Park Mains High School is a secondary school in

Erskine Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the l ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

. It is one of the biggest schools in Scotland. As well as taking in students from the town it also enrolls them from the surrounding areas of Bishopton (including the new Dargavel Village),

Inchinnan Inchinnan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Innis Fhionghain'') is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine. History The name of Inchinnan vil ...

, and

Langbank Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is 9.3 miles/15 km northwest from Paisley (Renfrewshire) and 3.4 miles/5.5 km east from Port Glasgow (Inverclyde) on the A8. History Langbank ev ...

New school building (2012-present)

Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Ren ...

granted a new multimillion-pound rebuild of the school. The new building was opened in August 2012 at a cost of £31m. It was designed and planned by Holmes Miller. Construction was completed by Bam Construction. FES Ltd were the contractors for the electrical, mechanical, IT installations and fire and security systems. The building offers a larger, brighter space for the pupils to feel in a social hub whilst still being in a controlled learning environment. One key feature of the school is the central 'street area' with natural sunlight. The school's new sports complex has a multi-use games hall and gymnasium. The site of the old school building is now a £400,000 multi-use 3G sports pitch with running track. There are also hockey pitches and a rugby field. The school building has regularly featured in architectural publications. It has received award nominations for its design and construction.

Guidance

Pupils are assigned to a guidance group in their first year at Park Mains. The guidance groups are named after some of the Scottish Isles. These are Skye, Arran, Bute and

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

. Pupils remain in these groups until their departure from the school.

Notable former pupils

* Chris Aitken, former footballer, now assistant manager at East Kilbride FC *

Stephen Aitken Stephen Aitken (born 25 September 1976 in Glasgow) is a Scottish football player and coach who was most recently manager of East Kilbride. Aitken played for Greenock Morton, Stranraer, Stenhousemuir and Junior side Arthurlie. He rejoined St ...

, Former footballer, now manager at East Kilbride thistle *

Wendy Alexander Wendy Alexander (born 27 June 1963) is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland ...

, former leader of the Scottish Labour Party *

Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as ...

, former Labour

Shadow Foreign Secretary In UK politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Foreign Office. If elected, the person serving a ...

* Kenny Inglis, composer & music producer * James Laidlaw,

William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology The William Wyse Professorship of Social Anthropology is a professorship in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge. It was founded on 18 June 1932 and endowed partly with the support of Trinity College from money bequeathed to them b ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

since 2016. *

Keith Lasley Keith William Robert Lasley (born 21 September 1979) is a Scottish retired football midfielder, who is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. During his playing career, Lasley played for Motherwell, Plymou ...

, former footballer, now assistant manager at

Motherwell FC Motherwell Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Motherwell have not dropped out of the top-flight of Scottish football since 1985, and have lif ...

* Peter Leven, former footballer, assistant manager at Kilmarnock FC * Derek Lilley, former footballer *

Kirsty Mitchell Kirsty Loretta Mitchell (born 28 June 1974) is an award nominated Scottish actress, She is the Scottish voice of Mòrag Ladair in ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2''. In 2019, she began appearing in the BBC medical drama series '' Casualty'' as ACP Fait ...

, actress and former

Miss Scotland Miss Scotland is a national beauty pageant in Scotland. Entrants must hold a British passport to enter. The contest, whose title is owned by the Miss World organisation, is organised each year by Janis Sue Smith Director of The Catwalk Aca ...

* Brian O'Neil, former footballer *

Blair Spittal Blair Thomas Spittal (born 19 December 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Motherwell. He has previously played for Queen's Park, Dundee United, Partick Thistle and Ross County. Early life and career Blair beg ...

, footballer at Motherwell *

Dougie Vipond Douglas Vipond (born 15 October 1966) is a Scottish broadcaster and drummer. Early life Vipond was brought up in Inchinnan and attended Park Mains High School in Erskine, choosing to go there because of the reputation of the music department. A ...

, TV presenter &

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...

drummer

Notable former teachers

Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series '' Stargate SG-1'' and as Charles Harris ...

, politician

References

External links

Mains High School Official WebsitePark Mains High School @ Scottish Schools Online
{{authority control Secondary schools in Renfrewshire Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in Scotland Erskine, Renfrewshire School buildings completed in 2012