people around the ethos and values of our school and our future generation of pupils.

"It has been crucial that our pupils - old and new - are making these decisions together.  Pupil voice is very loud in our school!

"Whilst we are very proud of the great heritage of our school, we are equally excited about creating the next chapter and are looking forward to welcoming all our pupils back to school at the beginning of the August school term."

The Council's in-house design team has worked very closely with the school and young people over the last 18 months to make sure that their ideas were incorporated into the design of the adaptations.  

Councillor Chris Cunningham, City Convener for Education, Skills and Early Years was on hand to welcome families as the school bell rang for the start of classes.

He said: "There was a lot of good debate during the consultation on the changes to the entry criteria and today signals the start of something new and exciting.

"Our young people have been very much part of the transformational changes and decisions and I know that each new pupil today will be welcomed with open arms as part of the school's nurturing ethos.

"Notre Dame High School has an outstanding reputation and I am confident that the school will continue to provide an excellent learning environment to in which all pupils will flourish."

Over the summer, Amey's Facilities Management Project team undertook work to alter toilets and create new changing facilities to make them suitable for its new co-educational status.

Frazer Meiklejohn Operational Director for Scotland, Amey Secure Infrastructure, said: "It is fantastic to be involved in the project that will have a lasting impact on the whole community. The work we have undertaken has ensured the appropriate facilities are in place as Notre Dame High School welcomes boys for the first time in over 120 years."

Consultation background and information

Link to consultation committee paper 28 November 2019 https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=47394&p=0