Tong Primary School

Historical Archive

WRITING in 1811, Rev. Colin Mackenzie, writer of the Old Statistical Account, states that out of a population in the Parish of Stornoway of 3,500, only about seven-hundred could read English and  about thirty Gaelic, while the remainder could read neither English or Gaelic. The majority of those literate people were in the town of Stornoway. In that part of the Parish known as the district of Gress, stretching from Tong to Tolsta, out of seven-hundred souls, six could read English, and two  could read Gaelic. The main sources of Education at this time were the Parish schools and those financed and staffed by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (S.S.P.C.K.) As these schools were in Stornoway, only those who   could afford to board children (tacksmen and the like) could take advantage of them.

In 1811, a Society was formed in Edinburgh to support Gaelic schools and one such school came into existence in Bayble in 1811. The schoolmaster was an Angus  Macleod, a Skyeman and he had tremendous  success. In 1813, Mr Macleod was moved to Gress.  It is not clear whether this means the village of Gress  or the District. The Rev. John Cameron writing in  1833 states, "The minister used to preach once a  month at Back, a farm belonging to the District of Gress; but the preaching house there was thrown  down, re-built and converted into a schoolhouse." 

Certainly by 1835, there is established at Back, a school supported by tenants. All these schools had  as their main concern the teaching of reading, to  enable people to read the scriptures for themselves  The work of those who taught in this situation is  best assessed in the words of a correspondent of the time who said, "These schools have done more good in spreading knowledge and in warming the  hearts of the common people to true religion than  all the other means which they have enjoyed for the  last century".

The Spiritual Revival of 1822, did  much to increase the people's desire to be able to  read the Scriptures and the Catechists who faithfully travelled through the Parish preaching and catechising, did much good work. One of those was  John Matheson of Tong who although blind, memorised the Shorter Catechism and much of the New Testament.

The next step forward was the setting up of Free Church Congregational Schools following the Disruption of 1843. In many cases, these schools were replacing, or placing on a more permanent basis, some of the schools which had already existed or which were of a transitory nature. Free Church Congregations were being established and there was a dire need to educate young men for the Ministry.

Another organisation, the Edinburgh Ladies Highland Association, was formed to assist in this work. It was, however, a Free Church Congregational School that became the first seat of   learning in Tong. This school known as "Sgoil an Druim Ruaidh" was situated at the foot of croft No. 15 Tong. The exact date of its opening is not   known, but it is on record as having been in   existence in 1867. It has been suggested by some   writers that by 1874, this school was closed, but we   know that that eminent educationist, the late Murdo Morrison, born in Tong in 1872, had his first education at "the thatched school by the shore". Brilliant and talented as Murdo undoubtedly was,  we do not think he was at school at two years of   age, so it would seem that the school was probably   in existence in some form until the first state school   opened in 1879.

References have already been made to the  emphasis on religious education and the curriculum   has been referred to as the Four, Reading, Writing,  Arithmetic and Religion. Any other subjects taught  depended entirely on the skills and knowledge of the teacher. In some schools, Latin and Greek were  taught and Mathematics. Although some progress  had been made, Sheriff Nicolson who visited Lewis  in 1865, was greatly perturbed by the state in which  he found education, he was very impressed by the excellent behaviour of the pupils and the dedication  of the teachers, many of whom had received no  special training as teachers.

The passing of the Education Act of 1872, was  not unreservedly welcomed by the people of Lewis.  Parents, particularly in the rural areas, were content  with the education their children were receiving and  it was free, whereas this new National System appeared to them to be an imposition they had to  pay for. Futhermore, they felt this new system  would encourage their children to leave them, a  viewpoint that has been borne out by events, since  the whole education system has been geared for many generations to educate people away from the  islands. That however, is another story.

Little information is available about "Sgoil an  Druim Ruaidh". Murdo Morrison remembered that  he received part of his early education there. Donald  Finlayson, 26 Aird Tong recalls that his mother could remember it being used for church services as well as school, and receiving a bible, she thought as a prize. She could recall the Rev. Angus Mackenzie teaching them English at his own home. In order that as many areas as possible were given some education, teachers were moved around, and one person who did teach in this school was a Mr Hector Morrison, probably a catechist who had formerly taught in Uig. The general state of education provision can be gauged from the 1871 census figures, showing that out of a population of four-hundred and two in Tong, only thirty-four were receiving education.

