Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
secondary school 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. The secondary school served the Roman Catholic community of the towns of
Irvine Irvine may refer to:
Places On Earth Antarctica
*Irvine Glacier
* Mount Irvine (Antarctica)
Australia
* Irvine Island
* Mount Irvine, New South Wales
Canada
* Irvine, Alberta
* Irvine Inlet, Nunavut
Scotland
*Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...
and Kilwinning and the villages of Beith, Kilbirnie and Dalry, which make up the
Garnock Valley
Garnock Valley is an area in the northern part of North Ayrshire, Scotland, adjoining Renfrewshire.
The region includes the towns of Beith, Dalry, and Kilbirnie, and some smaller villages such as Gateside, Barrmill, Longbar and Glengarnock ...
. Opened in Irvine in 1921, and located in Kilwinning from 1965, the school held over 800 pupils and 200 members of staff.
When St Michael's closed in 2007, a staff committee compiled a history of the 86 years, a paperback which sold out of 1000 copies in six months. Most (95%) of its contents were then adapted for the web by a now-retired staff member - the link is shown below.
A new school,
St Matthew's Academy
St. Matthew's Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the Scottish town of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire.
The teaching facilities in St Matthew's Academy include sports facilities (including a full-size synthetic pitch, an athletics trac ...
, was built in
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 ...
to accommodate pupils and staff from both the old St Michael's in Kilwinning and St Andrew's Academy. The new school opened in October 2007.
Sisters of the Cross and Passion purchased Williamfield Estate on Kilwinning Road in the town to act as a convent and school which they staffed. They had their first intake of (7) pupils, November 1921. The new secondary, St. Michael's College, Irvine, opened in August 1923 followed by St. Mary's Primary in August 1928.
Then on 25 October 1939 the building was destroyed by fire, and as a stop gap, wooden huts were erected on the site so that the education could continue. The
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was soon to start leading to a period of deprivation and austerity which meant school building was now very low on the list of national priorities. This set up with the wooden school huts becoming increasingly overcrowded was to remain until the 1960s when the College moved to new premises costing £453,000 built in the neighbouring town of
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 ...
.
This new building was formally opened in June 1966 with Ayr County Council changing the name from College to Academy the following year. It was further extended as well as updated in 1984 and remained in use till 2007 when it closed its doors for the final time.
British Labour Party
The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...
*
Bobby Lennox
Robert Lennox, MBE (born 30 August 1943) is a Scottish former footballer who played for Celtic and was a member of their 1967 European Cup-winning team, known as the Lisbon Lions. He earned ten international caps for Scotland. In 2002, Celtic ...
, footballer for
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...
*
Julie Fleeting
Julie Stewart Order of the British Empire, MBE (; born 18 December 1980) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. She spent nine years at English club Arsenal L.F.C., Arsenal ...
, footballer for
Arsenal L.F.C.
Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as just Arsenal, is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Ar ...
Benny Gallagher
Bernard Joseph "Benny" Gallagher (born 10 June 1945) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most famous as half of the popular duo Gallagher and Lyle.
Career
The son of Irish parents, Gallagher attended St Michael's Ac ...
, singer-songwriter and member of
Gallagher and Lyle
Gallagher and Lyle were a Scottish musical duo, comprising singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Their style consisted mainly of pop, soft and folk rock oriented songs.
Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were sig ...
*
Lou Macari
Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Kenn ...
, footballer for
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...
,
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...
, and
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 ...