Scotland Street School Museum

225 Scotland Street G5 8QB

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1906

Category A Listed

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland Street School Museum offers a fascinating glimpse into the past. See what school days were like in the reign of Queen Victoria, during World War II, and in the swinging 60s

Scotland Street Public School was designed by the renowned Scottish architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The school was designed for the school board of Glasgow and constructed between 1903-06. When Mackintosh was appointed architect in 1903, he was also working on some of the biggest projects of his career including The Willow Tea Rooms and The Hill House in Helensburgh.

Mackintosh had to meet the requirements of a school in 1903 such as separate playgrounds, staircases, outside toilets and entrances for boys, girls and infants as well as teacher’s rooms on each floor. His design had to accommodate 1250 pupils and include a cookery class. Classrooms were to be stepped and allow for a maximum of 66 pupils. Infant classrooms were to be located on the ground floor with seniors on the higher floors. Mackintosh designed the school around a corridor system, allowing the rear south facing wall to be a bank of windows, letting maximum sunlight and solar heat into the classrooms.

When Scotland Street School first opened in Kingston on the 15 August 1906, it served a growing population of the then vast shipbuilding industry and engineering works in and around the river Clyde.

After the Second World War the area started to change with the development to improve housing and transport, and the decline of Glasgow shipping industry. Residents slowly relocated to smaller towns being built outside of Glasgow. It closed as a school in 1979 with only 89 pupils remaining on its roll.

This listed building opened formally as a museum in 1990. It continues to educate children from all over Scotland as a centre for the history of education.

Part of the Childrens Programme: We will have self led workshops and self led tours on throughout the week. Our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will have lots for families to see and do as well as staff tours on request midweek and scheduled social history tours at the week

Discover Green Glasgow: We have won the Silvery Award for the Green Tourism Business Scheme and have a dedicated Green Room where we look at how we can all live greener lives. Our self led activities will reflect our Eco-friendly award.

Hosting a Lids Open Day

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