Leith Academy is a state school in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. It currently educates around 1000 pupils and around 2,800 part-time adult learners. Mike Irving has been head teacher since August 2017.

History

It is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, with its founding usually credited to 1560, though there are records of a Leith grammar school as early as 1521 ("maister of the gramer scule of Leith"). To begin with the school was under the control of the

kirk session A session (from the Latin word ''sessio'', which means "to sit", as in sitting to deliberate or talk about something; sometimes called ''consistory'' or ''church board'') is a body of elected elders governing each local church within presbyterian ...

South Leith Parish Church South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home (author of ''Do ...

. It remained so until 1806. It is not known where the school met until 1636 when records make reference to meeting in

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

. The school met there until 1710 when, after a disagreement about rent, the kirk session decided to move the school to King James hospital which stood on what is now South Leith Parish churchyard. In 1792 the kirk agreed to a purpose-built building for the school. The building, by Robert Burn, beside

Leith Links Leith Links ( gd, Fìghdean Lìte) is the principal open space within Leith, the docks district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park is divided by a road into two main areas, a western section and an eastern section, both being largely flat ...

, was completed in 1806. The school changed its name to Leith Academy in 1888. The Leith Links school was demolished and replaced by a new building opened in 1898. In turn, due to continued growth in the number of pupils, by 1931 a new building was required and the school on the Duke Street site was built. The Links building is now used as Leith Primary School. The Duke Street school was used as part of

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a university, founded in 1875 and located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret. History The university was founded in 1875, as ''The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic ...

College and has been (2014) converted to flats. The school's current building, off

Easter Road Easter Road is a association football, football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity ...

, was completed in 1991 after much campaigning by staff, students and parents. The school was founded by South Leith Parish Church, and strong links remain to this day, with the school's annual Christmas service being held there.

Building

The current Leith Academy building was completed in May 1991. The building incorporated the design principles of "planning for change" developed by the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

Programme on Educational Building (PEB). It features an innovative design based around a "Main Street" leading from one end of the school to the other with all departments and facilities, including a swimming pool, leading off it. The Main Street has a glass roof and is lined on either side by plants. These plants were featured on the BBC Television programme ''

The Beechgrove Garden ''Beechgrove'' (formerly known as ''The Beechgrove Garden'') is a television programme broadcast since 1978 on BBC Scotland. Over the years it has been broadcast on BBC Scotland, BBC One Scotland, BBC Two Scotland and Britbox. History ''Beechg ...

''. In 2016 the school played host to the BBC's

The Big Questions ''The Big Questions'' is an interfaith dialogue and ethics television programme usually presented by Nicky Campbell. It is broadcast live on BBC One on Sunday mornings, replacing '' The Heaven and Earth Show'' as the BBC's religious discussion ...

Notable alumni

Mark Bonnar Richard Mark Bonnar (born 19 November 1968) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Max in ''Guilt'', Duncan Hunter in '' Shetland'', Bruno Jenkins in ''Casualty'', Detective Finney in ''Psychoville'', DCC Mike Dryden in '' Line of Du ...

, actor *

Kitch Christie George Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie (31 January 1940 – 22 April 1998), was a South African rugby union coach best known for coaching the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He remai ...

, South African rugby union coach * Frederick Coutts,

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

from 1963 to 1969 of the Salvation Army * Frank Doran, British Labour MP (Aberdeen North), married to

Joan Ruddock Dame Joan Mary Ruddock, (née Anthony; born 28 December 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford from 1987 to 2015. Ruddock was Minister of State for Energy at the Departmen ...

Leigh Griffiths Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City. Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...

, footballer * Sir Peter Heatly CBE, Chairman from 1982 to 1990 of the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Federation *

David McLetchie David William McLetchie CBE (6 August 1952 – 12 August 2013) was a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 1999 to 2005. He was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Pentlands co ...

, politician * Andrew McNeil, footballer * John David McWilliam, Labour MP for Blaydon (1979–2005) * Douglas Millings, tailor * Suzanne Mulvey (formerly Malone) International footballer * Prof Tom Patten CBE, Vice-Chancellor from 1980 to 1981 of Heriot-Watt University, Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1967 to 1982, and President from 1991 to 1992 of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

Jamie Sives Jamie Sives ( ; born 14 August 1973) is a Scottish actor. Sives was born in Lochend, Edinburgh. He studied at Leith Academy and worked as a scaffolder, as a postman, and as a club doorman in Edinburgh before turning to acting full-time. In 2 ...

, actor * David Torrance, journalist * Unicorn Kid, (Oliver Sabin), musician * Jock Wilson (1903–2008), oldest D-Day veteran * Walter Balmer Hislop, artist

Grammar School

* John Home, minister and writer. *

Robert Jameson Robert Jameson Robert Jameson FRS FRSE (11 July 1774 – 19 April 1854) was a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist. As Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh for fifty years, developing his predecessor John ...

, naturalist and

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

. * Andrew MacDonald, poet

Notable former staff

Peter Comrie Peter Comrie FRSE LLD EIS (1868 – 1944) was a Scottish mathematician and educator. He served as Rector of Leith Academy 1922 to 1933 and President of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society 1916–17. Life He was born on 17 July 1868 in Muthill t ...

FRSE (d.1944) mathematician, Rector 1922-33 * Dr John Mackie FRSE (d.1955) maths teacher then rector, 1933-53 * J K Rowling (b.1965) bestselling author of the Harry Potter series, foreign languages teacher 1990s. * John W Tait FRSE (1862-1932) rector for over 20 years including the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

External links

Official Leith Academy WebsiteLeith Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online
{{authority control Secondary schools in Edinburgh Leith