The Cochrane Family
Stories by Alison, John, Lindsay and Isla
Alison Cochrane, pupil 1972-1978
My dad - John Lindsay - was a pupil from around 1945 for five years. In the football team photo - he is third from the right in the back row. It occurred to me that another of my dad’s friends from the class photo (possibly the football one too) was a good footballer - Jim Shanks. I did a bit of googling and it turns out he was an Airdrie player.
​
( You can see on the Airdrie Football Club official Website Here ... )
In this class photo - he is third from the left in the back row. A couple of his classmates - Stewart Ross and Peter Robertson - were teachers at Airdrie Academy when I was a pupil in the 70s. My children also attended the Academy in the 1990s and early 2000s and my granddaughter is currently a pupil in S1.
My mum was also a pupil from round 1947.
In 1972, my first class ever in Airdrie Academy was French with Mr MacLeod. He started with class rules. Nothing could be outside the confines of your desk. He finished the lecture with an introduction to Jonathan his belt. Jonathan lived under his collar and appeared at speed, smashing into a piece of chalk to demonstrate his power. Terrified? Just a bit! Life in that class was never dull. As the year progressed, Mr MacLeod became less scary as he got more involved in his other love - the opera.
I remember a trip to Switzerland in 1973 with the school. It was freezing! We went to a place called Appenzell. We used every mode of transport except a plane to get there! Mrs Murray and Mrs Turner - both Modern Languages teachers - and their husbands escorted a group of first years. Brave people! We travelled by bus to Glasgow, train to London, train to Dover, ferry to Calais, couchettes overnight through France, local train then tram through Switzerland to our final destination! We visited various places including Liechtenstein while we were there. My first time away from home - an amazing experience!
​
In the summer of 1975 I went to Italy - the group included pupils from 2nd or 3rd year through to 6th. We flew to Rome and spent time there visiting all the famous sights then moved on to Rimini for a few days at the beach. Another great experience. Here is a photo of Mr Hutchison (History) and Mr Mitchell (Latin) at the Colosseum.
My husband was an ex-Academy pupil too (we got together when I was in 3rd year and he was in 5th – a long time ago now!) and we’ve had fun looking at all the old photos and remembering teachers from our time at AA.
​
John Cochrane, pupil 1996-2002
My name is John Cochrane, and I attended the Academy from 1996-2002. One of my most vivid memories of my time there was in Science (not surprising, as I’m now a chemistry teacher in North Lanarkshire!). While sitting in Mr Scoular’s class, our class was invaded by Dr McAllisters class, wielding droppers full of water. We got soaked! We plotted out revenge, and set off to do the same, only to be met round the corner by Mr Blackwood (the PT Chemistry!). To say he was less than impressed was an understatement! We all got a roasting, and the teachers probably got it worse!
​
​
It dawned on me recently that it’s almost two decades since I left high school – but there are moments that are as clear as day and could’ve happened last week. In S4, a group of very brave teachers took a busload of pupils on a week-long trip to the French Alps. You can only imagine what the bus smelled like at the end of that week…
The part of France that we went to was a million miles from Airdrie, like something out of a Disney film with bright blue skies, snow-capped mountains and picture-perfect chalets. It was such an incredible experience for a group of kids from North Lanarkshire.
We saw Mont Blanc, visited the picturesque town of Annecy to go to a real French market, crossed the Swiss border for a day trip to Geneva, stopped off in Strasbourg on the way home – and spoke very little French along the way, as was the point of the trip. It was magical – and part of what inspired me to go on and study French at university.
The Academy is also where I explored my love of writing – I adored English classes with Mr McLean and Mrs Morrison. While I haven’t spoken very little French since graduating, I do write in my day job now in communications – and the English department at Airdrie Academy has a lot to do with that.As a third generation Academy pupil – my gran, grandpa, mum and dad were all Academy-goers – part of me is a bit sad that my own daughter won’t be carrying on the tradition after me and my partner moved to Coatbridge in 2022. I do have a good few years though to persuade her dad that we should head back across the border…
Lindsay Cochrane, pupil 1999-2005
Isla Cochrane, pupil 2023-present
It's strange to think I am in S2 now. The big worries on my very first day of never making any friends or not knowing my way around are completely gone. I now have an amazing group of friends and I know the layout of the school like the back of my hand. I have taken part in a lot of trips while in S1. One sticks in my mind. I remember when I went to Amazonia with our Geography class and Millie kindly bought me ice-cream. That made me smile. I also remember my first time out going to get Greggs for lunch and we just made it back on time for the bell, despite waiting in line for 15 minutes.
I feel like I have changed quite a lot since P7. I feel like I've gotten some newfound confidence, which is nice. Of course, there are subjects that I love and hate in equal measure. English, Art, and Home Economics are probably my favourite classes. Writing in English is one of my favourite things to do and I already love to cook so ‘home ec’ is great fun. Although I don’t feel like I'm particularly ‘good’ at art, I do enjoy it a lot. In all honesty I have a love- hate relationship with Maths. I'm okay at understanding it and completing the tasks but I just find it so mind numbingly boring.
I'm excited for what S2 holds, it's going to be quite the journey!
​
Back to Top
Back to Home page