It’s exactly 40 years ago that part of Powis Academy in Aberdeen was engulfed by fire, devastating the school’s assembly hall and inflicting £500,000 of damage.
Flames roared 60ft above the school roof at the height of the blaze, but the loss of the building ran to more than simple bricks and mortar.
Grampian director of education James Michie said at the time: “The assembly hall was the best performance hall acoustically-speaking in the north-east, and is a grievous loss.”
But possibly worst of all was the loss of the old Astoria Cinema organ, which school staff and pupils had painstakingly restored.
The organ had been taken to Powis Academy in 1968 when the cinema in Kittybrewster was bulldozed to make way for the shopping centre.
The instrument was saved for reinstallation.
Music master Robert Leys, along with 10 senior pupils, dismantled and removed the instrument.
The youngsters restored the organ to working order where it carried on providing music for school assemblies and events until the devastation in 1982.
The 1930s Compton Illuminated Organ was extremely rare, and complemented Powis Academy’s architectural nod to art deco style.
P&J reader Charles Burnett was one of the pupils who helped restore the organ, and he later wrote to the paper of his sadness.
“The project gave great enjoyment and an extreme sense of achievement to a group of young folk who may not have been the best academically, but took great pride in the project they were undertaking.
“Though the organ can never be replaced, the fire has not destroyed my memories of that happy time helping restore it.”
Meanwhile, what was to happen to Powis’s legendary shows, concerts and social events faced with the devastating blow of the hall having been reduced to ashes?
The show must go on
Resourcefulness won the day and they continued with their programme almost as though the school complex had remained intact.
Powis pupils provided the curtain-raiser to the 1982 opening of the glittering HM Theatre after its £3,500,000 refurbishment programme.
They took over the professional theatre at Aberdeen College Of Education for two years when they found themselves without a stage for their annual Christmas concert.
In 1984 there was another first when they took their entire festive production to St Machar’s Cathedral.
“St Machar’s provided the ideal if perhaps cramped stage for the multitude of talent associated with and emanating from Powis Academy.
“The four feeder primary schools of Sunnybank, Kittybrewster, Tillydrone and Woodside, discharged themselves with more than credit while the Powis team achieved the seemingly impossible of reinforcing their accepted reputation for excellence”, raved the P&J.
Rebuilding got under way
Rebuilding brought its challenges.
Tests had to be done on the remaining structure to see what was possible, including placing 10,970 gallons of water contained in special bags developed and supplied by Aberdeen-based company Water Weights.
In all, there were 300 bags each holding 110lbs of water and 30 containing 2,500lbs.
The school had grown over the years
Powis Academy was built in 1939.
For a while the thought was to rebuild the devastated hall around the balcony and perimeter walls, which had escaped lethal damage, based on structural engineers’ advice.
It was agreed a more modern, multi-use space would be more appropriate than an exact reconstruction.
There were big changes ahead for Powis later that decade when it became St Machar Academy in 1988, created from a merger with Hilton Academy.
St Machar itself endured a big fire in May 1998, thought to be caused by children building a den on the grounds.
Fortunately firefighters had managed to contain the blaze and prevent it from causing more than superficial damage.
Although Powis is no more, memories of the old school – and the fire from 40 years ago – are still very much remembered by its former pupils.
A Facebook page made up of ex-pupils keeps the school’s memory alive today.
You might also like:
When Green Goddesses roamed north streets fighting fires forty years ago
Conversation