Dunfermline College of Physical Education

Dunfermline Dunfermline College of Physical Education was founded on 4 October 1905 as Dunfermline College of Hygiene and Physical Training, following the Report of the Royal Commission on Physical Training in Scotland published two years previously in 1903. Funding for the college was provided by Andrew Carnegie, who had established a trust to promote the physical wellbeing of the children of his home town of Dunfermline. The college's first principal was Flora Ogston, daughter of Sir Alexander Ogston, Regius Professor of Surgery, University of Aberdeen, who had trained at Chelsea College of Physical Education from 1901 - 1903. Other staff at this time included Warden of the College Ethel Adair Roberts, a graduate of Martina Bergman-Österberg's Hampstead Physical Training College, and member of the Ling Association which established the rules of netball; Leila Rendel, co-founder of the Caldecott Community; Ogston stepped down as principal in 1906 when she married and was replaced by Ethel Roberts. Roberts held the post of principal for two years until her own marriage in 1908, when she was replaced Mary Stewart Tait. The course included theoretical and practical aspects of physical education, anatomy and physiology, Pehr Henrik Ling's Swedish gymnastics, remedial massage and voice production. In 1909 the college was recognised by the Scottish Education Department as a "central institution for the purpose of the Education (Scotland) Act of 1908", and became the central training institution for school medical officers throughout Scotland. At this point the college was renamed Dunfermline College of Hygiene and Physical Education. Principal Mackenzie transferred to Jordanhill along with the male students in 1931 and Helen Drummond took up the post of principal of the women's college. Aberdeen By 1950 the college had outgrown its site in Dunfermline so it transferred to Woolmanhill in Aberdeen, hostel premises were acquired at Queen's Road, Rubislaw and Kepplestone House. == Reputation and culture ==

Since its foundation, Dunfermline College was regarded as a national institution for teacher training, with students of a "distinctly better class in society than the ordinary teacher". Teaching physical education came to be regarded as a respectable career for women, with PE colleges attracting talented sportswomen and nurturing refined manners, poise and deportment. Ethel Adair, principal of the college 1906 - 1907, promoted "the Dunfermline mark" of decorum and respectable social standards. The college operated a "mother and daughter" support system, with new first year students, the daughters, being nurtured by second year mothers. == Archive ==

Archives of the college are held by the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Research Collections and University of Aberdeen Special Collections. In 2019, Body Language, a Wellcome Trust funded archive exhibition at University of Edinburgh Library explored the archives of Dunfermline College of Physical Education, Scottish Gymnastics, and choreographer and dance teacher Margaret Morris. == Gallery ==

File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students 2.jpg|alt=Dunfermline College of Physical Education students|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education Uniform Pinafore.jpg|alt=Dunfermline College of Physical Education pinafore|Navy woollen pinafore with velvet yoke, worn by students of Dunfermline College of Physical Education c. 1910 - 1920. Body Language exhibition, University of Edinburgh Library, 2019. File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education Uniform Romper Suit.jpg|alt=Dunfermline College of Physical Education romper suit|Romper suit worn by students of Dunfermline College of Physical Education during the 1950s. Body Language exhibition, University of Edinburgh Library, 2019. File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education Blazer.jpg|alt=Dunfermline College of Physical Education blazer|Dunfermline College of Physical Education blazer, embroidered with the Old Students Association badge. Body Language exhibition, University of Edinburgh Library, 2019. File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education Graduation Year Book.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education Graduation Year Book, 1953 - 1956 File:Queen's Road, Aberdeen.jpg|Queen's Road hostel, Aberdeen File:"Sunshine Alley", Dunfermline College of Physical Education, Aberdeen.jpg|"Sunshine Alley", Dunfermline College of Physical Education, Aberdeen File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education Charities Week 02.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education Charities Week 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Gordon's Baths, Aberdeen.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Gordon's Baths, Aberdeen, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Aberdeen, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education Charities Week 01.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education Charities Week 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education at Glenmore Lodge.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students at Glenmore Lodge, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms, 4.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms, 3.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students skiing in the Cairngorms, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education student skiing.jpg|Dunfermline student skiing in the Cairngorms File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms, 2.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students with Ben Humble, Cairngorms, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Ryvoan Bothy, Cairngorms, 6.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students at Ryvoan Bothy, Cairngorms, 1955 File:Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms, 5.jpg|Dunfermline College of Physical Education students, Cairngorms, 1955 ==College principals==

• 1905–1906 Miss Flora M. Ogston • 1906–1907 Miss Ethel Adair Roberts • 1908–1910 Miss Mary Stewart Tait • 1910–1911 Miss M.L. Brailsford (Interim principal) • 1912–1931 Dr A.T. Mackenzie • 1931–1956 Miss Helen Drummond • 1956–1970 Miss N. Blunden • 1970 Miss Mollie Abbott ==Notable alumni==

• Peter Hoffmann, athlete and author • Margo MacDonald, Scottish politician ==References==