Photographed near the old school in the 1920's is Catriona Macdonald, 4 Tong, returning from the moor with the daily supply of peats.

The new school was opened in Tong on the 17th June, 1879. The buildings were 33 ft. long by 18 ft. 6 ins. wide and 14 ft. 9 ins. long by 15 ft. 10 ins wide. The staff consisted of Mr Alex Barclay, Headmaster and Miss Margaret Nicolson, of Stornoway as a teacher. The school was built for seventy-eight pupils and on the first day, eighty-five were enrolled — fifty-one boys and thirty-four girls. An early entry in the school log-book, July 4th, 1879 states: "The novelty of a newly furnished house and new books seem to attract the children more than a taste for literature".

It is difficult for us today to imagine just how these children would feel entering this building for the first time. It is, however, fair to assume that Miss Mary Smith's description, recalling her own school days, later in this story, is not far off the mark, even though her entry to the school was some thirty years later.

It is against the background of what we have already learned of the way of life of the community that we can attempt to understand what this "imposition" of compulsory education meant to the community. It was the compulsory aspect of it that people found hardest to accept. Their whole way of life and livelihood had always been a team effort with the whole family involved in the work of the croft, the fishing, the daily chores of the household. This was now all changed. The family were no longer to be available for a large part of the year and parents felt that no authority should have the power to deprive them of the assistance of their children. It is little wonder then that truancy, often encouraged by parents, became the main problem of the school. The following extracts from the school Log Book during that first summer and autumn will give the reader some idea of the problem and they are entries that we find repeated in one form or another for many years.

August 8th, 1879: ". . . has returned to school after an absence of five weeks attending the cattle on the moor".

October31st, 1879: "... Average attendance this week much below the usual owing to the people being busy raising potatoes".

November7th, 1879: "The attendance is more regular now since the people got through with their harvest work".

Later on, school holidays were arranged so that pupils could be available for spring and harvest work, and this would not interfere with their education. This innovation was due to pressure from parents. Other reasons for poor attendance for a considerable number of years were inclement weather, epidemics of infectious disease, and lack of adequate clothing and footwear. The inclement weather and the lack of clothing are often linked in the reports, but not always.

December 26th, 1879: "... absent for ten days for want of shoes and suitable clothing", is one example, but the following extract forces one to try to picture the scene in the school during a week in December 1886 when the entry in the school Log Book reads:

"Had a fair attendance this week considering the severe weather and so many of our pupils who have no shoes. We had a few of our pupils carried to and from school each day during this week".

The youngsters of that era, however, had their lighter moments, with what appears to have been accepted as a good excuse for a day off school.

January 1880: "Attendance thin in consequence of inclemency of the weather and a marriage in the village helped to reduce the  average".

October 8th, 1886: "No school today. The  majority of the children failed to come forward,  being without sleep the previous night owing to  celebrations of a wedding in the village as the  custom is here".

The main illnesses were whooping cough,  measles, scarlet fever, and scarletina, and on one  occasion there was an outbreak of typhus or  typhoid fever. It was nothing unusual to have the  school closed for several weeks with these epidemics  and very often parents would refuse to send their  children to school in an effort to prevent them  mixing with those having the infection.

In 1890, the  school was closed during most of February/March,  due to an influenza epidemic and in July/August  of the same year with measles. Two such epidemics in a year were not unusual and we shall see later how such prolonged closures were to lead to new directions coming to the school regarding the method of dealing with such situations.

The school was run by the School Board who supplied the books, slates, and other teaching materials. Members of the board visited the school, not on a regular basis so much as with surprise visits. On such occasions they always checked the register to ensure it agreed with the numbers   present. In order to enforce attendance at school   the Board appointed in 1881, a compulsory Officer.

The first such appointment in Tong was Kenneth Macleod. His was not an easy task. He would attend the school on Friday, obtain a list of all those who had not attended regularly during the week, visit their homes on Saturday warning the parents of the consequences, and be at the school again on Monday to see whether his visit had the desired effect. In addition to these visits there was the annual inspection of the work of the school by Her Majesty's Inspector for Schools (H.M.I.) Unsatisfactory reports led to a reduction in grant.

