Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
opens Hazlehead Academy
A rare item has been discovered buried in
the archives in the school library. It is a recording of the opening
ceremony of the school which was graced by the presence of her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II. Hazlehead Academy was officially opened on the 7th
October 1970.
We have included a portion of the recording below.
The Queen's speech at the
opening of Hazlehead Academy (2Mb)
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EVENING EXPRESS 25/8/70
" A green blazered army of nearly 900 pupils descended on an
Aberdeen bus route today - and brought chaos to the city transport
department's plans to cope with traffic to the new million-pound-plus
Hazlehead Academy. Eighteen buses in 50 minutes failed to handle the
200-yard-long queues at Holburn Junction . . . and angry regular
passengers on their way to work condemned the arrangements as
shocking. An inspector said that the No 5 Woodend service had been
increased to cope with the school crowds - a bus almost every
two minutes instead of six minutes. An estimated 860 pupils had
travelled by bus to the new Academy."
The picture below shows the school
when it first opened in 1970. There has been very little change in the
area since then other than the installation of more traffic lights and
the closure of the caravan park.
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CAPTAINS LOG
(Well, Rector's Log at least)
The archives also contain some other fascinating gems. Douglas
Prosser, who was the school Rector from 1976 till his retirement in
1983, kept a daily record of the events at the school. Reading its
pages show that in the past running a school was perhaps a more leisurely
affair than in modern times.
The picture to the right shows Mr Prosser with some senior pupils.
Careful note should be taken of the hair styles - who are the boys and
who are the girls?
Below are some examples from Mr Prosser's records. |
Mr Prosser can be seen wearing the regulation academic gown.
Rumour has it that one still hangs behind Mr Wood's door. |
19th May 1976. Heard Mr Mair teach a lesson.
(Yes that is our Mr Mair!)
21st May 1976. Interviews for the post of Principal Teacher of Music.
Appointed Mr J. Lobban.
27th May 1976. Addressed pupils at Hazlehead Primary School due to
enrol in the Academy in August 1976.
12th October 1976. Letter to parents to be sent out giving decision
regarding the inclusion of the option to girls of wearing trousers as
part of school uniform.
10th November 1976. The re-organised Library/Resource/Study area now
in operation, although much remains to be done in the organising of
all material, as well as evolving procedures for effective use. The
separation of the Tuition and Leisure book borrowing from the study
area has proved to be an advantage and study periods would appear to
be more positively used by senior pupils.
16th December 1976. Examinations for years 4, 5 and 6. Certain
practical subjects. Dance for members of the School Ball-room Dancing
Club.
15th May 1977. Visited the Technical Department to discuss the
progress of the building of the garage for the school mini-buses.
11th December 1977. Observed that certain areas are becoming gathering
places for the secret smoker! Behind the Gym Block and behind the
School Garage. These to be declared out of bounds. |
MINUTES FROM THE PUPIL COUNCIL
- 1970 to 1981
The present Pupil Councils were preceded in the 1970s by the
School Council. This consisted of senior staff in the school and 44
elected pupils. The early meetings were held AFTER school beginning at
4.10 pm. A book of minutes of the meetings was kept by an appointed
pupil. The minute book contains details of the first meeting in 1970
until 1981. The comments from the meetings make interesting reading.
October '70. There was a complaint from a
representative of the 5th Year intake pupils that there were
prejudices and discrimination against them from both staff and pupils.
There followed discussion at some length during which a 1st Year
representative complained of mocking by older pupils of the 1st Year.
Discussion ended without a motion being put.
November '70. A motion was put forward, after some discussion, to
recommend that girls might be allowed to wear dark, plain trousers
coming to and from school, when the weather is bad, as long as the
school uniform is unseen, i.e. under a coat.
November '70. Unanimously carried was the motion that hair-dryers
should be installed in the boys' changing rooms in the swimming pool.
October '71. The Council unanimously felt that girls ought to be
allowed to wear black tights and a recommendation to this effect was
agreed. The wearing of coloured shirts was raised and the following
colours were suggested:- violet, light green, pale blue, pink and pale
yellow.
February '72. A complaint by the 5th year representatives that the
quality of meat at school dinners was poor, being often tough and
fatty, was heard by the Council, but Council decided to taken no
action on the matter.
November '72. By one vote, the Council agreed to take no action on 1st
Year complaints about the excessive length of the school day.
