RHUNAHAORINE Primary School celebrated its 100th anniversary on Tuesday with a party at the school.
When the school opened the pupils wrote on slates, today they have computers.
The guest of honour was Anne Maxwell MacDonald, aged 101; the land for the school was a gift from her family, the MacDonalds of Largie and the school was formally declared open by her mother-in-law, Mrs Morton MacDonald of Largie back in 1908.
Head teacher Maureen Johnson and her staff and many of the pupils were all in Edwardian dress for the day and parents and guests were invited to an afternoon tea with entertainment at the school.
Mrs Johnson told The Courier: ‘When the school opened it educated children from five to 13 years, now we go from five to 11 and also have a nursery, and at its height, in the 1950s with the post war baby boom, the roll numbered in the 50s.’
She added: ‘A lot of people wonder why the school appears to be in the middle of nowhere, but at one time Rhunahaorine was larger than Tayinloan with more than 30 cottages home to agricultural workers and fishermen.’
The children played Happy Birthday Rhunahaorine on the hand bells and sang, Mrs Maxwell MacDoanld cut the school’s birthday cake and pupil Martin McSporran played the pipes.
Today the school has 13 pupils with two more due to start after the Easter holidays and 11 children in the pre-fives section.
During the afternoon tea the school’s record books were on show, telling of time off for the young scholars to go and help with the potato harvest.