The logic of this is hard to follow. Resources were very limited, facilities were poor or non-existent so any reduction in grant meant fewer resources and poorer facilities. How standards could be expected to be improved in these circumstances is difficult   to understand. How poor the facilities were in these early days may be judged from the first H.M.I. report dated August 1880.

"The discipline in this school is excellent  apparatus for teaching form and colour and a clock  should be got".

August 1881 however, H.M.I. was stating, “Discipline is very imperfect . . . only 27 girls out of 45 learning to sew. Unless all the girls of suitable age are taught needle work there will be a risk of  the next grant being withheld".

Considering that the sewing mistress had only been appointed earlier that year, it seemed fairly harsh. However, this and similar H.M.I. reports  had their effect. On attendance, for instance, we find that the Compulsory Officer, or "Whipper In", as he was better known, and this name has its own  implications, had to enforce the law and for  someone living in a close-knit community this could  not be easy. By 1887, we see more and more  references to the Compulsory Officer having to take  action. On the 10th of May, 1889, the Headmaster's  report states:

"Had to attend court today with de-faultine parents". That same summer the Compulsory Officer is attending the school three times a week and by November the following entry appears.

"Cited 25 de-faulting parents to appear at next School Board Meeting".

On the same question of the progress of education one or two quotations from HMI throws some light on the attitude of officialdom to the efforts of the teaching staff as well as on the attainment of the pupils.

May 1883: "The unsatisfactory nature of the instruction is mainly due to two causes — the want of proper discipline and the injudicious use of Gaelic" In a community where English was    virtually a foreign language it seems a strange assessment.

In 1892, the H.M.I. Report again refers to the poor standard being due to the excessive use of the native language in instruction, but in the same year Rev. Hector Cameron, minister at Back, reported favourably on the standard of Gaelic reading and was pleased to see the mother tongue in a healthy state.

Such conflicting statements must have proved confusing to school staff endeavouring to please authority and at the same time encourage pupils to their full potential. We can't help but wonder if there are lessons for the present in the next H.M.I.

Report of 1896. Whilst complaining of the poor standard of English the report goes on to state:

“The pupils passed well and they are being familiarised with the English language through the  regular practice of bilingual lessons on various   subjects. A few quotations from the school records of these first 20 years will confirm the difficulties of all concerned in education, (teachers, pupils and   parents) and will throw some light on lifestyle of the community as we approach the turn of the century.

1891. January 16th. "Attendance not so good. A number of children kept at home gathering cockles.

February 1st. The majority of men and women in this district are now engaged at the herring fishing, consequently the children are often kept  from school for home work and can't make the  required progress".

April 10th. "School miserably attended this week. People are busy at spring work, children are employed at mending nets, gathering cockles for  bait, and whelks for sending to market".

It was in June of that same year that a whooping cough epidemic closed the school until the 14th August. In September, Mr Donald Ross  took over as Headmaster and Thomasina Ross as 3rd Year Pupil Teacher.  

In October it was reported, no doubt as a result  of the Census held that year, that eighteen children  between the ages of 5-7 were not on the school  register.

In 1892, as a result of the whooping cough epidemic of 1891, the School Board asked to see the School Log Books and the headmaster was informed of a formula whereby he could in future work out how to achieve the desired number of attendances should the school have to close for a period of time due to such epidemics. New regulations were also enforced regarding Medical Certificates to authorise the closure of the schools.

The following extracts from copy letters found in the School Log Books of this era show other aspects of life in Tong some 90 years ago.

January 1890: "We do hereby promise to make good any damage done to the school premises or fittings during the time occupied by us for our Temperance Soiree and will in the morning, clean out the schoolroom to the satisfaction of the teacher".

     Signed : Alexander Macleod (Deacon), Tong;

              Alexander Thomson (Elder), Tong;

          Members of the Temperance Committee.

February 12th, 1892: Copy of letter from the Postmaster General’s office sent to the Tong School district by the "Scotch Education Dept." Dover House, Whitehall, London SW1.

