Hermitage Academy is a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, Scotland. It is one of two secondary schools in the Helensburgh area (the other being

Lomond School Lomond School is a private, co-educational, day and boarding school in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Lomond School is, currently, the only day and boarding school on the west coast of Scotland. It was formed from a merger in 1977 betwe ...

) and is currently the largest secondary school in Argyll and Bute. The school catchment area extends from the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

and the Rest and be thankful, including in addition to the town of Helensburgh the villages of

Cardross Cardross () is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical county of Dunbartonshire but th ...

, Rhu, Shandon,

Garelochhead Garelochhead (,
, "Headland of the Short Lake") is a ...

Clynder Clynder is a Hamlet (place), place on the western shore of the Gare Loch, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Historically in the Dunbartonshire, County of Dunbarton, Clynder is one of a string of small settlements on the Rosneath Peninsula. It is almost ...

Rosneath Rosneath () is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is sited on the southern shore ...

Kilcreggan Kilcreggan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cille Chreagain'') is a village on the Rosneath Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland. It developed on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde at a time when Clyde steamers brought it within easy reach ...

, Arrochar, Tarbet and

Luss Luss (, 'herb') is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. The village is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. History Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its original name is ''Clacha ...

and other rural areas. Since this catchment area straddles the Highland Boundary Fault Line, the school is uniquely both a Lowland and a Highland school.

History

The school was originally located in East Argyle Street next to the current primary school. The first Gothic building, with four classrooms and a music room and an intended capacity of 500, opened in 1880. In 1966, after complaints of overcrowding, the secondary school was replaced by a new building at Campbell Drive, Helensburgh, but when this proved too small, a second building of equal capacity was built beside it. In February 2008 the school was again relocated to a new campus on the outskirts of the town. The school badge features the main entrance of the original Hermitage School. Robert Williamson retired at the end of the school term in 2020. Prior to joining Hermitage in 2017, Mr Williamson was Head Teacher at Drumchapel High School. Mr Williamson replaced Geoff Urie, who retired in June 2017. The role was filled until October 2017 by David Mitchell, the substantive Head Teacher of Dunoon Grammar School. Douglas Morgan took up the post of Acting Head Teacher in January 2021. He was appointed permanent Head Teacher in November 2022. The school's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is ''Nulla Virtus Sine Labore'', which translates to Nothing Achieved Without Hard Work. , the school had 1284 pupils and almost 100 teaching staff.

Notable alumni

Marco Biagi Marco Biagi can refer to: * Marco Biagi (jurist) Marco Biagi (24 November 1950 – 19 March 2002) was an Italian jurist and economist. A native of Bologna, he was professor of labour law and industrial relations at the University of Modena. Life ...

– former Minister of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

Hazel Irvine Hazel Jane Irvine (born 24 May 1965) is a Scottish sports presenter. Principally working for the BBC, Irvine has presented the Summer Olympic Games, Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Triple Crown (sn ...

– BBC sports presenter and journalist * Ross King – Los Angeles correspondent on ITV morning shows ''Daybreak'' and ''Lorraine'' *

Nigel Healey Nigel Healey is a British-New Zealand academic in management and higher education. His current research interests are in the internationalization of higher education, transnational education and higher education policy and management. Career Dr ...

– academic, currently Vice-President at the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

* Stephen Park – former Team GB sailor and current performance director for

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

Derek Parlane Derek James Parlane (born 5 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for Rangers from 1970 until 1980, and also played in England with clubs including Leeds United and Manchester City. Career Rangers and ...

– Rangers, Leeds United and Scotland footballer (1970–1988) * Luke Patience – silver medallist sailor at the 2012 London Olympics *Richard Tait – Creator of

Cranium The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

and former

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

employee of the year *Very Rev Peter Donald Thomson –

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in 1934 *

Tom Gallacher Tom Gallacher (16 February 1932 – 27 October 2001) was a Scottish playwright. He originally came from Garelochhead and went to the Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, but in later life he lived in Alexandria in Dunbartonshire. He was inv ...

, Scottish playwright *

Lawrence Chaney Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a British Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2), second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', becoming the first Scottish drag q ...

, Drag Queen, winner of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Secondary schools in Argyll and Bute Helensburgh 1880 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1880