Kirkwall Grammar 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, Scotland. It was established in . The current school building was opened in 2014.

History

Kirkwall Grammar School was established in 1200 when Bishop Bjarni established a cathedral school where his clergy taught singing and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. In 1760, £60 was donated in order to repair and build two schools. These plans resulted in two new schools being built north of

St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built ...

. A new Kirkwall Grammar School building opened in 1973, and pupils were accommodated into the new building in groups over time, eventually all being housed in the building by summer 1975. This school building housed the city’s swimming pool. It was demolished in stages starting in Autumn 2011, and in December 2013 the building shut its doors to pupils. The rest of the building was demolished in January 2014, and the site it sat on became the playing fields for the new building. The new Kirkwall Grammar School building opened for pupils at the start of the new term in January 2014, but was officially opened in June 2014 by

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

Intake

Kirkwall Grammar School accepts pupils from Papdale Primary School, Glaitness Primary School,

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Primary School,

Burray Burray () is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is one of a chain of islands linked by the Churchill Barriers. Geography and geology Burray lies between Mainland, Orkney and South Ronaldsay, and is ...

Primary School,

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

Community School,

Orphir Orphir (pronounced , Old Norse: Jorfjara/OrfjaraPedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)) is a parish and settlement on Mainland, Orkney. It is approximately southwest of Kirkwall, and comprises a se ...

Community School,

Shapinsay Shapinsay (, sco, Shapinsee) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. There is one village on the island, Balfour, from which roll-on/roll-off car ferries sail to Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. Balfour Castle ...

Community School,

Rousay Rousay (, sco, Rousee; non, Hrólfsey meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It has been nicknamed "Egypt of the north", due to its archaeological diversit ...

Community School,

Flotta Flotta () is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland, Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on South Walls. The island has ...

Community School,

Eday Eday (, sco, Aidee) is one of the islands of Orkney, which are located to the north of the Scottish mainland. One of the North Isles, Eday is about from the Orkney Mainland. With an area of , it is the ninth-largest island of the archipelago. ...

Community School,

North Ronaldsay North Ronaldsay (, also , sco, North Ronalshee) is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of , it is the fourteenth-largest.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 334 It is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga''; in modern ...

Primary School and

Egilsay Egilsay (, sco, Egilsay) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes and St Magnus Church, dedicated or re-dedicated to Saint Magnus, who was killed on the is ...

Community School. The school also takes in pupils from North Walls Junior High School once they reach S3, and Sanday,

Westray Westray (, sco, Westree) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry servic ...

and

Stronsay Stronsay () is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the ...

Junior High Schools when they reach S5 or S6. Pupils from the primary schools in the KGS catchment area attend the school for two transition days in June before the summer holidays where they are assigned their classes and timetable and given a taster of the school. After the summer holidays they attend the school full time.

Houses

The houses in Kirkwall Grammar School are: *

Copinsay Copinsay ( non, Kolbeinsey) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying off the east coast of the Orkney Mainland. The smaller companion island to Copinsay, Horse of Copinsay lies to the northeast. The Horse is uninhabited, and is managed a ...

(Yellow) *

Eynhallow Eynhallow ( sco, Eynhallow; non, Eyinhelga; nrn, Øjinhellig) is a small, presently uninhabited island, part of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Geography Eynhallow lies in Eynhallow Sound between Mainland, Orkney and Rousa ...

(Red) * Fara (Blue) The houses are named after uninhabited Orkney islands, and were chosen via a school vote in April 2016. They were adopted in August 2016, at the start of the new term. The new houses came into effect after the summer holidays of 2016, replacing the six original houses. The old KGS houses were named after Orkney beaches; Berstane, Dingieshowe, Inganess, Newark, Scapa and Waulkmill.

Notable former pupils

* James Aitken, (1613-1687), Church of Scotland bishop *

Sir James David Marwick Sir James David Marwick FRSE (15 July 1826 – 24 March 1908) was a Scottish lawyer, historian and town clerk. He served as Town Clerk of Glasgow for thirty-one years, during which time the entire city was transformed. Its powers and amenities w ...

, (1826-1908), lawyer, historian and town clerk *

William Peddie 250px, William Peddie (ca 1910) William Peddie FRSE LLD (31 May 1861 – 2 June 1946) was a Scottish physicist and applied mathematician, known for his research on colour vision and molecular magnetism. Life He was born in Papa Westray in Orkney ...

, (1861-1946), physicist and applied mathematician * Stanley Cursiter, (1887-1976), artist *

Robert Rendall Robert Rendall (1898–1967) was a poet, and amateur naturalist who spent most of his life in Kirkwall, Orkney. Biography Robert Rendall was born in Glasgow in 1898 but moved to Orkney with his Westray parents when young. When he was seven years ...

, (1898-1967), poet *

Alexander Burt Taylor Alexander Burt Taylor, (6 June 1904 – 13 March 1972) was a Scottish civil servant and author who served as the Registrar General for Scotland. Life Alexander Burt Taylor was born 6 June 1904 at Earlston, Berwickshire, Scotland, the son of Rev ...

, (1904-1972), civil servant *

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...

, (1964- ), historian of the Reformation * Liam McArthur, (1967- ), Member of the Scottish Parliament for

* Neil Gray, (1986- ), Member of the Scottish Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts

References

External links

* Secondary schools in Scotland Education in Orkney Kirkwall {{Scotland-school-stub

History

Intake

Houses

Notable former pupils

See also

References

External links