Little did the Rothesay Academy pupils realise when they left school on Friday 5 March 1954 that they would never
return to the school that they knew, as that night saw an arson attack resulting in the total destruction of the school
building. An assembly was held in the playground on the Monday morning before the classes were dispersed to temporary
accommodation to continue their schooling. Many of the senior classes were moved to the primary building up the hill,
with the older primary pupils moving to the Public School, while the rest made use of church halls including Trinity
Church and the West Church. This photograph shows a group of pupils being escorted into Rothesay to resume their
schooling in very different circumstances. Not one child lost one day of schooling because of the fire. (P12-0272, B1.53)