Telegraph Circular: Stone Throwing At Telegraphs

Referring to the damage caused to the insulators on Telegraph Poles, the following extract  gives some idea of cause and effect.

"Much of it caused by schoolchildren who do  not think they are doing any great harm and are not perhaps aware that they render themselves liable  to imprisonment and flogging".

From November 1880, until July 1886, all  entries in the School Log commence with the  following — "School opened and closed daily with  prayers". It is not clear whether this was a practice  discontinued after this date or whether it is just a  change in the style and content of "Log Book"  entries. Autumn and Spring Communion  holiday consisted of Thursday, Friday and Monday,  and it seems from some entries that at least one day  was taken off for the Stornoway Communion. In  July 1885, the Stornoway Market Day, "Latha Na  Drobh" is indicated as a holiday and this continues  for some time. December 25th, 1891, is the first  occasion on which Christmas Day is referred to as  a holiday and July 15th, 1892, there is the first reference to the school’s annual picnic. There were  other holidays which were not official. On the 13th  May, 1887, there was no school. On their way to  school, the children met a Detachment of Soldiers  with their pipes and drums going to Back, and  decided to follow them, the music and colourful  uniforms being the attractions, according to the  report. On the 18th May, 1888, the attendance was  again recorded as unsatisfactory. The children  failed to attend on Monday. "All the boats were  leaving for the Herring Fishing causing more than ordinary stir in the village".

Miss Margaret Murray, of Stornoway joined the staff of the school in 1882 as teacher and Sewing Mistress. No indication is given as to her salary until 1893, when it was increased to £42 10/- per year and in 1898-99 again increased to £50 per year. By this time the improvement in education was noticeable and some of the brighter pupils were engaged as monitors. On showing satisfactory progress they became pupil-teachers.

The first of these on record was Christina Morrison, 36 Aird Tong, who became a monitor in 1896, to be followed in 1897 by Catherine Thomson, 15 Tong. They were to go on to become pupil-teachers, and later to training college to   become teachers, and Christina Morrison joined the   staff of the school in 1909 as a qualified teacher.

Christina Morrison, 36 Aird Tong, first local teacher appointed to Tong School, 1909.

Over the period the school had suffered the loss of part of their grant on more than one occasion. As this was dependent on standards achieved it was not surprising. Despite the arranging of holidays to suit the spring and harvest work one can trace the other activities of the community by the non-attendance of pupils for reasons already quoted and for fank days, including the shearing fank in June-July, the fank for weaning the lambs in August and one in November for shearing the sheep, to which can be added, "Many of the pupils are on half-time education as they have to take their turn out herding the' cattle". In 1895, classes in elementary navigation were introduced for the senior boys. In  1897, a new extension was added to the school to cope with the increasing school roll. Mr Ross, the headmaster, resigned in December 1899 and the new headmaster appointed was Mr Lewis Murray, a native of Ness. He was transferred to Tong from Doune, Carloway. Mr Murray could not take up his appointment until January 1900, and during December 1899, Murdo Morrison, of Tong, then a student at Aberdeen University, took charge of the school for a month.

Lewis Murray, headmaster from 1900 to 1904, with Mrs Murray

In his first reports, Mr Murray writes of the poor standard of the school in general and states that it would not be possible to adhere to the timetable until standards improved. During the first year of the century, we note holidays for the "Relief of Ladysmith" and "Mafeking", reminding us that the country was at war.

Murdo Morrison, 36 Aird Tong, born in 1872, received his early education in the thatched school which stood at the bottom of Croft No. 15 Tong. He later went to Aberdeen Grammar School and then to Aberdeen University where he won honours in Latin and Greek. After teaching in Uist and the Nicolson Institute, he was appointed Inspector of Schools and later became the Director of education for Inverness-shire. He came from retirement in Troon (above) to perform the opening ceremony of the new school in 1964. Murdo Morrison reached the grand old age of 102. His name is commemorated in the street of new houses at Morrison Avenue beside the Tong School.

During Mr Murray's short time as headmaster there appears to have been a decided improvement in the school. Corporal punishment for non-attendance is recorded on more than one occasion, in terms such as: "Senior pupils  absenting themselves for the most trifling reasons and getting thoroughly whipped the next morning.”

