The boys' entrance at Kennedy Street Junior Secondary School, 1955.
In October 1955 there were 177,709 children registered at Glasgow Education Authority schools, one in five of all Scottish school children. There was, however, a severe shortage of teachers in the city, particularly for maths and the sciences. Almost 6 per cent of first, second and third year secondary classes contained more than forty pupils, compared to an average of 25.5 per class in private schools. In desperation, Glasgow Education Authority adopted emergency measures such as employing untrained or retired staff: in 1955, for example, sixty-four teachers were over the age of 70, while another sixty-five were uncertified.
In 1955 Partick Camera Club set out to create a photographic survey of Glasgow. As the project progressed, other camera clubs joined and each was allocated a district of the city to photograph. Glasgow Museums exhibited the photographs at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and at the People's Place, and in 1956 the exhibition was shown at the Palace of Art in Bellahouston Park. The photographs are now part of Glasgow Museums' collections.
Reference: 1005.97.291 / OG.1955.121.[240 or 241]
Reproduced with the permission of the Partick Camera Club
Keywords:
boys, Glasgow Education Authority, Glasgow Photographic Survey 1955, junior secondary schools, Kennedy Street Junior Secondary School, teachers