Scotland Street School Museum facts for kids
The Scotland Street School Museum is a special place in Glasgow, Scotland. It's a museum all about how schools used to be. You can find it in the Kingston area. The building itself is very famous. A brilliant architect named Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed it. He worked on it between 1903 and 1906. Many people think it's one of Glasgow's most important buildings. It's located right next to the Shields Road subway station.
A Look Back in Time
Designing a Dream School
Charles Rennie Mackintosh got ideas for the school's design from old Scottish castles. He looked at Rowallan Castle and Falkland Palace. The school has two tall staircases with many windows. These staircases look like towers from a castle. The building also has a large hall with beautiful tiles. This hall was used for exercises and drills.
The school is a great example of the Modern Style. This was a popular art and design movement in Britain. It's also known as Art Nouveau. Mackintosh often had disagreements with the school board while building it. The board wanted a cheaper design. But Mackintosh wanted his artistic vision to come true. The school ended up costing £34,291. This was more than they planned to spend.
From Busy School to Museum
The school was built to teach 1,250 students. But by the 1970s, the area around the school changed. Fewer families lived there. The number of students dropped to less than 100. Because of this, the school closed its doors in 1979.
Today, the building is a museum. It teaches visitors about school life in the past. You can even join a class that feels like it's from the Victorian era. Actors play strict teachers from that time. It's a fun way to see what school was like long ago!
A film was made about the school in 2018. It's called Scotland Street School Remembers. Margaret Moore directed this documentary.
See also
- Culture in Glasgow
- Glasgow School of Art