In 1901, the school staff consisted of Mr L. Murray  Headmaster, Miss Margaret Murray, Mr R. Murray, Assistant, and Misses C. Morrison and C. Thomson, Pupil Teachers. Average attendances were about one-hundred and thirty, and the school staffed for one-hundred and twenty-five. 

August 28^th, 1903. “The teacher has to punish a number of pupils for absenting themselves the  whole day because of some rain at 10 o'clock It  was fair between 10 and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and they could have attended then. The habit must be stopped.

September 18th. "The attendance continues good, but it is feared the non-prosecution of even the worst of ten defaulters up this week, one of whom has been three times before the board since spring, will have a bad effect"

It was in that year that we have the first report of pupils going forward from the school to The Nicolson Institute. Four former pupils were on record attending the Nicolson on a Bursary £5 per year It was also during that year that the School Board ordered the systematic teaching of Temperance in the school which drew a comment from the teacher, that there was no provision for this in the timetable, indicating that if it was to be carried out something else would suffer.

Early in January 1904, with measles raging in the district, the parents called a public meeting and forced the school to close because of the epidemic.

The school remained closed until 1st April. During the year the well known textile firm of J. & P. Coats of Paisley presented the school with a bookcase containing some 360 books. The school roll was  between one hundred and thirty and one hundred  and forty. Mr Lewis Murray died in December 1904 and was succeeded the following year by Mr John Maciver. There had been a distinct improvement in the school and the success of some former pupils  no doubt encouraged others. George Thomson  who in 1906 sat the scholarship Examination? Not only passed but was first for Glasgow and fourth for the whole of Scotland. H.M.I. reports for that  same year states: "Decided improvement all round  includes attendance".

Each year still brought epidemics. In 1907 it was scarlet fever, 1908-1909 measles, and 1910 diptheria. Despite this, in 1908, ninety-five pupils had 90% attendance and fourteen of these had perfect attendance. It was also about this time that systematic gardening was introduced for the senior boys The years 1909-1918 are recalled in her own words by Miss Mary Smith "When my school days began, in 1909, there must have been over a hundred pupils on the roll, for statistics show that there were one-hundred and twelve in 1912. At that time, the majority of pupils lived in thatched houses, so the big white school with its three rooms and porch appeared palatial to the new entrants. The schoolmaster and his family had not yet moved to the substantial new schoolhouse, but occupied it soon afterwards.

We were so impressed with the grandeur of our new surroundings that we would not have dreamt of asking the teacher what a 1940 entrant asked on his first school day : "Why don't you have linoleum on your floor?" Rather would we have been inclined to follow the example of the little girl (from a tigh dubh) who missed her big sister so much that she tearfully told the teacher she would not stop crying unless she joined Annie in the "Culaisd".

The colourful pictures on the wall, among them four depicting each season of the year greatly impressed us, as did the teacher's pretty dress. At that time most of the children's clothes were home tailored, so the stylish tweed suits worn by the farmer's curly-headed son made him the cynosure of all the new entrants' eyes nor did the red rose in the button-hole escape our gaze. The working materials for beginners were slates and brand new slate pencils. One noticed that the older children had to be content with much smaller pencils. When we were given copy books, possibly on Standard II  (now Primary II), we were very thrilled. As lead pencils were in short supply in our homes, handling  them in school was no small pleasure. White drawing paper and lead pencils were our only art materials. I do not remember using pen and ink in the "wee" room but the middle room seats were  equipped with ink wells. Most of the Pen and  Ink work was done in the master's room.

Sewing was part of the Infant Class's activity. Cotton patches, with red and blue dots, were used for teaching tacking and hemming stitches. A few of the senior girls sometimes helped the Infant-room teacher during the sewing lesson. At that time the brighter senior pupils were sometimes (when they had finished their prescribed lessons) given pupil teacher chores in the middle and infant rooms. All three teachers had many pupils, so their 'assistants' must have proved helpful where the slow learners were concerned.

