Notre Dame School, 160 Observatory Road, Glasgow

Notre Dame School, located at 160 Observatory Road in Glasgow, is an A-listed building designed by architect Thomas S Cordiner. The design process began in 1939, was resumed in 1949, and the school was completed in 1953. It features a combination of brick, concrete, and ashlar, topped with a pantiled roof. The school has pivot metal framed windows with small lying pane glazing and consists of a long two-storey south range with two projecting wings to the north, and a gymnasium to the southeast.

The symmetrical entrance front faces south, with two five-bay ranges flanking a three-storey entrance bay. The outer walls of the entrance bay are advanced and faced with large nailhead ashlar masonry. The doorway is set in an ashlar surround with carved panels and features a tripartite door with glazed sidelights. Above the entrance, there is a five-light window on the first floor adorned with carved panels representing the Arts and Sciences, and a full-width window on the second floor for the library.

Concrete band courses run along all cills and lintels, and the building has deeply overhanging concrete eaves, along with a modernist fleche topped with a cross. To the left of the entrance is a single-storey kitchen wing, while to the right is a single-storey gymnasium with six bays and windows set in ashlar panels.

The two projecting wings to the north include a hall in the eastern wing and a refectory at ground level in the western wing, with classrooms above. Ashlar bas-relief panels decorate the north wings. There are sympathetic brick additions from around 1979 to the northeast and freestanding single-storey blocks in the rear courtyard.

Inside, many original features remain, including tiles to dado level, floor tiles, and some wood panelling. The stairs feature a Mackintosh style baluster-screen. The school has paved terraces to the north and west, with boundary and retaining walls made of brick and concrete coping. A brick shrine with a statue of the Virgin and Child is located to the north. The entrance is marked by brick gatepiers with concrete coping and cast-iron gates.