The Southfield Colliery to the south-west of Slamannan was worked by William Black & Sons, coalmasters, which provided housing for its colliers. In 1878 the company brought David Hunter in to teach in a converted house. He was not certified but had a good understanding of the government’s requirements. He appears to have been a good teacher and several parents transferred their children from the Slamannan Public School to his care. Hunter was more concerned with the essential subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic, rather than Latin or the learning of religious texts by rote. In any case, there was a Sabbath school which met in the schoolroom under the superintendence of a Mr Stirling.
One of those who transferred their boy to Southfield was Thomas Gray, miner, and the Slamannan School Board decided to make an example of him. The Southfield School was derogatorily classed as an adventure school and Hunter’s salary was almost entirely derived from fees. W. Black & Sons provided little equipment, furniture or learning aids. The School Board was therefore concerned about the poor quality of the education being provided and so early in 1879 it asked the Government Inspector to report on the adventure school. He declined, but recommended Mr Biggam of Airdrie Albert School, and he was subsequently commissioned. Hunter must have cooperated and Biggam attended the classes and interviewed all 70 of the pupils. His report was not damming, but it did criticise the school, in particular for the abilities of those over nine years of age. The most serious fault was the failure to keep an attendance register. With this ammunition to hand, the School Board took Gray to court for having grossly neglected to provide education for his child. However, the school had only been going for ten months and the parents pointed out that the poor standard of the older pupils was due to their former attendance at the public school! Gray, in particular, stressed that his son had much improved at the new school. As for the lack of a register, it turned out that a register of absent pupils was kept. The judge threw the case out.
The analysis of the 1881 census by the School Board showed that there were then 72 pupils at Southfield School. Even more attended the Sabbath school which was non-denominational. The school continued to run successfully and in 1894 the Slamannan School Board considered taking it over. This may have been due to an approach from the colliery owners. Things then moved quickly. The colliery closed and with it the school. Most of the workforce moved out of the district in search of work. Southfield Rows were demolished in 1908 and the building materials sold off.
| YEAR ARRIVED | HEADTEACHER | YEAR LEFT | No. PUPILS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | David Hunter | c1896 | 72 |
National Grid Reference
| Southfield | NS 847 721 |
Falkirk Local History Society 