One of the first priorities of the Slamannan School Board after it was established in 1873 was to provide a school in the populous area in the vicinity of the Black Loch to replace the colliery schools which were of varied quality. Feus were immediately sought and cheap land being available at Lochside it was favoured. In July 1874 Mr Watt, architect in Glasgow, provided plans for a building to accommodate 350 pupils. Progress was rapid and the school opened in October 1876:
“The New School at LIMERIGG will be Publicly Opened by the Board on Monday, the 9th instant, at 12 o’clock Noon, when parents and others interested are invited to be present.
Mr M MacGregor, the teacher, will attend at the School between the hours of 11 and 12 o’clock forenoon of that day, for the purpose of enrolling pupils, and all intending pupils are particularly requested to come forward at that time.” (Falkirk Herald 7 October 1876, 1).
The school was located at the north-east side of the Black Loch and was occasionally referred to as “Lochside School.” Confusingly, it directly replaced the Lochside Colliery School which was 30m to the west. Only 150m to the east was a Roman Catholic School. The site is raised above the water and provides a magnificent setting. The building was T-shaped in plan with the main classrooms arranged in the long NW/SE block and an infant room tacked onto the centre of the north side. The principal classroom was 64ft long by 26ft broad and could be converted into two separate classrooms by means of folding doors. At each end of this classroom were smaller classrooms, each 16ft by 18ft, with a retiring room for the teachers. The infant classroom was 24ft square. The cost was put at £2,500.
The school building has remained in this same basic form, with only minor changes, to the present day. In 1889 evening classes were started. Limerigg Primary School was temporarily closed (mothballed) in August 2019 after the school roll had fallen to just five pupils, having been declining over a number of years. Slamannan Primary School became the catchment school for primary pupils living in this area. On 1 June 2021, the Education, Children and Young People Executive made the decision to permanently close the school but this was objected to by the Scottish Office for spurious reasons of procedure. It remains unused.
| YEAR ARRIVED | HEADTEACHER | YEAR LEFT | No. PUPILS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1876 | Malcolm McGregor | 1886 | 148-291 |
| 1886 | John Stevenson | 325-137 | |
| 1920s | James Allan | 1926 | |
| 1930 | A C McGregor (temp) | ||
| John J Moffat | 1932 | ||
| 1932 | Frederick Dean | 1934 | |
| 1935 | David Clark | 1939 | 67 |
| 1939 | Peter B Grant | 1946 | |
| 1946 | Arthur Doyle | 1947 | |
| 1947 | William Craik | ||
| 1977 | Christine Lowe | 1989 | 35 |
| 1989 | Patricia Cassells | 1990 | |
| 1990 | Barbara Coull | 1999 | |
| 1999 | Daniel Barrie | 2004 | |
| 2004 | Patricia Cassells (Joint Headship with Drumbowie Primary School) | 2005 | |
| 2005 | Sandra Atkinson | 2007 | |
| 2019 | 5 |
Sites and Monuments Record
| Limerigg Public School Lochside Road | SMR 2272 | NS 8630 7034 |
Falkirk Local History Society 