When Cults Academy officially opened in March 1967, it commanded a prominent position over Cults, with “a magnificent view of the Dee Valley and wide sweep of the Grampians beyond”.
It was the crème de la crème of schools when it opened, inside and out, with its terraced football and hockey pitches, and a quarter-mile running track.
Located in one of Aberdeen’s wealthiest suburbs, Cults remains the crème de la crème of the city’s secondary schools, regularly topping league tables.
Cults opened as joint primary and secondary school in 1967
But back in 1967, it was built as a junior secondary, meaning it was a joint primary-secondary school to accommodate 1050 pupils.
Each department – infant, primary and secondary – had its own playground near the administration block.
Inside, an elm-boarded foyer lead to a 500-seat assembly hall, which was adjacent to the three-storey, 12-classroom primary department.
A general purpose room linked it to the infant department.
The secondary department, meanwhile was housed in a four-storey block containing a library, classrooms, laboratories, homecraft, art, music, geography and commercial rooms.
The technical workshop had metalwork, woodwork, technical drawing and mechanics’ rooms.
While an internal courtyard had a garden and biology pool to facilitate the study of plants and animals.
With an emphasis on sport, Cults Academy was also built with a swimming pool instead of a second gymnasium.
The building was designed by council’s architect and built by local contractors with local supplies.
Cults Academy overcrowded within four years
This was before the reorganisation of local authorities, and at that point, Cults was an Aberdeenshire school.
As a result, its catchment was very wide – pupils in Westhill also went to Cults for secondary education.
Therefore there was controversy when, within four years, the new school was so overcrowded it was “bursting at the seams”.
On top of this, the oil boom brought many more people to the area.
Education convener Maitland Mackie admitted the council had not expected such a rapid increase in new housing in Cults, and that more pupils were staying on at school beyond leaving age.
Intended as a junior secondary school, Cults was then expected to provide comprehensive schooling to fall in line with a nationwide change in education legislation.
Unable to cope with all the pupils, the education authority was forced to seek alternative accommodation elsewhere while an extension was built.
The solution was to reopen an old school in the village and bus 125 pupils of the younger p5 and p6 there for classes.
It meant the secondary pupils had less disruption to their education.
The ultimate solution was to make Cults Academy a secondary school only.
And the pressured was alleviated by new primaries at Milltimber in 1970 and Cults in 1974.
We’ve taken a trip down memory lane and put together a gallery of Cults Academy over the decades, perhaps you’ll spot some familiar faces along the way?
The early days of Cults Academy in the 1960s and ’70s
Fun and fundraising in the 1980s at Cults
The 1990s: Studies, sports and singing at Cults Academy
2000-2009: The end and a new beginning for Cults Academy
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