Friday October  20th

Osprey Room Grant Arms Hotel, Grantown.

The Grantown Society October Meeting

(7.00 for) 7.30pm

“250 years of Grantown Grammar School”

A presentation by Bill Sadler to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Grantown Grammar School.

‘Because New Grantown was founded on an open moor some three miles and a Spey ferry from the nearest parochial school, James Grant of Grant planned from its earliest days to provide a new school for the children of the settlers he hoped to attract to it.

Even before the first stone of the first house was laid in place in June 1765, a central site was selected - a middle lot on the south side of The square - and a plan drawn out.  The boys’ classroom was to be at one end of the ground floor of the building, that for the girls was to be at the other, with the doors of ach opening onto the playground at the back.  The front door on The Square was to give access to a stair leading to the schoolmaster’s and sc on the first floor and in the attics above.

The unexpectedly slow early growth of the new town - cause partly by the severity of its first winter - resulted, however, in there being insufficient children of school age to justify the employment of teaching staff until 1767, and in the interval the building plans were laid aside.

The first master of what came to be called the Grammar school of Grantown, James Innes, arrived with a glowing testimonial and a claim to be able to teach Greek, Latin and book-keeping by the Italian and other approved methods, as well as writing and “Arithmetic Vulgar, Decimal, Logarithmical and Analytical”.  Music, too, both vocal and instrumental, this paragon professed.’

(From A lesson in history at the Grammar School.  G.A. Dixon. Strathspey and Badenoch Herald 29th August 1991)

That building was on what is now Castle Road but all did not go well for the Grammar School in its early days………    

                     Alex Ross’s  shop - later demolished- Site of Grantown’s first

                               Grammar School in Castle Road

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