Dundee PE teacher has taught at Craigie High for 36 years - now she's saying goodbye to closing school

The Courier

09-06-2025

Few people know Craigie High School better than Mary Johnstone.
The principal PE teacher has taught at the Dundee secondary for 36 years.
So its closure at the end of this month will really be the end of an era for her.
She was joined by pupils Ava Hamilton and Eden Rihoy as she shared her memories of the school in its final days and spoke of the move to Greenfield Academy.
Mrs J, as she is known, will go with pupils and fellow staff to the new school at Drumgeith Community Campus with Braeview Academy in August.
And she says the reality of Craigie High closure is beginning to dawn on staff and pupils as they start packing up for the big move.
She says: 'It's a great school to work in, it always has been. I think that's why I've been here so long!'
'The kids are great, the staff are great; you couldn't ask for more to be honest.
'We'll miss it because it's a very small school and you know everyone.
'But Craigie has had its day as you would say.'
The building is now in poor condition.
But Craigie High School's opening in 1970 was an exciting moment.
Built at a cost of £935,000 – a fraction of the £100 million spent on Greenfield Academy and Drumgeith Community Campus – it was Dundee's first purpose-built comprehensive.
Mary, 67, joined 19 years later.
'It was challenging then,' she says. 'We've come a long way from those days; the ethos in the school has really changed.
'We're very close. We look after one another, year groups look after year groups.
'We're a really nurturing school now.'
As PE teacher, Mary has led sporting success over the years, including at Dundee schools athletic championships and in volleyball and water polo.
She has also enjoyed school trips including to Austria and France.
And she's onto her third generation of pupils.
'I have grannies coming to parents night now who came here!'
She enjoys meeting former pupils out and about.
'You see lots of them in the town. I'll always get a call from someone saying 'Hi, Mrs Johnstone, or Mrs J'
'It's good to see how they've grown, and that they've got families.'
There will be plenty of new pupils to meet at Greenfield Academy with Craigie and Braeview merging.
And, having seen part of the new building and grounds, Mary is excited about the new environment.
'It is absolutely fantastic,' she says. 'The PE facilities are out of this world.
'It will be fantastic for the pupils.'
Eden is also excited about the school – particularly its dance studio.
'That's part of the reason I stayed onto sixth year,' she says.
Eden is Craigie's dance captain, having joined the team in S2.
She has competed in the Dundee schools dance competition. She particularly enjoyed doing a burlesque number and this year's performance to One Night Only from the Dreamgirls musical.
A highlight of fellow new S6 pupil Ava's time at Craigie has been the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme.
She is trained to mentor her younger peers to challenge gender-based violence, bullying and other abuse.
This, she reckons, will help pupils as they move into the bigger, new school.
'It was a good way for a lot of people to be more confident,' she says, 'and it was a good opportunity for the seniors to build close bonds with the younger years.
'I think it will help them going up knowing they have that friendly face in S6.
'There's a team of us that they all know that they can go to if they are struggling or lost, and I think that will put people more at ease going into such a big school.'
The reality of Craigie High closure in the summer holidays will, Ava reckons, hit her fellow pupils in the coming days.
'I think it will be a good opportunity to make new friends,' she says.
Eden has enjoyed her five years at Craigie.
'I actually really like this school,' she says. 'Some people have different opinions on it but I've had so many opportunities to do things I would never thought I'd be able to.
'It's quite a small school and the teachers know us.'
'It is a real community, ' adds Mary.