By this time, the real pupil-teacher era was over, but quite a number of Tong pupils had their preliminary training in the local school before proceeding to Training College. From around 1906 onwards, Mr Maciver sent bursary winning pupils straight to the Nicolson, some of them to second-year Secondary. He was a first-rate teacher of Mathematics, Grammar and Spellings, and taught the rudiments of Latin. Handwriting was another of his favourite subjects, as witness the neatness of his former pupils letters to this day, but his pupils were not so strong in English composition. Headmasters of three-teacher schools (like Tong School) had to work very hard in these days.

John Maciver with class in 1912.

But to go back to the 1909 to 1918 curriculum. How drab and uninteresting our sewing and Handwork materials were compared with the colourful stuff in use since. Attractive coloured wools have proved much more suitable for infants than the cotton reels, and the larger (handwork) needles have been much easier to handle than the slender steel type we had to use.

At home we made our own dolls (Liudhag) from coloured rags, and other playthings, like balls and cata-bata sticks, were formed from wood and odd bits of wool. Projects encouraging the use of    such materials for school handwork had not been thought of then. The boys made their own whistles from tubular grasses and some of them managed to make very neat bird cages with slender strips of wood and bases and tops of wood. To make holes for the strips they used red-hot needles or wires. A piece of fishing net, attached to a circular frame, proved an effective contraption for bird catching. They sometimes got into trouble with the local farmer for helping themselves to the  ‘conas’ (whins) which made good shinty sticks. For the balls they would melt down the rubber soles of discarded shoes. The melted rubber they mixed with horse hair (from some of the local horses).

A Tong ex-pupil (three years my senior) has reminded me that we all received (from the makers of Colman’s mustard) a brass box with sliding top full of toffees. The firm also sent a collection of pencils to fill the boxes when the toffees were eaten.

The girls took such pride in the boxes that brasso was in pretty constant use, when available. I do not remember any environmental studies during school hours but my informant remembers being taken for seashore and other rambles by one of the teachers  who taught the names of many wild flowers.

Gardening was taught to the boys, and sometimes the senior girls helped with the easier garden chores. The berry crops did not always benefit from the  young gardener's presence nor did the rhubarb, sweet turnips, and carrots. Pocket money was so   scarce in these days that bought sweets were a luxury. Grandparents, receiving the much appreciated five shillings a week pension, would occasionally hand out a half-penny or a penny.

Mr Maciver, our headmaster was a tall well built gentleman, kindly to young pupils, but very stern when the senior boys misbehaved. He was very  interested in music. When he became headmaster at Laxdale, his school choirs won such honours at  local and national Mods that the Educational  Institute of Scotland conferred on him an F.E.I.S.  degree for his services to music.

Once weekly (on Fridays) he had the whole school assembled in his own room for music lessons. The infant pupils were very awed when they appeared there. Nor have his pupils forgotten his shouting "open your mouths and sing out". At times he even stood on top of the substantial seats. One of his pet phrases was: “Come out the Larks (or Topags)". Out to the front came most of the big boys who were determined not to sing. There they sat, and pity them if they misbehaved.

The senior boys (and some girls) had to make for the moor with the cows before school opened. If they arrived very late the boys were strapped, but only on very rare occasions did the 'master' strap the girls.

A most memorable occasion was our parade through the village of 13th May, 1910, when the schools were given a holiday for the Coronation of King George V. Led by the headmaster, and    accompanied by the teachers, we marched from the school through Milkinghill Road. If I remember rightly, we each got a silver medal attached to a tartan ribbon".

The only things of note that the school records during this period are, a whooping cough epidemic in 1916 — the first for 11 years and the following report from Her Majesty's Inspector 1918 speaks for itself. "Increased grants for exceptionally    meritorious work will be recommended in all three divisions".

Despite all these improvements, the Post of Compulsory Officer was still in existence and Mr Kenneth Macleod who had held the post for many years died in 1918 and was succeeded in 1919 by Mr Malcolm Macleod, 5 Tong. In 1920, Mr John Maciver left Tong for Laxdale School and was succeeded by Mr J. S. Rennie; Mrs Rennie also taught in the school. Mr Rennie's period in Tong    was short, lasting only until 1925. During that   period, Margaret Thomson resigned and was replaced by Miss Mary Ann Matheson whom many generations of Tong people have good reason to   remember. She remained in Tong for thirty-five years until her retiral in 1957.

