("By this conquer!") , established = 1936 , closed = , type = Comprehensive , religious_affiliation =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, president = , head_name = , head = Sharon Watson , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founder = , specialist = , address = 100 Dixon Road , city =

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, county = Greater Glasgow , country = Scotland , postcode = G42 8AU , local_authority = , dfeno = , urn = , ofsted = , staff = 150 , enrolment = 2,170 , gender =

Co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, lower_age = 11 , upper_age = 18 , hours_in_day = 6 h 5 min / 6 h 55 min , houses = , colours = Blue, grey and white , mascot = , publication = , free_label_1 = , free_1 = , free_label_2 = , free_2 = , free_label_3 = , free_3 = , website = http://www.holyrood-sec.glasgow.sch.uk , language = English Holyrood Secondary School is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the south-side of

, Scotland. It is the biggest secondary school in Scotland, with over 2,000 pupils and 150 teaching staff. Holyrood is located near Crosshill railway station,

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

, A728 and the new M74 motorway. Officially opened in 1936, the school's enrolment rapidly expanded amid the closure of several surrounding secondary schools in the city's south-side. To combat the surge in pupils attending Holyrood, the school underwent several refurbishments, most recently in the early 2000s which included the Holyrood Sports Centre. The school can accommodate more than 420 new 1st Year starts, the biggest intake of any secondary school in Scotland. In 2019, Holyrood RC Secondary School was ranked the 82nd best performing school in Scotland by the Scottish Government: 43 percent of pupils attained five or more awards at

SCQF The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland. Awards are classified under the framework at ''levels'', and study undertaken at that level is valued ...

Level 6, the equivalent of Highers.

History

The school was founded in 1936 and originally functioned as a senior secondary with entry dependent on a high mark in the "qualifying examination". In 1971 the exam was abolished and all Scottish state schools became equal in terms of status, curriculum offered and examinations taken. In 2012, the school was the subject of a BBC television documentary series titled ''

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

''. In 2017, former pupil

Joe McFadden Joseph McFadden (born 9 October 1975) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles in ''The Crow Road,'' '' Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll, Heartbeat'' and ''Holby City.'' McFadden won the 2017 series of the BBC One series '' Strictly Come Dancing ...

visited Holyrood during his appearance on the BBC's ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...

''. The school was featured in an episode, as McFadden and his dance partner

Katya Jones Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; rus, Екатерина Андреевна Соколова; 12 May 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best-known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly ...

showcased a dance in front of the pupils. In 2020 Holyrood, along with all other Scottish schools, closed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The SQA for the first time in 130 years cancelled all exams.

Facilities

Holyrood Secondary School, Glasgow, Scotland

The original school building, designed by the firm of John Burnet, Son & Dick, was built in 1936, and is now protected as a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. Over the years, the school has had renovation and additional blocks purposely built, known as the "new block" and "I.T. Wing". The new block also features new classrooms for English, religious education and modern languages. The school features over 20 purpose built I.T. rooms and also hosts three drama studios, complete with sound and lighting effects. It has several wood work and metal workshops as well as modern laboratories for physics, chemistry and biology. Nearly all classrooms within the school are fully equipped with smart boards and projectors. In 2001, Glasgow city council commissioned a modern sports centre to be built directly next to Holyrood, known as Holyrood Sports Centre. The school has exclusive access during the day to all the facilities, with the centre being open at night to the public. The sports centre features a full size synthetic floodlit pitch, three seven-a-side pitches, changing rooms, inside gym hall and shower accommodation. In addition, an open plan gym which can be split into two separate halls, a dance studio and a modern extensive fitness suite. These facilities are used by all pupils for physical education and are an addition to the swimming pool and gymnastics hall. In 2012, the school was selected as the Glasgow base for the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility f ...

's Performance Schools, a system devised to support the development of the best young talented footballers across the country (there are seven such schools across Scotland). As of 2018, the dedicated coach for the young players at Holyrood is Joe McBride.

Year groups

Malawi partnership

The school has established a close partnership with

Mary's Meals Mary's Meals, formerly known as Scottish International Relief (SIR), is a OSCR, registered charity which sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world's poorest communities, where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an educ ...

