Braidhurst High School is a non-

denominational A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition, among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, non-Chalcedonian, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, a ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the suburb of

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

known as Forgewood,

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

, Scotland. As of June 2023, the school has a pupil roll of approx. 600 with a teaching staff equivalent of 50 FTE teachers.

History

Braidhurst High School was established in 1962, making it one of the more modern secondary schools in Motherwell. By 2023, the school building had undergone modernisation works, with pink and yellow panels replaced by a glass-exterior. In 1974, Braidhurst converted to a six-year comprehensive school.

Facilities

The school has a two-storey main building, which holds the library, gymnasiums, theatre/assembly hall and cafeteria, and is adjoined by a four-storey tower block, containing additional learning facilities such as a computer suite. There is an indoor sports barn, capable of hosting indoor sporting events such as football, volleyball and basketball, as well as being a venue for sports clubs and physical education classes. Recently, the school has undergone some upgrades, and that includes the installation of an outdoor, full-size, floodlit, astroturf pitch that is used by the school and the wider community. The School is near the Greenlink Cycle Path, a direct route from

Strathclyde Park Strathclyde Country Park is a country park located on the outskirts of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, named after the former Strathclyde region of Scotland. It is often commonly referred to as Strathclyde, or simply Strathy. Desc ...

to Motherwell Town Centre.

Recognition

Football pitch at Braidhurst High School - geograph

The outdoor playing fields meant that in 2008, Braidhurst became a designated

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

School of football facility, one of six facilities with this status in Scotland. Young footballers all around Lanarkshire could apply for a place in Braidhurst through the initiative. The school has been awarded the SFA Quality Mark Award for outstanding educational provision and the National Sports Comprehensive Status. In 2012, the school was selected as the Lanarkshire base for the SFA's ''Performance Schools'', a system supporting the development of the best young talented footballers across the country (there are seven such schools across Scotland). The school been awarded the

Customer Service Excellence The Customer Service Excellence, (previously the "Charter Mark") is an accreditation for organisations, intended to indicate an independent validation of achievement. History The Charter Mark was an award demonstrating the achievement of ''nationa ...

award (previously the Charter Mark) on three occasions (2001, 2004, 2007). An

HMIe Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for the inspection of public and private, primary and secondary schools, as well as further education colleges, community learning, L ...

Report, commissioned on 19 January 2010, noted strengths within the school, including politeness of the pupils, pupils' overall good behavior, examples of good leadership throughout the school and the sense of identity through the schools status as a sports comprehensive and school of football. The academy teams of Motherwell Football Club use the school's sports facility for training purposes.

Catchment area

As well as being a secondary school for the Forgewood suburb of Motherwell, Braidhurst is also in the catchment area of other areas of Motherwell including North Motherwell,

Jerviston Jerviston is a country estate on the north-eastern edge of the Scottish town of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire which is now occupied by ''Colville Park Country Club''. The estate was once the location of a small castle (Laird's House) construc ...

and even

Mossend Mossend is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, located beside the town of Bellshill, west of the villages of Holytown and New Stevenston, north of the larger town of Motherwell and south of the Eurocentral industrial park and the M8 motor ...

. Feeder schools for Braidhurst include Muir Street Primary, Calder Primary and Logans Primary.

Notable former pupils

Tam Cowan Thomas Cowan (born 21 April 1969) is a Scottish football journalist and radio presenter who was previously also a television presenter. Early life He was educated at Braidhurst High School in Motherwell where he was one of the school captains ...

, comedian and writer *

Allan Gentleman Allan Forbes Gentleman is a former member of the Scottish National Swimming Team and a five-time World Masters Swimming Champion (Aarhus, August 1989). He is also a writer and actor, and has worked in the British television and film industry since ...

(born 1953), Scotland Swimming Team, World Masters Swimming Champion *

Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell bef ...

, footballer for

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

* Elaine C. Smith, comedian and actress

References

External links

Official siteScottish Schools Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braidhurst High School, Motherwell Buildings and structures in Motherwell Secondary schools in North Lanarkshire Educational institutions established in 1962 1962 establishments in Scotland Youth football in Scotland