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The focus of this category is on the east-central Scottish town of Glenrothes, in the heart of Fife.

Glenrothes is just over thirty miles north of Edinburgh, about twenty miles south-west of Dundee, and about twenty miles south-east of Perth. Its immediate neighbouring settlements are Coaltown of Balgonia, Leslie, Markinch, and Thornton, whose boundaries are largely indistinguishable from Glenrothes, forming a contiguous urban area. The villages of Kinglassie, Milton of Balgonia, and Star are separated from Glenrothes by farmland. Kirkaldy, a former royal burgh, is the nearest large settlement, about seven miles to the south.

Its name is a reflection of its geographical location in the valley of the River Leven ("glen" means "valley in Scottish), and its association with the Earl of Rothes, of the Leslie family, who once owned much of the land on which the town sits, also giving its name to the adjacent village of Leslie.

The area is characterized by lush parklands, including Riverside Park, a prominent feature of the town.

Glenrothes is home to some ancient stone circles that can be found at Balbirnie and Balfarg in the north-east of the town. The stone henge at Balfarg is believed to have been erected around 3000 BC, while the stone circle and cairn at Balbirnie is dated to about 2000 BC or earlier. Both may have once been part of a larger ceremonial complex.

Although the area has been inhabited since ancient times, the town itself was established much later. The area consisted of small villages and farmland until 1948 when Glenrothes was designated as Scotland's second "new town," a post-World War II initiative to revitalize town centers through sustainable development, local empowerment, and community-driven projects. The town was initially developed to provide housing for workers at the Rothes Colliery, an experimental coal mine.

When the Colliery closed in the early 1960s, the town began a transition to high-tech manufacturing and public administration, becoming a significant player in Scotland's "Silicon Glen," a hub for electronics and technology industries.

Glenrothes continues to thrive as an administrative and service center today, while maintaining its high-tech manufacturing industries, with several high-tech organizations headquartered in the town. Major employers include Bosch Rexroth, Leviton, Raytheon UK, and HCS Control Systems. Glenrothes is also home to the headquarters of Fife Council and Police Scotland Fife Division.

Glenrothes boasts several educational institutions, including Fife College, which provides a range of further and higher education courses. The town has numerous primary and secondary schools that cater to the educational needs of its younger residents. Glenrothes is a newly developed town, as compared to many other Scottish localities that may have institutions going back a thousand years or more, so it doesn't have any truly historic schools. Auchmuty High School, opened in 1957, was the first secondary school in Glenrothes, and its current building was newly constructed in 2013.

The same is true of the town's churches. The first church built in Glenrothes was Saint Margaret's Parish Church, which opened in 1954. It was followed by Saint Paul's Church, which was constructed between 1959 and 1960.

Although Glenrothes is not a place of ancient castles, and historic schools or churches, it is known for its public art and sculptures, a result of the town's early development strategy to incorporate art into public spaces. The Giant Irises sculpture, the Leslie Roundabout, and the Glenrothes War Memorial are notable landmarks, although Riverside Park and its other parks and green spaces are also significant.

Glenrothes is a town that has successfully navigated economic transitions and continues to be a vibrant community with a promising future.

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