Some say our school days are the best of our lives.
When we are studying, most of us hate the very mention of school but, once we leave, you can’t help but feel nostalgic and rekindle special memories.
We have been searching high and low in the DC Thomson archives to find retro pictures of classes, school trips and sports teams from Morgan Academy.
These striking old photos span five decades – from the 1970s to the noughties – and they are sure to stir some fond memories for former pupils.
So let’s go back to school for a trip down memory lane!
The 1970s
Our first picture is of Morgan Academy’s under-18 football team from 1970 and check out some of these haircuts from what became the glam rock era!
In the back row are Alistair Campbell, Richard Robertson, Ronald Milne, Jim Hay, Graeme Roger, Sandy Smart and Dave Beattie.
Neil Stewart, Grant Gall, Robert Mann, Grant Bruce and George Nicoll are in the front but did any of these guys go on to have a career in the beautiful game?
Our next image is from 1973, showing pupils who had been recording an episode of the Young Scientists of the Year BBC TV series.
In each heat were three school groups, with two to four people.
James Smith, Derek Bell, Roger Strachan and Thomas Schofield are pictured in the classroom but does anyone know if they won the top prize?
Our third image is from 1976 and features the school’s home economics class.
This was in the days of Fanny Craddock, rather than Mary Berry, and these pupils were getting ready to make some cakes and put a brew on, by the looks of it.
Can you recognise any of the kitchen stars on show?
Here’s another image from the cooking class and check out those aprons!
There’s a lot of elbow power going into the mixing process and can you spot the fire extinguisher in the background in case things went amiss?
We’re sure there was no need for it to be used, though!
Our final image finds a maths class hard at work.
These pupils are working through a difficult conundrum, although how some of these boys were able to see properly through those fringes is anyone’s guess!
Were you one of the pupils in this picture?
1980s
Welcome to a new decade in the history of Morgan Academy.
This picture from 1983 finds pupils joined by Lord Aberdare at the opening of the new playing fields complex in Maryfield.
We’re still not sure why he’s throwing a football to a bunch of hockey players!
These pupils look pleased with themselves and rightly so!
The year is 1984 and Morgan Academy were being crowned the winners of the Scottish Schoolboys Outdoor Cup Final at the Maryfield playing fields.
Do you recognise any of the lads in this hockey line-up?
Grab your ‘play-piece’ and head out for a break!
That’s what these pupils were doing in 1988 and we love some of these retro bags, which look big enough to carry the takings from a bank robbery.
What game did you play with your pals when the bell sounded?
Our final image from this decade is from 1989.
It shows the Morgan Academy Orchestra rehearsing for their performance at the school’s upcoming 100th anniversary concert.
We are sure they went down a storm!
1990s
Who wouldn’t get excited at the sight of some overflowing bin bags?
Our first image is from 1991 and features a group of pupils that took part in the school’s ‘Get a Grip on Litter’ campaign as part of ‘Spring Clean Week’.
We’re not too sure about the ponchos but it was all for a good cause!
Anyone for cake?
These Morgan pupils were front of house at the Morgan Academy bring-and-buy sale in 1993 in aid of Blue Peter’s Sight Saver appeal.
Money raised would fund mobile eye units in Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania.
This 1995 image shows a group of pupils celebrating their achievement after collecting a mile of coins for the Children’s Hospice Association.
The pupils spread out across the grass to pose with a cardboard coin.
Morgan has always been a committed supporter of good causes over the years.
These senior prize-winners celebrate their achievement back in 1998.
Front row – Nikki Webster, Fiona Rabb, Lindsay Brackenridge, Natalie Feeney, Alex Fox, Danielle Hall; second row – Carolyn Bruce, Laura Easson, David Kay, Joanna Blakeman, Vanessa McIntosh; third row – Zarina Mohammed, Lewis Dunnin, Eve Noon, Colin Adams, Mark Grant, Christopher Southwell; back row – Susan Ram, Shazia Din, Malcolm Farnan, Gregor Rolfe, Pamela Farquharson and Julie Brown.
Did our photographer get everyone’s name right?
Pupils held events at the school to mark No Smoking Day.
People were being encouraged to stub it out, which might have prompted some more scrutiny than usual around the school’s bike sheds back in 1999.
Mary Murray, student paediatric nurse, Laura Gordon and Karen MacKinnon were on hand to help these pupils spread the health message.
2000s
Now we’re getting more up to date.
Welcome to 2006, where we find head boy Mark Locherty and head girl Jennifer Bennett with staff and pupils from the pupil council.
By this stage the school had risen from the ashes following the devastating blaze in 2001 which reduced the building to no more than a shell.
A class trip was always something to look forward to back in the day.
Our image from 2009 finds S1 and S2 pupils heading off to Scotland’s theme park, M&D’s at Strathclyde Park.
The trip was a reward for good behaviour.
These S1 pupils are seen being put through their paces in 2010.
Here, we find Lauren Costello, Caitlin Oram and Luke Morris strutting their stuff on dance mats at a health fair held at the Dundee International Sports Complex.
Was Luke dancing, though, or pretending to be a dinosaur?
A school leaving dance is always a special moment.
It’s a chance to say a final goodbye to fellow pupils and dress up to the nines with the hope of looking old enough to be served in the pubs afterwards.
These sixth-year pupils were having their bash at the Invercarse in 2010.
Our final picture is from 2018.
This group of pupils is pictured outside the White House in Washington, DC.
How many of these lucky tourists can you recognise?
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