Preston Lodge High School turns 100 – a look through history

The school first opened to pupils on September 23, 1924, and was originally built to serve the needs of Tranent, Prestonpans and Cockenzie.

Most of the available information regarding the history of the school was written by William Allan to commemorate the 50th anniversary in 1974.

He was a former pupil of Preston Lodge, later becoming headteacher at Cockenzie Primary School and then Longniddry School.

Original Building

At the time of construction, it was estimated that Preston Lodge and its surrounding grounds would cost about £20,000, with work beginning on the building in late 1923.

The original structure, located on Preston Road, contained red sandstone from the demolished Amisfield House in Haddington. A nearby farmhouse was purchased for the rector, as well as an adjacent field for sports.

The school was also intended to facilitate evening classes in mining.

When it opened in September 1924, following an extended summer holiday to allow for arrangements to be completed, pupils were transferred from Tranent Higher Grade School.

A total of 151 pupils were enrolled in 1924.

The school was highly selective, quickly gaining a strong academic reputation.

Preston Lodge was part of several historic events throughout the last century, beginning with the building’s use as a soup kitchen during the 1926 General Strike.

Second World War 

Difficulties brought on by the Second World War included teacher shortages caused by staff being called into service, evacuees adding to numbers, and awards dependent on assessments instead of exams.

There was an air raid warning drill on October 18, 1939, and two air warnings on October 20.

In 1941, the school took over the ground at the Miss Mary Murray Institute, producing potatoes for school dinners for the entire session, as well as selling vegetables to people in the locality.

Pupils raised money on Empire Day to donate to the Overseas League Tobacco Fund to provide cigarettes for soldiers.

Colin Armstrong, who was joint Dux, joined the Red Arrows aerobatic team and lost his life after stepping up to support a new recruit on a practice exercise.

Education in East Lothian was reorganised in 1954 with the opening of Ross High School in Tranent.

Prestonpans Junior Secondary School also closed and Preston Lodge became the local secondary comprehensive.

School in flames 

Further change came to the school on January 30, 1967, when the original school building burned down.

A new comprehensive school was built in 1969, costing over a million pounds, and a new primary school was built in the grounds of the burnt-out building.

Headteacher Mr Sykes said at the time: "We lost a school but we found a school spirit."

The new building was built at Park View and was opened on November 14, 1969, by John P Mackintosh MP.

The school currently has an enrolment of about 3,000 students.

Pipe Band

The school’s pipe band programme began in 2007 and tuition began in the same year, with demand growing quite quickly until there were enough pupils to start a band.

In 2011, the parent council applied for Lottery funding and received £10,000, which enabled the band to be kitted out in the Preston Lodge tartan. 

They registered as a competing band with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association in 2012, and in 2013 won the British Championship in the novice juvenile grade.

Following this success, they were promoted to the juvenile grade, which is the premier league for school pipe bands.

They have since found incredible success, regularly competing and performing at events throughout the year.

Most recently, they competed at the World Pipe Band Championships this summer and finished in fourth place, retaining their title of ‘best state school pipe band in the world’.

There are now three full competing bands at the school involving more than 90 pupils, with more than 200 pupils in the Preston Lodge cluster schools receiving piping or drumming tuition.

Tuition is offered to all pupils from Primary 5 upwards at schools within the Preston Lodge High School cluster.

Current headteacher

Gavin Clark has been headteacher of the school since 2009 and is a founding member of the Preston Lodge Learning Foundation.

He studied economics with international relations before becoming a modern studies teacher in 1992.

He worked at Musselburgh Grammar School, West Calder High School, Dunfermline High School and Dunbar Grammar School, before becoming headteacher at Preston Lodge High School, where he has been in the role for the past 15 years.

Mr Clark said: “It is such a privilege and pleasure to be headteacher of this wonderful school.

“Our students constantly impress me with their enthusiasm and commitment to their school and community, and our staff go above and beyond to make sure that we are ambitious, inclusive and nurturing.

“We are also so lucky to have such supportive families and partners in our work.

“This makes the PL family feel like a place where everyone belongs.

“I have loved being headteacher of this school for some of the first 100 years, and here’s to the next 100!”

Anniversary Celebrations

Now, Preston Lodge is looking forward to hosting a number of exciting events to commemorate the centenary anniversary.

The celebrations began on Thursday with a film première, which the public were invited to attend.

Professional filmmaker Jonathan Charles and English teacher Louise Marr, who has produced films over many years, recently collaborated with students to create a film which both showcased the school as it is today and reflected on its past.