Dingwall Academy pupils tapped for 1970s’ memories at Ross-shire secondary
A former pupil of Dingwall Academy in the 1970s is keen to recruit other past pupils from that time to record memories of their schooldays in a book he is writing.
Iain Rose, a retired Army Veterinary Officer now living back on the Black Isle, is trying to create a historical record of life in and out of the Dingwall Academy classroom by interviewing around thirty people who were at the school during that decade.
Iain was a pupil at Dingwall Academy between 1974 and 1980. Though he headed south of the border and later across the world after qualifying as a veterinary surgeon at Glasgow University, he retains strong memories of Dingwall Academy at the time.
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His hope is that that there are others from that era who are prepared to be interviewed and provide him with their own accounts of what school life was like back then.
Said Iain: “I want to capture a sense of the Academy in the Seventies as we grew up in a decade of relative turmoil. The post-war economic boom had ended, and the country was beset with labour strikes and power cuts.
“Social progression had begun, but we still had a long way to go, and the school reflected that.
“It could be a challenging place to survive in. When I talk to my kids about their recent schooldays, I realise how different things were in the Seventies, and I think it’s important to try to capture reflections of the time before they become too misty and inaccurate”.
He wants anyone who went to Dingwall Academy between 1970 and 1980 and would like to be interviewed to contact him via the e-mail address below. Interviews can be conducted face to face, online or by telephone.
He said: “I’ve already conducted 10 interviews and written them up into roughly 2000-word narratives. Most of my interviewees begin by saying they can’t remember much of their school days but by the time we’ve chatted they usually give me more than I can fit into my word limit.
“When I write my first interview draft, I then send it back to the interviewee and we bat it back and forth until they are completely satisfied with what I’ve written. Some pupils loved their time there, others hated it, and I’d like to capture a broad range of memories and thoughts.
“It’s not just tales of school that I’m after but also what went on after school and in the holidays. Our school days weren’t just about being in class – we got up to all sorts of stuff as soon as the school bell rang.”
Iain can be contacted by e-mail at iain.rose100@outlook.com or by phone on 07721 269483
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