Sutherland Technical School, Golspie

The Sutherland Technical School in Golspie was designed in 1903 by J M Dick Peddie and Washington Browne. It is a large, symmetrical educational building arranged around a U-shaped plan. The main building is 13 bays wide, with projecting wings extending from either side. The exterior is constructed from rubble stone with dressed stonework detailing.

The central three bays are slightly more prominent, featuring a recessed architraved doorway topped with a bracketed cornice supporting a carved panel. Above the door is a first-floor window flanked by slim pilasters and a clasping obelisk, with a semi-circular pediment over the entablature, rising to a shaped gable and an apex stack. A shallow flight of steps leads to the central entrance, flanked by windows with roll-moulded reveals. Bays 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, and 13 have paired windows on both the ground and first floors. A corbelled wallhead parapet frames the central shaped gable. Three gabled dormers are situated in the projecting wings, facing the central courtyard, alongside single box dormers.

The east and west elevations feature regular window placement and gabletted dormers. The windows are fitted with 12-pane glazing and the gables are crowstepped, with ridge and wallhead stacks rising from the slate roofs.

The interior of the school includes lofty rooms and a wide staircase with a simple cast-iron handrail. Panel doors are also a feature. A plaque above the entrance is inscribed with "MFS" and the words "Let there be light."

The school was originally built as a boarding technical school for the sons of Highland crofters, funded by Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland. The Duke of Sutherland donated the land upon which the school was built, along with $8,000, while Andrew Carnegie provided $5,000. The foundation stone was laid by Lord Balfour of Burleigh during a ceremony attended by local landowners and dignitaries. The building currently serves as a technical annexe to Golspie High School.