In a severe gale which had caused widespread damage all over Lewis in March 1921, Tong School did not escape. Damage was fairly severe. During this period there was dissatisfaction recorded regarding supplies of books and materials and the   discontinuation of the gardening lessons due to the non-arrival of fencing material.

About this time, Mr Angus Macleod, from the College of Agriculture, began regular lessons on gardening for the senior boys and over the next few years excellent reports on the gardening appear in the records.

Mr John Gunn took over as headmaster from  Mr Rennie in 1925. During this time former pupils  of the school were recording their successes at  Colleges and Universities. In 1923, Henrietta  MacFarlane, of Aird Tong, training at Aberdeen  Training College, did her three weeks' practical  teaching in the school and was followed in 1925 by  Miss Mary Smith also studying at Aberdeen. Since  the opening of the school, some twenty former  pupils had graduated from Colleges or Universities.  This achievement has to be set against the  difficulties, not only of the school itself, but of the  parents who had to struggle and make sacrifices to  give their families a chance.

One aspect of the school we have not referred  to so far was the heating of the school. The peat  fire was the method of heating the classroom and  initially the scholars themselves had to carry a peat to school for the school fire. The first peat contract was given in 1904. In 1920, the contract went to Peter Macleod, 12 Tong, to supply fifty cartloads at 6/- (30p) per cart load. The following entry in the school log book in 1927, is of interest in this connection. "School peats exhausted by April. Weather cold — permission granted to buy 3-4 cartloads of peats".

John Gunn with class in 1929.

With education having come under the jurisdiction of the local authority — Ross and Cromarty County Council — under the 1918 Education Act, much of the unfairness of the School Board administrators disappeared and, as local people took more interest in all local affairs, the people began to demand rights hitherto denied them. No doubt so many locals coming back to teach in the island helped enormously because they had a better understanding of the people. The period from the 1920s to the beginning of the Second World War was one of improving standards of conditions, opportunity and facilities.

Miss Tina Macleod with class in 1936.

By the early 1930s, the school roll was down  to between seventy and eighty pupils, partly as a  result of the mass emigration of the 1920s, when  so many young people who would have families in  Tong left the village and also as a result of families  being generally much smaller than in the past. In  1929, T. B. Macaulay, of Montreal presented prizes  to Lewis schools for essays on Lewis Legend and  Lore. Two of these prizes were presented to Tong.

Mrs Rennie with class in 1924.

During this period regular visits to the school  by Medical and Dental officers showed the  increasing concern of the authorities for the well- being of the pupils. Mr Macdonald, the Dentist, and  Dr. Doig, were the officers concerned in these early  visits. In 1934, the post of Compulsory Officer  came to an end. The battle against truancy had been won. Among the innovations introduced by Mr Gunn during his term as headmaster were regular  evening classes. When he died suddenly in 1936, his  passing was much regretted by the community. He  had been a great influence on improving the standard of the school in terms of educational achievement and discipline. He was succeeded by Mr Alex Matheson, a native of Aird Tong, who had previously been headmaster at Leurbost. During the next few years other aspects beyond the purely academic became part of the curriculum.

Alex Matheson with class in 1937.

The school was visited in 1937 by Mr Cruickshank from HMI. He was a Physical Training Inspector. A previous headmaster, as we have read in Mary Smith's account, introduced regular music lessons, and again m 1937, John Macdonald, of Stornoway (lain Beag nan Oran) began his regular music lessons. In 1939, the school had a choir and five soloists competing in the Lewis Provincial Mod. During 1938, Donald Macleod,  Druim, another pupil having graduated M.A. at  Aberdeen University did part of his teacher training  in the school.

Lunch break pre-canteen days. The children furtherest away from the school with their hostess, Margaret Macleod, 2 Tong.

By 1941, the school roll was up to eighty-three, including children evacuated from city schools  because of the danger from the bombing of the  cities. In education, as in other aspects of the life  of the community, the last forty years have seen the  most dramatic changes. The standard of academic achievement of island scholars had become known  nationally and this, coupled with the now accepted philosophy of equal educational opportunities for  all, brought the islands into the mainstream of  educational thinking.

