Rannoch School was an independent boarding school, located on the south shore of

Loch Rannoch Loch Rannoch (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Raineach'') is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over long in a west–east direction with an average width of about , and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of .Tom Weir. ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland ...

, Scotland on the Dall Estate, from

Kinloch Rannoch Kinloch Rannoch (; Gaelic: ''Ceann Loch Raineach'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, at the eastern end of Loch Rannoch, 18 miles (29 km) west of Pitlochry, on the banks of the River Tummel. The village is a tourist and outdoor ...

. Dall House served as the main school building and a boarding house. It was established by three masters from

Gordonstoun School Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

and opened on 24 September 1959 with 82 boys. The school's ethos was enshrined in its principle of "in pursuit of all round excellence" based on the philosophies of

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonsto ...

. Rannoch's location in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

glens lent itself well to

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...

pursuits, which became a large part of the school's activities.

Dall House

Dall House was the main school building. It housed two of the boys’ boarding houses, the dining hall, kitchens, masters common room and headmasters office, and in later years the girls boarding house. Dall House - geograph

The estate dates back to 1347. Dall House was built in 1855 as a principal seat of the

Clan Robertson Clan Donnachaidh (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Donnchaidh ), also known as Clan Robertson or Clan Duncan is a Scottish clan. History Origins There are two main theories as to the origins of the Clan Donnachaidh: #That the founder of the clan, Donn(a) ...

, which it remained until the early last century. In 1860 it was sold to Thomas Frederick Charles Vernon Wentworth of Yorkshire. It passed to his son Captain

Bruce Vernon-Wentworth Bruce Canning Vernon-Wentworth (14 December 1862 – 12 November 1951) was a British army officer, Conservative Party politician and first-class cricketer. The eldest son of Thomas Frederick Charles Vernon Wentworth of Wentworth Castle near Bar ...

, who used to visit during the

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( ...

shooting season. He took his staff from his main residence at

Wentworth Castle Wentworth Castle is a grade-I listed country house, the former seat of the Earls of Strafford, at Stainborough, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is now home to the Northern College for Residential and Community Education. An ...

in Yorkshire during the season and after the end of World War II lived there full-time until his death in 1951. He is buried at a private grave site by the

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...

adjacent to the house. The building is a romantically styled ''

Scots Baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

'' mansion house designed by architects

Thomas Mackenzie Sir Thomas Mackenzie (10 March 1853 – 14 February 1930) was a Scottish-born New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and later served as New Zealand High Commissioner in ...

and James Matthews. Prior to being purchased by the school, it was used as offices by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also resp ...

Closure in 2002

In 2002, Rannoch School closed permanently, having been threatened with closure the previous year but lasting another 12 months through financial donations and publicity. Although the demand for independent schooling in Scotland is on the increase, recent years have shown a decline in the number of parents willing to send their children to boarding school. The remoteness of Rannoch and lack of public transport meant that opportunities for

day pupil A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

s were very limited, being from the nearest village and an hour's drive from the nearest city (

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Old Rannochians

Rannoch produced a number of distinguished alumni known as "Old Rannochians", including: *

David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan David Michael James Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan (born 12 November 1952), is the heir apparent to the marquessate of Ailesbury, and its subsidiary titles. These include Earl of Cardigan, which he currently uses as his courtesy title. Bio ...

Graeme Lamb Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Cameron Maxwell Lamb (born 21 May 1953) is a retired British Army officer. He is a former Commander of the Field Army at Land Command, known for his contributions to counter-insurgency. Military career Educated ...

, British General * Patrick Singleton, Bermudian

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for ...

r * Tom Smith, 1971-2022 International Rugby Player: Scotland (61 caps) and British & Irish Lions (6 caps over 2 tours)

References

{{authority control Defunct private schools in Scotland Defunct boarding schools in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1959 1959 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions disestablished in 2002 2002 disestablishments in Scotland Defunct schools in Perth and Kinross

Dall House

Closure in 2002

Old Rannochians

See also

References