Trinity High School is a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
secondary school located in
Eastfield,
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
, Scotland near the city of
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. It was established in 1971. The current
head teacher
A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management
Management (or managing ...
since 2024 is Carol McArdle, following on from Allison Craig who had taken office in 2021 following the retirement of Peter Bollen.
Overview
Trinity High School was established in 1971 to provide a combined Catholic secondary education provision for
Cambuslang
Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...
and
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
under the new comprehensive system, until that time based separately in limited accommodation at St Bride's and St Columbkille's schools respectively, but with many pupils from the towns having to attend schools either in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, further into
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...
at
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
or
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 ...
, or in
East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...
. Initially Trinity used buildings in Cambuslang previously used by Gateside School,
which had been supplanted as the local non-denominational facility with the opening of
Cathkin High School on a different site on the edge of town. In 1977 the Trinity campus at Eastfield was opened,
although the Gateside buildings continued to be used by the school for a few years
[ School History](_blank)
Trinity High School (archive version, 2009) (it was later used by
South Lanarkshire College
South Lanarkshire College is a further education institution in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Its campus is located in East Kilbride, with new buildings completed in 2008 at a site between the town centre and the Kelvin industrial area.
The colle ...
, and eventually demolished in 2008).
In 2007 the original Trinity was demolished; a new school was completed in the same Glenside Drive location. Pupils returned in August 2009.
A
council-run sports centre and swimming pool (known as ''South Lanarkshire Lifestyle Eastfield'') constructed a few years earlier shares the site, with the facilities used by the Trinity pupils during the school day and available for community use at other times.
The school uses a traditional
house system
The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...
. The pupils are organised into one of three guidance houses, formerly having been four. The three houses are ''
Iona
Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...
,
Dunkeld
Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...
'' and ''
Melrose Melrose may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
* Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland
** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery
** Melrose RFC, rugby club
Australia
* Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...
''. ''
Jedburgh
Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire.
History
Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...
'' was previously a house but was removed during re-organisation of the school faculty.
The school hosts many afterschool clubs and has competed in national competitions. Around mid-October an awards ceremony is held to honour pupils who have achieved academically and through sports activities. Although a Catholic school, it accepts students from other religious denominations.
Trinity's affiliated primary schools include St Anthony's in
Springhall, St Bride's in
Cambuslang
Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...
, St Cadoc's in
Halfway,
St Charles' in
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
People
* Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname
* ...
, St Columbkille's in Rutherglen, St Joachim's in
Carmyle
Carmyle (; ) is a suburb in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, directly north of the River Clyde. It is in an isolated location separated from the main urban area of the city and has the characteristics of a semi-rural village. Administratively, ...
, and St Mark's in
Blairbeth.
Gallery
File:Trinity High Consturction.jpg, The new school in Glenside Drive during construction in 2008
File:Trinity2007-2009.jpg, The school premises for 2007 to 2009 (Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
)
File:South Lanarkshire Lifestyle Eastfield 2016-03-09.jpg, 'South Lanarkshire Lifestyle Eastfield' sports centre next to school
File:Trinity Gate.jpg, School gate (2020)
History
New buildings, move to Hamilton
On 5 November 2007 the former school building in Glenside Drive, being demolished as part of the ''"Schools Modernisation Programme"'',
was set ablaze. Before it was set on fire, it was due to be destroyed by contractors InspirdED onto whom the council had passed responsibility.
The fire broke out in the school on
Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration list of minor secular observances#November, observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and firewor ...
. A total of eight crews, 60 firefighters in total, worked through the night to control the blaze and by 1:00 AM on Monday morning the fire was finally extinguished. On Bonfire night there were several incidents throughout Scotland in the aftermath of the festival that sparked fires similar to the Trinity School blaze as evidenced by the Strathclyde Fire and Police services, and in addition this gained widespread media attention.
During the complete reconstruction of the school, pupils at Trinity High School were temporarily located at the old
Holy Cross High School buildings in
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, with a replacement for Holy Cross having already been completed nearby (these have also since been demolished in the South Lanarkshire Schools Modernisation project).
Former pupils
*
Stuart Findlay, footballer
*
Scott Harrison, boxer
*
Clare Haughey
Clare Joan Haughey (née Donnelly, born April 1967) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Children and Young People from 2021 to 2023, having previously served as Minister for Mental Health from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Scot ...
, politician
*
Brogan Hay
Brogan Yvonne Hay (born 1 March 1999) is a Scottish footballer who plays for Rangers in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) as a right winger or forward.
Club career
After attending coaching sessions with the charity diversionary initiat ...
, footballer
*
James Kelly, politician
*
Ged Killen
Gerard Killen (born 1 May 1986) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (UK Parliament constituency), Rutherglen and Hamilton ...
, politician
*
Scott Martin, footballer
*
Stephen McKeown, footballer
*
Kevin Nisbet
Kevin Michael Nisbet (born 8 March 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for club Aberdeen, on loan from club Millwall and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Partick Thistle, Raith Ro ...
, footballer
*
Bernard Ponsonby
Bernard Ponsonby is a Scottish broadcast journalist for regional news and current affairs programming for STV. He joined the station in 1990 and was appointed political editor in 2000, following the retirement of longstanding political editor ...
, TV news reporter
*
Dom Thomas, footballer
*
Andy Walker, footballer
References
External links
Trinity High School websiteCouncil information about the school Proposal to realign the school catchment areas of both Cathkin and Trinity High Schools and St CadocJune 2006 School Inspection ReportSchool profile at Education Scotland websiteReport of the £290 million project "School Modernisation Programme"Trinity Gazette
{{authority control
Cambuslang
Buildings and structures in Rutherglen
1971 establishments in Scotland
School buildings completed in 2009
Buildings and structures demolished in 2007
Secondary schools in South Lanarkshire
Catholic secondary schools in South Lanarkshire
Educational institutions established in 1971
School buildings completed in 1977