December '72. The 3rd year suggested that a method of shortening the
school day should be sought, without shortening the lunch hour or the
intervals. The council agreed to this suggestion and added that, in
their opinion, the school day was too long for junior pupils (1st and
2nd Year).
The meeting finished at 5 pm.
March '73. The Council again considered the problems of litter but no
new suggestions were forthcoming.
October '74. A 2nd Year resolution requested that sufficient chips be
available at lunchtimes for each pupil to receive a portion. This was
eventually agreed upon by the Council.
October '74. The Council supported a 3rd Year request that girls
should be permitted to wear blouses of pale colours other than green
and white.
April '75. The 3rd Year suggested that pale blue be one of the colours
permitted for girls blouses, the Council supported this proposal.
October '75. It was proposed that homework should not be given over
holidays or long weekends. This was put to the vote and carried
unanimously.
February '76 The 2nd Years wanted to see a wider colour range of
trousers allowed for the boys. it was decided that grey and dark green
trousers should be permitted.
November '76. The 1st Years asked if sauce and vinegar could be
provided on the tables at dinners. After discussion the council voted
unanimously against this.
November '76. The 1st Years complained that certain pupils are
reserving seats by the use of blazers in the Dining Hall. This means
that there are not enough seats left for those pupils at the head of
the queue. It was suggested that complaints about this be made to the
prefects on duty.
November '76. The 1st Year asked that staff consider belting girls as
well as boys as a punishment. It was thought by the Council that this
was possibly a matter for the Education Committee.
November '77. A request was made by 2nd Year for the provision of
vinegar and sauce at the dinning tables. It was decided that pupils
would have to pay for the privilege.
December '77. Item 3 on the agenda concerned girl's uniform. The
question of the style and type of trousers that could be worn was
discussed. A vote was taken on the controversial matter of wearing
corduroy trousers. The Council decided by 23 votes to 1 that a
recommendation should be put before Mr Prosser to allow cords. to be worn in school. A 1st Year proposal that sweaters should
be worn under blouses during the winter was rejected by 18 votes to 2.
November '79. Certain members of the Council asked for the provision
of tomato sauce at school meals. The idea was dismissed as impractical
but a suggestion was made that sachets of tomato sauce be made
available for purchase at tuck-shops.
November '80. The 1st Year expressed concern over the lack of doors
and locks in the swimming pool cubicles. Mr Prosser agreed to contact
the District Council over the matter. It also arose that the 5th Year
Girls toilets also lacked a number of locks. However, a joiner will be
fixing them in the near future.
March '81. The 3rd Years asked that jeans be allowed as part of the
school uniform, but members of the Council pointed out that they were
only a passing fashion, could be scruffy and undesirable and anyway
were not of the existing school colours.
From reading the above, the
preoccupation with items of uniform and the canteen food can clearly
be seen.. A look at
more recent council minutes will show
that little changes! |
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The Hazlehead Website
raids the archives!
If you were a little worried by the introduction then don't be too
concerned. It all happened 35 years ago. The Evening Express headline
came from the 25th of August 1970! The school library recently put on
a display of some archive material from Hazlehead's past but we
thought it might be worth making a few choice snippets available to a
wider audience. Printed below is what the Evening Express had to say
when the school opened.
Hazlehead Academy was officially opened by
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on the 7th October 1970. This followed a
move from the existing school based in Belmont Street, in what is now
the Academy Shopping Centre. Plans were laid towards the end of the
1950s. The education committee at the time had under consideration the
reorganisation of the existing Secondary provision of 3 Senior
Secondary schools and a number of Junior Secondary schools into 10
co-educational comprehensives. Hazlehead Academy would become one of
these schools.
The design of the new school sought to reflect the priorities of the
day and there are a few interesting quotes from the booklet produced
for the occasion of the opening.
"In the building of the school provision is made for smaller groups
of pupils so that they can dine together, have common facilities and
be in a position to meet in a much more personal way."
For the first time ever in any secondary school in Aberdeen, it has
been possible to provide the entire playfield accommodation on the
same campus as the school so that no journey is necessary and
playfield provision becomes more than ever before an integral part of
the school curriculum."
"The school has taken fully two years to build and the final cost will
be approximately £900,000." |
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The pictures opposite were taken from the
official documentation produced for the opening ceremony.
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A very traditional Art class in the newly opened school.
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The library has undergone modernisation since this photograph was taken.
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Pupils in the PE department - similar activities continue today.
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The early Physics laboratories had a tiered seating lecture area (now removed).
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Pupils use equipment in the technical department.
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