St James Primary School (Former), 88, Green Street, Calton

Board school. Occupies street corner site. Tall 3-storey block, symmetrical front to Green Street, 3 + 3 + 3 bays, advanced centre; stone-cleaned snecked red Dumfriesshire ashlar, polished dressings, flat ornament, renaissance detailing to 1st floor openings; raised panel over centre; original glazing pattern, an individual design; entrances in deeply recessed bays on shorter flanks; at rear, big centre wing, its end semi-polygonal on plan. Individual slate roofs with red-tile ridging. 2-storey janitors LODGE at SE corner of playground, compact on plan, some render patches in stonework. Decorative wrought-iron gates and railings, low stone coping. (Historic Scotland)

October 2010: External inspection finds the school and janitor‘s house vacant and boarded up. At present, it appears to be in good condition, though plants are beginning to appear at higher levels. St James Primary School was closed towards the end of 2009 when students were transferred to another primary school nearby.

25 October 2013: Local planners report the building remains disused but in good condition.

10 June 2014: External inspection finds the building in deteriorating condition. The spread of moss and water penetration across elevation is significant. Condition moved to Poor and Risk to Moderate. Glasgow City Council has prepared Area Development Framework (ADF) as part of its commitment in the East End Local Development Strategy. The ADF (2012) views the school site as key to unlocking the potential of south east Calton. The ADF goes on to note that Glasgow City Council is keen to encourage a temporary re-use of the school building whilst longer term opportunities for introducing housing could be explored in the context of a masterplan approach.

5 July 2017: External inspection finds the building remains disused and in deteriorating condition. Slate loss/ slippage is evident across the roof pitches. Widespread dampness is evident to all walls and vegetation growth has taken a hold on the building and is starting to establish within the surrounding playground.

29 November 2017: City Property Glasgow website notes the forthcoming marketing of the former school site for sale.

5 March 2018: The property is under marketing for sale through City Property Glasgow.

28 October 2019: Various news websites (Scotsman; The Herald) report on a potential project to restore and re-use the former school into Glasgow's fourth Gaelic School. Glasgow City Council is reported to be exploring options to secure funding towards the projects.

16 March 2022: Glasgow Times reports (12/03/2022) that building will be renovated into a Gaelic Medium Education centre and is due to open in 2024. The article goes on to note the project will cost around £16 million and will include 12 teaching spaces and two general purpose spaces.

24 May 2022: Urban Realm website reports (13/5/2022) on targeted roof repairs have been undertaken at the school in advance of the forthcoming restoration scheme to bring the building back into use as a Gaelic school.

29 July 2022: Glasgow Live reports (28/7/2022) on consent being sought for conversion (with partial demolition and construction of a new extension) to form a new Gaelic school, following earlier emergency works to the roof. The article goes on to note the overall project cost is expected to be around £16 million.

14 September 2022: Full Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent for alterations and demolitions to form a Gaelic School are being sought ( 22/01973/FUL & 22/01799/LBA).

9 February 2023: External inspection finds that the building has deteriorated further from previous site visits. Sections of the roof on the east side of the building have uncovered sarking boards and supporting timbers. There are signs of temporary coverings, but they have been damaged, leaving the timber exposed. It appears that the ridge of the roof in this area is bowing as well. The walls remain damp, especially around failing rainwater goods on the north elevation. It appears that works within the interior may have begun as workers were onsite at the time of assessment, however, external works do not appear to be active. Condition is moved to VERY POOR to reflect the decline in the condition of the roof allowing for further water ingress and damage.

24 August 2023: A member of the public informs us that restoration works are now underway.

25 September 2023: Local planners advise the redevelopment of the school is underway and will be undertaken in phases. The first phase of the works has commenced. Moved to Restoration in Progress. Risk level moved to Low.