The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day school for pupils aged 3–18 in

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 popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In 2016, it had the third-best

Higher level In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher () is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications ...

exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in Glasgow.

History

The school war memorial was designed by former pupil Alexander Nisbet Paterson in 1922. In 1981 the school admitted girl pupils for the first time. In 1991, Glasgow Academy merged with Westbourne School for Girls, adopting the distinctive purple of its uniform in the school badge and tartan. It is located in the

Kelvinbridge Kelvinbridge is the common name of the Great Western Bridge, a cast iron road and pedestrian bridge located in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, built to carry the Great Western Road (A82) at a high level across the River Kelvin. ...

area and has approximately 1350 pupils, split between three preparatory school sites and a

senior 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) ...

. The current

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

is Matthew Pearce, who has held the position since 2019. The Academy is one of the schools in Scotland which are Stonewall School Champions, an LGBT initiative which provides training for staff and pupils against homophobic bullying. The Glasgow Academy’s preparatory school is the first school in the UK to have been awarded the Diana Gold Award for Anti-Bullying. HMIe last inspected the school in November 2008.

House system

The school has a well established

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...

, which divides all pupils in the school into four different Houses, each represented by a School Colour: * Arthur * Fraser * Morrison * Temple All of the houses are named after notable alumni or previous Rectors that have influenced the Academy greatly. In the Senior School, House assemblies are normally held once a week and are run by two teachers, one male and one female, as Head of Houses. Senior Pupils enter a wide range of activities competing in Houses. These activities include

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

as well as an annual House

singing competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Examples ...

and an annual Sports Day.

Notable alumni

* Frederick Anderson, Chairman, Municipal Council, Shanghai International Settlement, 1905–06. * John Arthur, Church of Scotland missionary to East Africa. *

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

, writer of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'' *

Laura Bartlett *

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, rugby player for Scotland and British Lions *

James Bridie James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: ...

playwright, screenwriter and physician *

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

, actor, singer & dancer. * Sir James Caird (1864–1954), founder of the

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. *Sir

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(1865–1945), Scottish painter and etcher. *Billy Campbell, winner of the 2009

Scottish BAFTA BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televis ...

Best Fictional Film award for 'Life of a Pigeon'. * Sir John Cargill, Chairman of

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, 1904–1943 *

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MSP *

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(1870–1954), Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics at the

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. *

Archibald Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan Archibald Cameron Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan (23 May 1856 – 19 March 1933), was a Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament and Liberal Unionist Party politician. Early life The second son o ...

, politician and philanthropist. *

Douglas Crawford George Douglas Crawford (1 November 1939 – 17 April 2002) was a Scottish politician and journalist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and East Perthshire from 1974 to 1979. Crawford was educated at Glasgow Academy and St Cath ...

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MP * Pippa Crerar, Political Editor of the ''

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'' *

Darius Campbell Darius Campbell Danesh (19 August 1980 – 11 August 2022) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, actor and film producer. He first came to prominence as Darius Danesh when he appeared in the first series of '' Popstars'' in 2001, and the 2002 inau ...

(born Danesh), singer-songwriter & actor *

Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel ( ; born 12 April 1982), is a Scottish professional racing driver. Dalziel has seen the most success in his career in the United States, racing in the American Le Mans Series GT1 class and the Champ Car World Series, and winning t ...

, professional racing driver *

Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

MP and MSP, first

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* Professor Ronald Drever, Professor of Physics at

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and part of the team that first detected gravitational waves *

Andrew Dunlop, Baron Dunlop Andrew James Dunlop, Baron Dunlop (born 21 June 1959) is a British politician and life peer. From May 2015 to June 2017, he was the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland. He sits in the House of Lords on the Conservati ...

, Conservative peer * Walter Elliot, Scottish Unionist Party MP,

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, Professor of History at Harvard University * Alexander Forrester, cricketer and cricket administrator *

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, author * John Gardner (law), Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Oxford *

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, Scottish Unionist Party MP *Group Captain Sir Louis Leisler Greig, KBE, CVO British

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Speciali ...

, and intimate of King George VI (1880–1953) *Sir

Angus Grossart Sir Angus McFarlane McLeod Grossart (6 April 1937 – 13 May 2022) was a Scottish businessman who was the founder, chairman and executive director of Edinburgh-based merchant bank Noble Grossart. Personal life Grossart was born on 6 April 19 ...

, Chairman and executive director of merchant bank Noble Grossart * Rev. Dr Andrew Harper, Scottish–Australian Biblical scholar and Principal of the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne , motto_translation = The law of God is the Lamp of Life , established = 1875 , type = Independent, single-sex, day and boarding, Christian school , denomination = Presbyterian , princip ...

and St Andrew's College, Sydney (also attended

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

) *Sir Michael Hirst,

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

MP and Chairman * Sir William Wilson Hunter, KCSI CIE (1840–1900) *

Andrew Innes Andrew Colin Innes (born 16 May 1962 in Glasgow) is a Scottish-born, London-based musician. He is best known for being the rhythm guitarist in Scottish rock band Primal Scream. Biography Early years While in high school in 1978, Innes was the ...

, rhythm guitarist for Primal Scream *

, cricketer * Sir Jeremy Isaacs Founder of

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William Paton Ker William Paton Ker, FBA (30 August 1855 – 17 July 1923), was a Scottish literary scholar and essayist. Life Born in Glasgow in 1855, Ker studied at Glasgow Academy, the University of Glasgow, and Balliol College, Oxford. He was appointe ...

, literary critic * John Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard, diplomat and

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

Colin Kidd Colin Craig Kidd (born 5 May 1964) is a historian who specializes in American and Scottish history. He is currently Professor of History at the University of St Andrews, after he served as Professor of Intellectual History and the History of Poli ...

