An inspirational teacher and mentor to his pupils

The children in her care will never be short of something exciting and different as they begin their preparation for life.

She will be a great teacher ... indeed she is a great teacher already!

Sixty years ago, as my own school days were drawing to a close, I could look back on a few terrifying moments with the men and their Lochgelly straps but also at many inspiring hours when great teachers taught me lessons that have stayed with me all my life.

Most of us I suspect will have had similar experiences and today I want to recall one Falkirk teacher who epitomised all that is best about education and the people whose job it is to set our children on the right path.

Back in the 19th century as the population increased, the local parish schools were bursting at the seams and often the shortfall was made up by what were called ‘‘Adventure’’ (or simply ‘‘venture’’) schools.

It was possible for anybody to start one simply by finding premises and advertising their services for a fee.

One such was the school in Bryson Street, Grahamston run by the celebrated teacher James Grosart.

James had shown an aptitude for learning at school and later served an apprenticeship as a weaver before assisting his father sailing barges on the canal between Grangemouth and Glasgow.

In 1820 he took over the school run by his older brother Thomas who had drowned while bathing in that very same canal.

Rather than leave the pupils without a teacher, James, aged just 19, reluctantly agreed to their parents’ suggestion that he take over.

It was the start of 50 years of unbroken service in which the reputation of the school and the teacher spread far and wide.

By all accounts he was a natural, balancing the sheer pleasure of learning with the development of practical skills which was in keeping with the intellectual spirit of the age.

The school quickly became a magnet for people of all ages seeking instruction in a bewildering variety of subjects.

One former pupil remembered Grosart’s classroom as a place of wonderment: “Above the entrance door was a music board, which had always some new song or hymn on it, in staff or sol-fa notation.

‘‘The walls were covered by maps mostly of his own painting. Above the fireplace were illustrations of the principles of mechanics with a working model of a steam-engine in sections, all made by his own hands. The centre ornament of the roof was the mariner’s compass with all the points carefully painted in true position.

‘‘The remainder of the roof was covered with various constellations of the starry firmament.

‘‘He managed to keep a crowded school going in full swing, from the infants in one corner to the sailors in the other learning navigation. Whoever heard Mr Grosart recite ‘Mary, the Maid of the Inn,’ ... felt every hair standing up and their blood curdling. He seemed to throw his whole soul into it, and photographed the picture on their minds.”

James Grosart retired in 1872 when new School Boards were created across Scotland but he continued to run evening classes in navigation and drawing.

One of his best known paintings ‘‘Falkirk on Tryst Night’’ is now in the town collection in Callendar House.

It depicts the High Street around 1800 when he was child and not only reminds us of the old place but of the man who inspired generations of Falkirk bairns.