Education

DURING its 200 years as a town, Helensburgh has had a number or private schools, particularly for nursery age children. One not so well known was Miss Ottman's School.

Edinburgh man Robert Whitton, who has researched the school, unearthed much of the Ottman family tree.

PENINSULA residents are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the present Rosneath Primary School . . . but its history goes much further back than that.

Staff, parents and pupils — assisted by Cove Park’s Dawn Youll and artist Linda Florence — are busy organising appropriate events under the supervision of head teacher Mrs Emma McDermid.One of Linda’s aims is to produce an artwork which will reflect input from the children, including feedback from a recent question and answer session which included parents.

A RHU village schoolteacher had a sideline of money-lending — and it led to his murder.

Dominie John Arroll became the focus of a mystery.

MUNICIPAL AND CHURCH SCHOOLS IN HELENSBURGH

Notes:

1. Private schools are excluded.

2. Information prior to 1956 comes principally from Helensburgh Directories.

3. Names change slightly over the years.

TRAINING SHIPS were a way of life — and a hard one — in the Gareloch from 1869 for 54 years.

But Helensburgh and Rhu benefitted in various ways from the two former sailing ships moored off Kidston Point and the boys who lived on them.

AN 1899 copy of John Bunyan’s ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ found in a Glasgow bookshop was donated to Helensburgh Heritage Trust . . . and led to a flurry of research by two of the directors.

The book was presented by the finder, Glasgow man Michael Bar-Lev, who was interested in the Helensburgh background.