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 * Independe ...

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 popu ...

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 ...

. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level 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 En ...

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 The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independ ...

, adopting the distinctive purple of its uniform in the school badge and tartan. It is located in the Kelvinbridge area and has approximately 1350 pupils, split between three preparatory school sites and a senior school. The current rector 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 on ...

, 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 ...

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 moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

as well as an annual House singing competition 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 Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' *

Laura Bartlett *

John Beattie (rugby player) John Ross Beattie (born 27 November 1957) is a Scottish broadcaster and former rugby union player. Early life and education Beattie was born to Scottish parents in North Borneo, where his father was manager of a rubber estate. He attended board ...

, 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

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

. *Sir

David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron (28 June 1865 – 16 September 1945) was a Scottish painter and, with greater success, etcher, mostly of townscapes and landscapes in both cases. He was a leading figure in the final decades of the Etching Reviv ...

(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

Burmah Oil Company The Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company which was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah, which was renamed "Burmah-Castrol". BP Amoco (now BP) purchased the company in 2000. History ...

, 1904–1943 *

Jackson Carlaw David Jackson Carlaw (born 12 April 1959) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2019 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019. He has b ...

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MSP *

Horatio Scott Carslaw Dr Horatio Scott Carslaw FRSE LLD (12 February 1870, Helensburgh, Dumbartonshire, Scotland – 11 November 1954, Burradoo, New South Wales, Australia) was a Scottish- Australian mathematician. The book he wrote with his colleague John ...

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

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. *

Archibald Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan Archibald Cameron Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan (23 May 1856 – 19 March 1933), was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament and Liberal Unionist Party politician. Early life The second son of Thomas Corbett, a Glasgow merchant and philanthropist, an ...

, politician and philanthropist. * Douglas Crawford,

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

MP * Pippa Crerar, Political Editor of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'' * Darius Campbell (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,

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 of ...

MP and MSP, first

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chair ...

* Professor Ronald Drever, Professor of Physics at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

and part of the team that first detected gravitational waves * Andrew Dunlop, Baron Dunlop, Conservative peer * Walter Elliot, Scottish Unionist Party MP,

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

Niall Ferguson Niall Campbell Ferguson FRSE (; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson

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

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...

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

Thomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde Thomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde, PC (20 March 1891 – 12 July 1985), was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. After serving in the Royal Navy, he became a chartered accountant and practised, 1925–70. He was elevated to th ...

, 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 193 ...

, 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 and

St Andrew's College, Sydney St Andrew's College is a residential college for women and men within the University of Sydney, in the suburb of Newtown. Home to over 380 male and female undergraduate students, postgraduate students, resident Fellows and graduate residents. ...

(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, rhythm guitarist for Primal Scream * Andrew Innes, cricketer * Sir Jeremy Isaacs Founder of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

* William Paton Ker, 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 Pol ...

, Professor of Modern History at University of Glasgow *

Alexander Dunlop Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker Alexander Dunlop Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (14 May 1879 - 18 March 1952),
known as Sandie Lindsay, ...

, 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 role ...

, shipbuilder and industrialist; 1883–1952 * Neil MacGregor, Director of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

* Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, leader of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

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 Guy Fulton McCrone (13 September 1898 – 30 May 1977) was a Scottish writer active from the late 1930s onwards. He was born in Birkenhead to Scottish parents. After the family returned to their native Glasgow, McCrone was educated at ...

, author and founding member of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre *

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 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 1930s. Early years Born on 19 ...

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 son ...

, mountaineer, explorer and writer * Robin Nisbet (1925–2013), professor of Latin literature *

David Omand Sir David Bruce Omand (born 15 April 1947) is a British former senior civil servant who served as the Director of the Government Communications Headquarters ( GCHQ) from 1996 to 1997. Background Omand was born on 15 April 1947. His father, ...

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 on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

, 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

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

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, 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 albu ...

, 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 a ...

' *

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 ...

, founder of the BBC * Albert Russell, Scottish Unionist Party MP, Solicitor General for Scotland * 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, scholar of religion * Norman Stone, historian * Euan Stubbs, cricketer * Iain Vallance, Baron Vallance of Tummel, ex-Chief Executive of BT, Liberal Democrat 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 e ...

, 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 busi ...

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