Tong men from the past era of education were  prominent in this field. Murdo Morrison as H.M.I. and the first Director of Education for Inverness- shire. James Thomson, the first crowned Bard at the National Mod, whose services to education within his native island are well known, and John Smith whose services to education were recognised by the Educational Institute for Scotland by his being one of only two Lewis men to have become Vice President of the Institute, are but three of these.

Innovations in technical education and more practical subjects had led to a movement away from the purely academic and, although these originated in higher education, changes have come right down to the primary sphere. Children are continually assessed and with allowances made for late developers there is a better opportunity for them to achieve their full potential in whatever direction their talents lie. The changes in the minimum standard required for school buildings resulted in a new school being built in Tong in 1964. This was a time when new houses were being built and the possibility of an increased school roll was taken into account. This modern building, brightly painted, with its central heating, electricity, modern equipment, and its own canteen for school meals, is a far cry from the almost prison-like appearance of the original school. The atmosphere in the school is just as different. There is no fear or trepidation in entering this building and in fact parents today find little or no difficulty in getting the children to go to school. It is more likely that they object to being kept off school.

Malcolm Murray with class in 1951.

Tong was fortunate that, during these early years, they had among their staff men and women of exceptional ability with a great desire to give the young people of the village every opportunity of acquiring the knowledge and skills, that education could provide. This good fortune has continued over the years and the school has been equally fortunate in the teaching staff. Mr Malcolm Murray who succeeded Mr Alex Matheson in 1943, remained at the school until his retiral in 1971. He was succeeded by Mr Alex Macdonald who was appointed headmaster at Back Secondary School in 1979, but has made his home in Tong. His successor who is the present headmaster is Mr W. J. Macleod, of Barvas, the third West Sider in the post in succession. Miss Macleod, the infant teacher, who resigned in 1943 after eighteen years in the school, was succeeded for a short time by Miss Annie MacSween, Point, to be followed by Miss Flora Mackenzie who taught until 1957. In  1958, Mrs Isabella Smith was appointed and was  to remain on the staff for twenty years. A highly  respected and popular teacher, her passing after a  long illness was much regretted in the village. Miss  Margaret J. Macleod took over from Mrs Smith  and remains on the staff.

Catherine Macleod with class in 1957.

Among those who have been on the staff  during those years are — Miss Elizabeth M.  Maclean 1957-63, Miss Christina Macdonald  1963-66, Miss Angusina M. Maciver 1967-70, Miss  Joan Stewart 1970-72, and Miss Chrissie M. Maciver who was appointed in 1972, and is still on  the staff. During the period 1972-77 when the school  roll increased, the staff included Miss E. Macphail  1972-74, and Miss I. Stewart 1974-77. The school roll has fluctuated from the high of eighty-three in 1941 to as low as fifty-two in 1949, and again increases to over eighty in the 1970s. In comparing these figures with the past, it should be remembered that families are smaller and that the children remain at Tong Primary School only until the age of twelve years. Since the introduction of two-year Secondary Education in Back, all children go on to Back Šecondary School to complete their first two years. At the end of this period of time, they have a choice of continuing an academic career at The Nicolson Institute, or proceeding to the Lews Castle where a wide variety of courses for both boys and girls are available leading to further courses in the Lews Castle College.

The child entering Tong School has in addition to the normal school subjects of the past, regular tuition in Physical Education, Art, Music (including piping). Domestic Science, and aids to learning such  as radio and television programmes. The system is  constantly changing and, as this is being written, parents have been given the right to choose the  school to which to send their children.

The school has always been very much part of  the community, but now seems to be even more so.  There is more contact between pupil and teacher  and between teacher and parent than in the past.  Modern methods of education, the abolition of the  tawse or belt and the effects of this on school  discipline arouse conflicting responses. No such  differences of opinion cloud our perceptions of the  qualities of these pioneers. A debt is owed to both  staff and pupils for the perseverance they showed  against the most amazing odds, and the difficulties  they overcame to safeguard the privileges that are  enjoyed by the pupils of today.

Modern teaching methods, 1975. Teacher, Mrs Smith.

Alex Macdonald with a class in 1975.

W.Macleod (Headmaster), Miss Macleod, Miss Maciver and the pupils photographed in 1984 with the school and schoolhouse in the background.