Goodbye to Viewforth High School '“ Raymond Clark

Growing up in a chaotic household and forced to move away for a time, he says the school was the only place he felt comfortable, and it provided a haven for him during a very turbulent period.

“I was a bit of a troublemaker in my younger days – always fighting and getting into bother, and it was only after I went to Viewforth and found teachers who were good to me and where I made some good pals that I settled down,” he said.

“It was about the 13th school I had been at and I was constantly being picked on, so I had to learn to look after myself. I hated bullies and I used to stand up for the people they were picking on, so I was forever getting into fights,” he said.

Raymond’s parents split up and he was forced to move to Leeds with his mum, but he hated it so came back to Fife to stay with an older brother in Glenrothes, spending days living with friends so he could continue to go to Viewforth.

His mum moved back to Leslie and he travelled every day. with teachers often giving him lifts to save on bus fairs.

He said: “Mr Reekie an art teacher along with Miss Taylor who taught music and Mr Kent, geography all understood what I was going through and really helped me through school. I was dyslexic so all the way through I couldn’t read and write, and the teachers back then didn’t know how to help me, so I never got any academic qualifications, but I am grateful to them all for the help they gave me,” he added.