Knightswood Secondary School, 60 Knightswood Road, Glasgow

Knightswood Secondary School, built between 1954 and 1958, is a substantial example of 1930s modernist school design by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia, with later additions. The school comprises several blocks of 2, 3, and 4 storeys, characterized by flat roofs and a dominant grid-pattern fenestration that covers most of the wall surface. The exterior is primarily brown brick, with sections featuring a contrasting brick base course. Narrow strip pilasters articulate the fenestration of the generally flush elevations.

The principal block is a 4-storey building arranged in a single pile, extending east-west and forming the north side of the entrance playground/car park. It terminates on the outer left with a 2-storey dining hall and assembly theatre. The south elevation has 27 bays with grid windows; two glazed, two-leaf doors are positioned in the 11th and 12th bays from the left. To the right, a 3-storey east range runs north-south, featuring a corner stair tower connecting the wings, and is predominantly brick. The rear (north) elevation is adjoined on the right-hand side by a 3-storey L-plan north range, with similar detailing.

The east range is 3 storeys high, with lower bays to the north. Its west elevation has 23 bays, with grid fenestration in each, except for a blank wall containing the stair tower on the far right. The east elevation features 15 bays with two horizontal window bands to the stair tower on the left, and a grid pattern in the remaining bays. A section to the north comprises two lower, blank bays, framing four even lower, 2-storey bays. These have a door to the right and clerestory windows on the ground floor, with an arcaded balcony above.

The dining hall block is a 2-storey L-shaped building that wraps around the principal range. Its west elevation (facing Knightswood Road) has two blank bays on the outer left, displaying the school name in applied lettering. Three bays are located to the left of centre, featuring regular fenestration, while seven bays to the right have larger glazed openings within the grid pattern, with a blank bay to the far right. The east elevation has four bays with larger windows, a two-leaf glazed door in the bay to the left, and a blank section above at the first floor. The south elevation is blank. A rooftop caphouse is also present.

The north range is a 3-storey, L-plan building with grid pattern fenestration, and has been infilled to the west with later single and 2-storey additions, potentially related to a primary school.

Throughout, the regular glazing pattern consists of large fixed panes, a central pivot pane, and a narrow strip above with a hopper pane. The flat roofs have reconstituted stone copings, and an internal guttering system is in place.

The interior retains good period features. These include dance studios with herringbone parquet and sprung floors, visible supporting beams for ceilings, classrooms with generous natural light due to large windows and internal glazed screens above dado height, a fitted gymnasium, a theatre with a stage and coombed coffering in the ceiling, and a servery to the dining hall featuring a boarded screen.

Simple iron railings enclose the school boundaries. A brick bicycle shed with a lean-to roof and iron support columns is located to the north of the site.