Hutchesons' Grammar School is a

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co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for pupils aged 3–18 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641, making it the 19th oldest school in Scotland. Prospective pupils must sit an entrance test and interview to gain admission. , the school has around 1,300 pupils across its Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Schools and is governed by The Governors of Hutchesons' Educational Trust. Its current Rector is Mark Ronan. Hutchesons' alumni include the former

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...

Humza Yousaf Humza Haroon Yousaf (; born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from March 2023 to May 2024. He served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish ...

, Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader, several members of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and the first female lawyer in the United Kingdom. Former pupils are known as Old Hutchesonians.

History

Establishment

The school was founded in 1641 as Hutchesons' Hospital by brothers Thomas and George Hutcheson of Lambhill,

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

and originally opened to educate "twelve indigent orphans" In 1799, plans for a new hospital commenced on Ingram Street, at the head of Hutchesons' Street although construction did not begin until 1802. The building, designed by architect David Hamilton, was completed in 1805 and is known today as

Hutchesons' Hall Hutchesons' Hall is an early nineteenth-century building in Ingram Street, in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and maintained by The National Trust for Scotland, and is a category A listed building. The current building was construc ...

, named after the school and its founders. The building was acquired by The

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

in 1982 and again in 1987 and renovations began. After suffering heavy water damage in 2008 the building was sold and after extensive renovations to preserve the interior, it opened as a restaurant in 2014. The building is listed as Category A.

Amalgamation

The Boys' and Girls' schools amalgamated in 1976, at the grounds where the Boys' school had moved to almost two decades prior to form the current secondary school. The Girls' school campus became the primary school and in 1994, a new pre-school block at the primary school was constructed.

Expansion

In 2001, the school expanded into the West End of Glasgow when it merged with Laurel Park School and created a nursery and primary school on Lilybank Terrace, although this has since closed. The building suffered heavy damage in a fire in November 2008, and again in early 2019.

Recent history

In 2021, the schools purchased a new sports complex in

Pollok Country Park Pollok Country Park is a country park located between Shawlands, Crossmyloof, and Pollok in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2007, Pollok Country Park was named Britain's Best Park, and in 2008 it was named the Best Park in Europe, beating competition fro ...

, previously owned by

Craigholme School Craigholme School was a private school for girls situated in the Pollokshields area of the South Side of Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, ...

. It is titled within the school as ''H@PP'', an abbreviation for Hutchesons' at Pollok Park. In 2022, the school obtained new playing fields also inside

Overview

Affiliations

Hutchesons' is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

, the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

, and the

Scottish Council of Independent Schools The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) is a registered Scottish charity which represents the independent school sector in Scotland. Its membership includes mainstream fee-paying independent schools and a range of schools for young peo ...

Houses

Pupils at the school are divided into the following four

Houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

: * Montrose * Stuart * Lochiel * Argyll

School tartan

The school tartan derives from the Hutcheson

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

with the colours changed to fit the school colours. It was adapted by Colin Hutcheson, a Governor of the Scottish Tartans Authority, and launched in March 2005. The Tartan is worn on Founders Day every year as a

kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...

by the

Head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

and Depute Head boy, as a skirt by the

Head girl The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

and Depute head girl and as a tie by the rector. Founders Day service is held annually at

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...

on 19 March. The tartan can also be found on the school scarf, which is worn with the winter uniform.

Academics

The School follows the Scottish education system. The School's results are well above the national average and are among the best in the country, In 2019, 89.2% of Highers and

Advanced Higher The Advanced Higher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Sàr Àrd Ìre'') is an optional qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system brought in to replace the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS). The first certification of Advan ...

s were awarded grade A/B. The same year, 78.6% of

National 5 ''Curriculum for Excellence'' (Scottish Gaelic: ''Curraicealam airson Sàr-mhathais'') is the national curriculum in Scotland, used by Scottish schools for learners ages 3–18. The implementation of ''Curriculum for Excellence'' is overseen by ...

s were awarded grade A. In 2019, the school had the second-highest exam results in Scotland, in 2022 they had the fifth-highest.

Accolades

In November 2011, Hutchesons' Grammar School was named the 'Scottish Independent Secondary School of the Year' by the Independent Schools Council. In December 2022, Hutchesons' Senior School was named in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

top five Independent Secondary Schools in Scotland.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include, but are not limited to: * Madge Easton Anderson – First Female Lawyer in the United Kingdom * John Barbour – footballer and soldier killed in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

* Ailsa Carmichael, Lady Carmichael - Judge * Alison Di Rollo – Solicitor General for Scotland * Adam Fleming - BBC Chief Political Correspondent * Derry Irvine (Baron Irvine of Lairg) –

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, KC and former

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

* Lionel Charles Knights – King Edward VII Professor of English Literature, University of Cambridge, 1965–73 * Daniel Lamont –

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 ...

from 1936 to 1937 *

Archibald Leitch Archibald Keir Leitch (27 April 1865 – 25 April 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing association football, football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Early work Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work w ...

– architect * John Mason – Scottish National Party MSP * James Maxton – MP and leader of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

* Ian McColl, Baron McColl of Dulwich - Conservative member of the

Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...

- Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Labour list MSP, former Westminster MP * J David Simons – novelist *

Carol Smillie Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish former television presenter, actress and model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on ...

– TV presenter and former model * Ashley Storrie, comedian and presenter. * Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell – Businessman *

2023-2024

References

External links

Hutchesons' Website

Hutchesons' Grammar School page on Scottish Schools Online

"Statues of the Hutcheson Brothers"
Glasgow – City of Sculpture By Gary Nisbet {{authority control 1641 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in the 1640s Grammar schools in Scotland Private schools in Glasgow Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Pollokshields