John honoured for pitching in

He was one of the original pupils when the school first opened in 1957 and the school’s ‘old boy’ went on to spend decades volunteering to help out with its activities, especially with sports.

This dedication has now been recognised by the naming of Crawforddyke’s new football pitch after him.

This took place when the whole school attended a special surprise assembly to honour him. head teacher Angela Gibson saying later: “Without John, we would not be able to facilitate as many of the sports clubs that we do.

“He is undoubtedly the reason behind our success in sports across the local and wider community.

“John is hugely loved and respected by all of our parents and pupils for the work he does.”

Crawforddyke is semi-legendary among South Lanarkshire schools for its sporting prowess.

For the last two years it has been recognised as Best Sporting School at the Clydesdale Sports Awards where John has also received the Volunteer of the Year Award both years running.

Due to his volunteer work, he was also chosen to carry the Queen’s Baton Relay in the lead-up to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

John confesses to having been “surprised and stunned” by the honour, only suspecting something was up when he spotted family members attending the assembly!