Lochaber High School is a six-year comprehensive secondary school located in the town of Fort William,

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...

, in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

region of Scotland. The current Head Teacher is Scott Steele.

Associated primary schools

There are eleven primary schools in the area: Banavie, Caol, Invergarry, Inverlochy, St Columba, Spean Bridge. Fort William primary and Upper Achintore primary were merged in August 2015 and, along with Fort William RC, form Lundavra Primary. A new Gaelic school was opened at Caol. The High School operates a Transition week in the middle of June. NB Arisaig, Lady Lovat and Mallaig primaries are all situated in the Mallaig and Morar area and pupils attend Mallaig High School. Duror, St Brides (Onich/North Ballachulish) and Kinlochleven primaries attend Kinlochleven High School. Kilchoan, Acharacle, Strontian, Lochaline, and Ardgour primaries attend Ardnamurchan High School in Strontian.

History

Lochaber High School was founded in 1960. It also served the fishing communities near

Mallaig Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line (Fort Willi ...

prior to the opening of its high school. As the only high school in the area, it is affiliated with primary schools and takes in pupils from villages and settlements around Fort William. Lochaber High is owned and operated by The Highland Council. In September 2001 pupils appeared as extras in ''

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, d ...

'' for scenes on a train ( GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall with six coaches from The Jacobite on the

Glenfinnan Viaduct The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland, built from 1897 to 1901. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Scottish Highlands, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monu ...

). In May and June 2003 90 pupils were extras in the film ''

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and is the third in the '' Harry Potter'' series. The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of ...

'', the third '' Harry Potter'' film, but any fees paid to them on a school day went into Lochaber High School's account. This was around £2,500 in total. Filming took place in Glencoe.

Notable alumni

Danny Alexander Sir Daniel Grian Alexander (born 15 May 1972) is a former politician who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency from 2005 u ...

- Lib Dem MP 2005-2015 for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey and former

Chief Secretary to the Treasury The chief secretary to the Treasury is a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom. The office is the second most senior in the Treasury, after the chancellor of the Exchequer. The office was created in 1961, to share the burde ...

and Secretary of State for Scotland *

Tom Ballard Thomas Colin Ballard (born 26 November 1989) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. Early life Ballard was born to parents Judy and Neil Ballard and grew up in Warrnambool, Victoria. He attended Brauer Secondary Colle ...

, mountaineer, first solo winter ascent of the six major alpine north faces in a single season *

Kate Bracken Kate Bracken (born 12 June 1990) is a Scottish actress. Bracken is best known for her role as Alex Millar in '' Being Human''. Early life Bracken grew up just outside Fort William near the village of Spean Bridge. She attended Kilmonivaig Prim ...

- actress, guest appearances in ''

Inspector George Gently ''Inspector George Gently'' (also known as ''George Gently'' for the pilot and first series) is a 2008 British television crime drama series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and loosely based on some of the Inspector G ...

'', ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'' and playing female lead, Alex, in BBC3's '' Being Human'' *

John Finnie John Bradford Finnie (born 31 December 1956) is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as a Scottish National P ...

, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region *

Barry Hutchison Barry Hutchison is a children's author, screenwriter, and director from Scotland. He wrote children's novels for Egmont Press under their 2Heads imprint, including books for the ''Beastly'', ''Ben 10'', and '' Ben 10: Alien Force'' series, and s ...

- Award-winning author and screenwriter * Gary Innes - Musician and shinty player *

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...

- Lib Dem MP 2005-2015 for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, from 1997-2005 for Ross, Skye and Inverness West, and from 1983-97 for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (SDP from 1983-8), and Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006 * Carol Kirkwood, BBC weather presenter * John McGinlay, footballer *

Hugh Dan MacLennan Hugh Dan MacLennan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ùisdean MacIllFhinnein'') is a Scottish broadcaster, author and sporting academic with specific interest in the sport of shinty. A fluent Gaelic speaker from Lochaber, he attended the University of Glasgow ...

- broadcaster, author and sporting academic *

Jason MacIntyre Jason MacIntyre (20 September 1973 – 15 January 2008) was a Scottish racing cyclist. He was a triple British and Scottish champion time trial cyclist and broke Graeme Obree's time trial Scottish record in 2007. He was killed after a collis ...

– racing cyclist * Fiona O'Donnell - former Labour MP for East Lothian * Donald Park - football coach and former player * Justin Ryan, TV presenter and interior designer * Duncan Shearer, footballer * Finlay Wild, hill runner and ski mountaineer * Katie Dougan, rugby player

References

External links

*
Lochaber High School

Lochaber High School's page on Scottish Schools Online
{{authority control Secondary schools in Highland (council area) Fort William, Highland Scottish Gaelic-language secondary schools 1960 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1960