Aberdeen schoolboy competing in 1938

The 1935 Sports was still operating on a rota of Edinburgh and Glasgow venue, year about and took place in Edinburgh.   Note that Prince Philip of Greece, later the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in the Under 14 High Jump.   The report and results from the ‘Glasgow Herald’ read as follows.

New schools to the list include Boroughmuir Secondary, Dunfermline High, Hawick High, Lasswade Secondary , Musselburgh Grammar, Viewforth (Kirkcaldy).

A year later, on 15th June, 1936,  the Inter Scholastic Sports took place at Scotstoun in Glasgow.   With many of the competing schools coming from Glasgow and Edinburgh, the competitors were from all over the country – Perth, Ardrossan, Falkirk, Dundee were all represented.   The ‘Glasgow Herald report with results is below.

 

In 1937, from June 21st’s ‘Scotsman’ came this illustrated report on the 37th Sports:

The sheer number of Glasgow schools represented on the say was amazing when we look back a mere 10 or 12 years – Albert Secondary, Allan Glen’s, Glasgow High, Hillhead HS, Hyndland HS, ,Jordanhill College. Pollokshields, Queen’s Park Secondary, St Aloysius – 9 of them winning medals and almost certainly others which did not appear in the results.   Note too the absence of Glasgow Academy which determinedly held their own school sports on the same day as the Inter-Scholastics. 

Numbers were big and growing: in 1938 there were 48 schools competing – a number described as ‘by no means a record’.  They were held on 18th June at Goldenacre, ‘Scotsman’ report follows:

 

 

In 1939, on  12th June, the Aberdeen  Press & Journal printed the following article-the North East had started its own Inter-Scholastics  and  the  standard  was  high  as  the  results  show.   It  was  one  week  before  the  national  event.   

Did  it  pay  off  for the   city?   Yes,  it  would  seem  so.  At  the Scottish  Schools  Athletic Association  Inter-Scholastics on 19th June,  1939, The ‘Scotsman’ tells us that there were 56 schools competing.   The paper’s report is below.

With 56 schools represented it would be expected that some new names would be seen among the honours.   With most of the names were familiar there were indeed some unfamiliar names – Beith Secondary, Albert Road School, West Calder High are the ones who stand out.   These Sports were the last before the War started: in 1914 the Inter-Scholastics continued throughout, would it be the same this time around?

The war was under way before the 1940 version of the schools championships took place on 22nd June and reported on in the following Monday’s papers.   The surprise was probably that the event was held in Stirling – the first time outside the Edinburgh/Glasgow double act.

It had been a successful period for the event: more schools taking part, standards continuing to rise and the venue had been spread to include Stirling.