BBC Alba documentary to spotlight life in a schoolhouse

A NEW BBC Alba documentary explores what it was like for the families of headteachers whose family home was part of the school.

Produced by MacTV and presented by Cathy MacDonald, Trusadh: Clann an Taigh- sgoile looks at life after the Second World War, when the headteacher’s role entailed living and bringing up their own families in the schoolhouse adjacent to the school.

From the award-winning factual series Trusadh, Clann an Taigh-sgoile (Children of the Schoolhouse) looks through the lens at times gone by in the Outer Hebrides.

In the days before easy road transport nearly every village in the islands had its own school with the headteacher and family resident. The headteacher held a very special and important role. A person whom people trusted, who was knowledgeable and well-educated, and who held a strong position in the community.

Despite their size these village schools were revered by communities who recognised that getting an education represented a route to a better life.

However, what was life really like with your father as headteacher? Broadcaster Cathy Macdonald talks to children of the schoolhouse throughout the Western Isles about their memories of what it was really like to be brought up in the schoolhouse.

Amongst others, she speaks to Allan MacDonald, who was brought up in the schoolhouse in Eriskay, which was located at the centre of the island, but was also at the very heart of the community, where education was a priority, but also where dances and weddings took place.

Cathy even takes a trip down memory lane to visit her old primary school in Bernera, where she speaks to Catriona Stewart, daughter of the headteacher and whom she knew well from her schooldays, about her precious memories of her upbringing and the strong bond she held with her father.

After leaving Bernera Catriona’s family became the residents of a unique schoolhouse in a castle, after her father became the headteacher of Lews Castle School.

Cathy also chats with brothers, Allan and Murdo Turner, who were brought up in schoolhouses in Loch Portain in Uist and Drinishader in Harris about their memories of their father and about the schools he was in charge of. Both became surgeons, and now retired they reflect on how their upbringing impacted their lives.

A programme full of nostalgia about a selection of schools between Lewis and Barra, remembering the headteachers, the pupils and the community around them, through the eyes of children of the schoolhouse.

Trusadh: Clann an Taigh-sgoile airs on BBC Alba on Monday, August 28 at 9pm and will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer for 30 days.