These stark photographs unearthed from our archive show the former Kirkton High School succumbing to the wrecking ball.
We have dug them out of cold storage to mark 25 years since Kirkton High changed its name to Baldragon Academy following a merger with Rockwell High.
Pupils of the old Kirkton and Rockwell High schools marked their union on the first day of term in August 1997 at the building in Burn Street.
Approval was given to build the new Baldragon Academy in 2014, after the old building was no longer deemed fit for purpose.
There was silence in class when the school closed in February 2018, before 58 years of history was reduced to rubble when the bulldozers moved on to the site.
Built in 1960, at the time Kirkton High was the largest to be constructed in Scotland since the end of the Second World War and cost £580,000.
The school served the areas of Downfield, Kirkton, Macalpine and St Mary’s, with a combined population of 25,000.
The school received national attention in December 1967 when about 16 million people sat down to watch four Kirkton kids become quiz champions.
Two boys and two girls from the school were victorious in the BBC’s Top of the Form.
Kirkton High made history when it became the first school in Scotland to stop dishing out beatings to children and consign the belt to history in February 1982.
Kirkton High rector Brian Carson said its discipline policy now rested on the view that parents should accept responsibility for the behaviour of their children in school.
Further change was on the horizon in January 1996.
A report drawn up by education director Anne Wilson earmarked Rockwell High and Linlathen High for summer closure to balance the books.
Rockwell High would merge with Kirkton High, which was 46.8% full.
A consultation period followed during which parents and pupils at Rockwell High protested with angry scenes at public meetings held by the council.
The school board passed a resolution to pursue self-government to avoid the merger.
The amalgamation between Rockwell and Kirkton was shelved pending the Scottish Office’s consideration of Rockwell’s bid to opt out of council control.
The consultation period ended in October.
Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth then announced in December 1996 that he intended to reject the school board’s plea to opt out of council control.
Mr Forsyth formally rejected the school’s opt-out application in February 1997.
Dundee’s Labour administration forged ahead with the bitterly contested closure but peace broke out before the school bell rang for the final time.
The new beginning, in August 1997, was also marked with a new name.
Baldragon Academy was chosen after a vote by pupils and staff from Kirkton and Rockwell.
Parents, pupils and staff also chose a new school tie.
Baldragon Academy opened with a roll of about 750 pupils before changes were in the pipeline again in 2014 with plans lodged for a £28.7 million replacement.
The original building was suffering from serious maintenance problems and Robertson Construction and Amber Blue drew up plans for the “inspirational” new school.
The replacement was part of a £420 million building programme in the city which included new primary schools with community facilities for Coldside and Menzieshill.
The secondary school would be part of a three-tier shared campus including the relocated Sidlaw View Primary School and Jessie Porter Nursery School.
The development was left in limbo for several months in 2015.
The Scottish Government worked out whether the funding should have been classified as private or public by the EU before the green light was given for the work to recommence.
Work got under way again in February 2016 and finished on schedule with past and present pupils saying goodbye to their school for the final time 24 months later.
“The school has been in the blood,” said Sandra Cannon, a former student who would later become deputy head, speaking after the bell tolled in February 2018.
“I started there as a pupil in 1968. I went back as a student teacher in 1978 and I retired as deputy head in 2015.
“Kirkton High, and latterly Baldragon, was a fantastic school.
“The old school had become rather sad and tired. It wasn’t fit for purpose.”
Sandra was one of those who helped organise a Kirkton High reunion before the closure where guided tours of the school were given as well as a display of photographs.
After the mid-term break pupils started attending the new school on Harestane Road, which was described as “one of the best shared campuses in the country”.
The memories would never fade but the old building was on borrowed time.
Now it would sit abandoned, awaiting demolition.
It would prove to be a magnet for mindless thugs in April 2018.
Youths were already climbing on to the roofs and vandalising some of the blocks.
One Saturday afternoon things took a more sinister turn.
Flames raged across multiple buildings following a deliberate blaze and more than 40 firefighters spent four hours at the scene to bring it under control.
There was significant damage caused to various parts of the former school.
The old girl would soon be put out of her misery.
In June 2018 Dundee City Council began advertising for firms to bid for a tender to knock down the former school with a start date scheduled for September 24.
Bathgate-based Dem-Master then pulled down the 10 inter-linked buildings in stages using standard and long-reach excavators with 98% of materials being recycled.
All that was left was memories.
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