, which saw former deputy head, Tony Begley, resign from his position to take up a new role as the education co-ordinator of this non-profitable charity. The school has also been at the forefront of fundraising for

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

as well as Mary's Meals which involves under 30 pupils travelling to areas close to Blantyre, Malawi to reconstruct, renovate and build schools. A team of 36 young people was chosen for 2013 after a successful five years of the project and planned to continue the work in Malawi, led by previous head teacher, Thomas McDonald. The school has so far raised in excess of £200,000 for Malawi. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Malawi, and subsequently 2021 Malawi projects had to be cancelled.

Admissions

The school has a roll of approximately 2,000 pupils and 150 teachers, making it one of the largest state comprehensive schools in Europe.

Notable former pupils

Arts & media * Frankie Boyle, comedian * James Boyle, broadcaster: head of

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

and controller of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

, chairman of the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from th ...

Charlie Burchill Charles Burchill (born 27 November 1959) is a Scottish musician and composer, best known as the guitarist of Simple Minds. He is one of the founders of the group. Style During Simple Minds' early to mid-1980s period, Burchill's guitar had a dis ...

, Scottish musician and composer, best known as the guitarist of

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for " Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United ...

* Des Clarke (b. 1981), comedian * Bob Crampsey, Scottish association football historian, author, broadcaster and teacher (including history teacher at Holyrood in the 1970s) * Tony Curran, actor * Fran Healy, British singer, songwriter and musician, lead singer and lyricist of the band Travis *

Jim Kerr James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish singer and the lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. Ot ...

, Scottish singer-songwriter and the lead singer of the rock band Simple MindsFirst year school photos of Kerr and Burchill can be found here *

Johnny McElhone John Francis McElhone (born 21 April 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish guitarist and songwriter. He has played with three bands who have enjoyed a top-20 presence in the UK Singles Chart; the new wave bands Altered Images and Hipsway ...

, musician and songwriter of

Altered Images Altered Images are a Scottish new wave/ post-punk band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer Clare Grogan, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums from 1981 to 1 ...

Hipsway Hipsway are a Scottish pop/ new wave band. History and description The band was formed in Glasgow in 1984 by ex-Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone on bass, and featuring Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Travers (dr ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

* Joseph McFadden, actor * Brian McGee (b. 1959), musician * James Meechan (b. 1930), artist Business & finance *

Willie Haughey William Haughey, Baron Haughey, (born 2 July 1956) is a Scottish businessman, philanthropist and chair of City Facilities Management Holdings Ltd. Career Haughey had attended Holyrood Secondary School followed by Langside College, and then work ...

, businessman and philanthropist *

Benny Higgins Benny Higgins is a Scottish banker, and is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesco Bank. Upbringing He was brought up in Prospecthill Circus in Toryglen, Glasgow, Scotland. He attended Holyrood Secondary School in the city. Career A ...

, banker Politics * Margaret Ferrier, MP (2015-2017 and from 2019 Rutherglen and Hamilton West) * Jim Fitzpatrick, Labour MP for

Poplar and Canning Town Poplar and Canning Town was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. History The constituency ...

since 1997, and former

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, inc ...

firefighter *

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

ess Kennedy of The Shaws, lawyer, human rights activist and chair of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Pat McFadden Patrick Bosco McFadden (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 20 ...

, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East since 2005 * Bob McTaggart (1945-1989), Labour Party politician;

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Glasgow Central Sports *

Alan Brazil Alan Bernard Brazil (born 15 June 1959) is a Scottish broadcaster and former football player, most notably for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and internationally for Scotland. He played as a forward before being forced to r ...

, former professional footballer with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

, Detroit Express,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

; presents '' TalkSport'' radio breakfast show * Pat Crerand, former Scotland International footballer, clubs included Celtic and Manchester United * Ethan Erhahon, St Mirren and Scotland U21 International footballer * Charlie Gallagher, footballer * Jim McCalliog, former Scotland international footballer *

Lee McConnell Lee McConnell (born 9 October 1978) is a retired Scottish athlete, who competed in the 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles having started her career as a high jumper. She is a three-time Olympian who represented Great Britain in 2004, 2008 and ...

(b. 1978), athlete * John McGeady (b. 1958), footballer * Nathan Patterson (b. 2001), footballer

Chaplaincy

The school

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

is John Carroll.Staff list 2020/21
/ref>

References

External links

Official website of Holyrood R.C. SecondaryHolyrood Secondary School's page on Parentzone
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1936 Catholic secondary schools in Glasgow Category B listed buildings in Glasgow Listed schools in Scotland 1936 establishments in Scotland Youth football in Scotland Govanhill and Crosshill