| Administrative History | Peterculter School Board covered the area of Peterculter civil parish in central Aberdeenshire, now part of Aberdeen city. The first School Board consisted of Rev. John Allan, the minister of Culter; Rev. James Dalgarno, minister of the Free Church; Alexander Edmond, advocate; John Johnston, paper maker in Culter; David Nicol, farmer in Upper Anguston; John Whyte, advocate; and Arthur Stephen, the clerk.
There were eleven schools mentioned in the 1873 census, with a total of 202 pupils, but only five schools remained by the time the Board sent a report to the Board of Education four months later: Craigton; Countesswells; Eddiston; Cults, and Kingswells. NB - Kingswells School included in Newhills School Board records? A further 109 children required school accommodation. By 1900 there were 842 children of school age in the parish: 626 were educated in the parish and most of the rest attended schools in Aberdeen town, though a year later Aberdeen was threatening to refuse them admission if Peterculter Board continued to refuse to pay towards their costs. The chairman of the Board, Dr. Bruce, joined the 7th.Battalion The Gordon Highlanders at the outbreak of the First World War, was awarded the DSO, and returned as chairman just before the abolition of the Board in 1919.
The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict., c.62) created school boards in Scotland with a statutory duty to provide education for all children between the ages of 5 and 13. The boards had an elected membership made up of owners and occupiers of property of the value of £4 or over. They were responsible for the building and maintenance of schools, staffing and attendance of pupils. They were overseen by the Scotch Board of Education.
The Education (Scotland) Act 1901 (64 Vict. and 1 Edw. VII, c.9) raised the school leaving age to 14. School boards were abolished by the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V, c.48) and replaced by education authorities and school management committees. |