, Professor of Modern History at University of Glasgow * Alexander Dunlop Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker, philosopher * Maurice Lindsay CBE Scottish broadcaster, writer and poet (1918–2009). *

Sir James Lithgow Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet, (27 January 1883 – 23 February 1952) was a Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British shipbuilding and steelmaking industries in the 1930s in addition to playing an important rol ...

, shipbuilder and industrialist; 1883–1952 *

Neil MacGregor Robert Neil MacGregor (born 16 June 1946) is a British art historian and former museum director. He was editor of the ''The Burlington Magazine, Burlington Magazine'' from 1981 to 1987, then Director of the National Gallery, London, from 1987 ...

, Director of the

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Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart Robert Adam Ross Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, (26 June 1936 – 18 January 2020) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and life peer. He was the last leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), serving during the negotiations t ...

, leader of the

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and the Liberal Democrats *

Alan MacNaughtan Alan MacNaughtan (4 March 1920 – 29 August 2002) was a Scottish actor, born in Bearsden, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He was educated at the Glasgow Academy, trained at RADA, and graduated in 1940 with the Bancroft Gold Medal. An experienc ...

, actor * Guy McCrone, author and founding member of the

Glasgow Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various ...

George Matheson George Matheson FRSE (27 March 1842 – 28 August 1906) was a Scottish minister and hymn writer and prolific author. He was blind from the age of 17. Life Born at 39 Abbotsford Place in Glasgow, to George Matheson (d.1891), a merchant and ...

theologian and preacher (1842–1906) *

Jim Mollison James Allan Mollison Order of the British Empire, MBE (19 April 1905 – 30 October 1959) was a Scottish pioneer aviator who, flying solo or with his wife, Amy Johnson, set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930 ...

pioneer aviator (1905–1959) *

W. H. Murray William Hutchison Murray (18 March 1913 – 19 March 1996) was a Scottish mountaineer and writer, one of a group of active mountain climbers, mainly from Clydeside, before and just after World War II. Life Murray was born in Liverpool, the so ...

, mountaineer, explorer and writer *

Robin Nisbet Robert George Murdoch Nisbet, FBA (21 May 1925 – 14 May 2013), known as Robin Nisbet, was a British classicist and academic, specializing in Latin literature. From 1970 to 1992, he was Corpus Christi Professor of Latin at the University of O ...

(1925–2013), professor of Latin literature * David Omand Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

, former senior British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, visiting professor at

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Alexander Pollock Alexander Pollock is a Canadian realtor and former actor. He is best known for his roles as Corky in ''Big Bully'', Scotty Brody in ''Cats & Dogs'', and Richie/Elf Tight End in ''The Santa Clause 2''. Career He made his debut in 1996 as Corky ...

, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party MP,

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

James Prime James Prime (born 3 November 1960) is a Scottish musician best known as the keyboard player for rock band Deacon Blue. Prime also lectures at the University of the West of Scotland. Known as a Hammond/piano player, his talents have been sough ...

, keyboard player for

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 album ...

, lecturer at the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland ( gd, Oilthigh na h-Alba an Iar), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Blantyre, South Lanar ...

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

, Nobel laureate (Chemistry 1904), discovered the gas '

Argon Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abu ...

' *

John Reith, 1st Baron Reith John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, (; 20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971), was a British broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922, he was employed by th ...

, founder of the

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...

* Albert Russell, Scottish Unionist Party MP,

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

* James Scott, obstetrician and gynaecologist * William Sharp, poet and

literary biographer When studying literature, biography and its relationship to literature is often a subject of literary criticism, and is treated in several different forms. Two scholarly approaches use biography or biographical approaches to the past as a tool for ...

* Chris Simmers, professional rugby union player and Scotland rugby league international *

Ninian Smart Roderick Ninian Smart (6 May 1927 – 29 January 2001) was a Scottish writer and university educator. He was a pioneer in the field of secular religious studies. In 1967 he established the first department of religious studies in the United Ki ...

, scholar of religion *

Norman Stone Norman Stone (8 March 1941 – 19 June 2019) was a British historian and author. He was Professor of European History in the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University, having formerly been a professor at the University of Oxf ...

, historian * Euan Stubbs, cricketer * Iain Vallance, Baron Vallance of Tummel, ex-Chief Executive of BT,

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

politician * Herbert Waddell Scottish rugby internationalist and president of the Barbarians (1902–1988) * William Walker, cricketer, cricket administrator, and British Army officer *Sir

James Wordie Sir James Mann Wordie CBE FRS FRSGS LLD (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist. Friends knew him as Jock Wordie. He was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954. Early life and ed ...

, polar explorer and geologist

Notable alumni of Westbourne School for Girls

Vivien Heilbron Vivien Heilbron (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish actress. Career Heilbron, who was born in Glasgow, was a member of the company at Dundee Repertory Theatre in the mid-1960s. She achieved fame in her homeland when she appeared in the 1971 BBC ...

, actress *

Fiona Kennedy Fiona Kennedy Clark, OBE, DL is a Scottish singer, actress, and broadcaster, and the daughter of Scottish and Gaelic singers Calum Kennedy and Anne Gillies. As a child, she appeared with her parents as they performed as a family, and this dev ...

, singer, actress and broadcaster * Kate Mavor, CEO of English Heritage

Bibliography

MacLeod, Iain M., The Glasgow Academy 150 Years, (The Glasgow Academicals' War Memorial Trust, 1997)

References

External links

Official website

The Glasgow Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the busin ...

website
Saturday School Ltd
website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow Academy Independent schools in Glasgow Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Charities based in Glasgow Educational institutions established in 1845 Hillhead 1845 establishments in Scotland