West Coats Primary School

West Coats Primary School in Cambuslang on the south east fringe of Glasgow, Scotland was built in the late 19th century and is still an active school with over 400 children. In the 1990s an extension was added to accommodate the increasing number of pupils.

The school has several classrooms, a gym/dining hall and a Computer Suite. P6 and P7 recently performed with Scottish Opera at a performance on Friday 24 February 2006. The School has a website. The well-known boxer Scott Harrison went to this school. The school has recently enrolled in the Cashless Cafeteria system which is taking place throughout South Lanarkshire.

West Coats demand for places far outstripping capacity - even with the new extension erected in the upper playground (the erstwhile boys’ playground) over the last few years. Although given the pleasing conservative nature of the rest of the school (grey sandstone) this extension is perceived by many as a bit of a carbuncle, it appears to cut the mustard by alleviating what was a serious accommodation shortage brought about chiefly by the vast number of new private homes built over the last twenty-five years and partly by allowing into the school children from outwith the catchment area. Apparently this latter practice has often resulted in some children who should rightfully attend West Coats being refused places there and, in one case we’ve heard of, a parent had to go to court to get his children accepted.

Due to the age of the buildings and the aforementioned demand for places, the school was extended in 2003 and refurbished in 2015/16. During the latter process, the pupils had to attend the former Cairns Primary School (which had itself already been rebuilt on an adjacent site) in the Halfway district of Cambuslang. As well central Cambuslang south of the Main Street, the catchment zone for West Coats includes the Kirkhill and Holmhills (the northern part of Whitlawburn) areas.

Originally West Coats was a Higher Grade (or HG) school that pupils attended from age five to fourteen and left for the workplace. Later it became a primary school for children aged between five and eleven, or twelve, depending on when their birthday fell and when they had begun attending the school.

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Wikipedia