Triplets Gracie, Willow and Olivia Gordon have started school in Dundee and will be running their class within days, joked their dad.
The triplets are in P1 at Craigowl Primary School along with twins Jax and Bray Fraser and Zoe and Blair McMichael.
The five-year-old sisters were excited to don their new uniforms and head for the Dundee school with big brother Cole, 7, starting P3.
And after dad Grant and mum Claire left them in the care of their new teacher Grant told The Courier: “The three of them are in the same class, so I’m sure they’ll be running it by the end of the week!”
As well as the triplets, Mrs McLeod has one set of twins in her class. The other twins are with Miss Mooney in another class.
The Gordon girls have been counting down to school throughout the holidays, trying on their uniform several times to see how they look.
Grant, 36, who is manager of Nando’s in St Andrews, said: “For the last few weeks they have been talking about school every day, asking how many sleeps they have got left.”
He and Claire, 41, manager at Burger King on the Kingsway, accompanied Gracie, Willow and Olivia to their classroom, before leaving them to settle into school life.
He said: “They got to meet their teacher at nursery so they were familiar with her, and they have a few of their friends in their class so they were quite happy.”
The girls were originally to be split up between the two P1 classes, said Grant.
“We were told months ago they would be separated so we were a wee bit nervous.
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“Gracie and Willow have a very close bond. They rely on each other while Olivia is more free-spirited like her brother.
“We are so glad they have managed to keep them altogether. They have each other and they have their friends.”
Getting the Gordon triplets ready for their Dundee school
Much of the school holidays have been spent getting the girls ready for school, Grant said, as well shopping to satisfy the appetites of six children – Claire is also mum to Kaya, 18, and Jay 16.
He said: “They were eating us out of house and home! We were picking up big shops twice a week, sometimes three.
“We bought their uniform in stages, picking up bits here and there. It took us two months, just picking up something every week.
“They are totally different sizes to each other. Gracie is quite tall and Olivia is tiny, tiny.
“It’s not like when they were babies and you would pick up one babygrow and it would fit any of them.”
Being eligible for support from Dundee clothing charity Togs for Tots, which gave them several new items, helped reduce the otherwise hefty bill.
While they will be centre of attention today, it’s not the first time Gracie, Willow and Olivia have made the news.
We reported on their dramatic birth in the Evening Telegraph in January 2018.
When Claire had gone to Ninewells Hospital with high blood pressure while she was 31 weeks pregnant it was decided the triplets needed to be delivered immediately.
However, there was only room for one baby at the unit at Dundee so staff had to find another hospital to accommodate them.
Glasgow looked likely before a space was found closer at Victoria Hospital and Claire was rushed by ambulance to Kirkcaldy with Grant following by car.
The girls were born on at 3pm on January 3 smaller than usual – ranging from 2lbs 8oz to 3lbs 3oz – but healthy.
And their early arrival meant they were reckoned to be Scotland’s first triplets that year.
When the family went out and about with their three babies, they would attract a lot of attention in the area around St Mary’s where they live.
Grant said: “We go to the same places mostly so everyone knows them now but when they were babies and it was clear they were triplets we were constantly getting stopped.
“People would stop us in the supermarket and want to see the triplets from the Tele.”
More than five years on, the girls have developed their own personalities.
Grant said: “You could say Gracie is the madam of the group.
“All the girls are super smart but she’s the bossy one, and she’s the tallest. Over the last year she has really grown in confidence.
It’s not always easy, it’s hard at times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Grant Gordon, dad and step-dad of six
“Willow likes what she likes; she likes to keep herself to herself, although she has her moments. Her and Gracie have a really strong bond.
“Willow is also super sneaky. She thinks she’s the smartest person in the room but you can see right through her!
“Olivia is the chatterbox. She could spend every single moment talking, talking. You can have an adult conversation with her.”
With four primary school-aged children and two teenagers, the Gordon household is a busy one.
Grant said: “It’s not always easy, it’s hard at times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
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