St. Matthew's Academy is a Roman Catholic

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 ...

in the Scottish town of

Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...

, North Ayrshire. The teaching facilities in St Matthew's Academy include sports facilities (including a full-size synthetic pitch, an athletics track and a fitness suite), a 400-seat theatre/auditorium and a central social area for pupils.

History

The school first opened on 29 October 2007 following the merger of pupils from St Andrews Academy, Saltcoats and St Michael's Academy, Kilwinning. As of September 2023 the school roll is 1323 thus making it the second largest school in North Ayrshire The catchment area of the school encompasses all of North Ayrshire. The most recent inspection from Education Scotland has rated the school as "very good" for Learning, Teaching and Assessment and for Raising Attainment and Achievement. In 2024 Saint Matthew's Academy was the highest performing school in North Ayrshire and the 59th highest performing school in Scotland.

Associated primaries

The roll of St Matthew's Academy is drawn in the main from the ten cluster denominational primary schools located throughout

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

: St John Ogilvie's and St Mark's in Irvine; St Winning's and St Luke's in

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, ; ) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the River Garnock in Ayrshire, west/central Scotland, about southwest of Glasgow. Kilwinning's neighbours are the coastal towns of Stevenston to the west an ...

; St John's in

Stevenston Stevenston (, ) is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts of Stevenston are ...

; St Anthony's in Saltcoats; St Peter's in

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

; St Mary's in

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

; St Bridget's in

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie () is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and ...

; and St Palladius' in Dalry. Pupils from all areas other than Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston travel to St Matthew's Academy by contract bus.

References

External links

HMI Inspection Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Matthew's Academy Catholic secondary schools in North Ayrshire 2007 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in 2007 Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston School buildings completed in 2007