Leith Academy
| Leith Academy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
20 Academy Park , EH6 8JQ Scotland | |
| Information | |
| Type | State school |
| Motto | Persevere |
Religious affiliation | Non-denominational[1] |
| Established | 1560 |
Local authority | Edinburgh City |
| 5533236 Tables | |
Head Teacher | Mike Irving (2017–present) |
| Staff | 120 (2017)[2] |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 12 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1000 (2021/22)[3] |
| Houses | Barton Cowan Port Anderson |
| Colours | Blue |
| Website | https://leithacademy.uk/ |
Leith Academy is a state school in Leith, Edinburgh. It currently educates around 1000 pupils and around 2,800 part-time adult learners.[4] Mike Irving has been head teacher since August 2017.[5]
History
[edit]It is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, with its founding usually credited to 1560, though there are records of a Leith grammar school as early as 1521 ("maister of the gramer scule of Leith").[6] To begin with the school was under the control of the kirk session of South Leith Parish Church. It remained so until 1806. It is not known where the school met until 1636 when records make reference to meeting in Trinity House. The school met there until 1710 when, after a disagreement about rent, the kirk session decided to move the school to King James hospital which stood on what is now South Leith Parish churchyard.
In 1792 the kirk agreed to a purpose-built building for the school. The building, by Robert Burn, beside Leith Links, was completed in 1806. The school changed its name to Leith Academy in 1888. The Leith Links school was demolished and replaced by a new building opened in 1898. In turn, due to continued growth in the number of pupils, by 1931 a new building was required and the school on the Duke Street site was built. The Links building is now used as Leith Primary School. The Duke Street school was used as part of Queen Margaret University College and has been (2014) converted to flats. The school's current building, off Easter Road, was completed in 1991 after much campaigning by staff, students and parents.
Building
[edit]The current Leith Academy building was completed in May 1991. The building incorporated the design principles of "planning for change" developed by the OECD Programme on Educational Building (PEB).[7] It features an innovative design based around a "Main Street" leading from one end of the school to the other with all departments and facilities, including a swimming pool, leading off it. The Main Street has a glass roof and is lined on either side by plants. These plants were featured on the BBC Television programme The Beechgrove Garden.[8]
In 2016 the school played host to the BBC's The Big Questions.[9]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Mark Bonnar, actor[10]
- Kitch Christie, South African rugby union coach[11]
- Forrester Cockburn, professor of paediatrics, University of Glasgow[12]
- Frederick Coutts, General from 1963 to 1969 of the Salvation Army[citation needed]
- Isla Dewar, novelist and screenwriter[13]
- Frank Doran, British Labour MP (Aberdeen North), married to Joan Ruddock[14]
- Leigh Griffiths, footballer[15]
- Sir Peter Heatly CBE, Chairman from 1982 to 1990 of the Commonwealth Games Federation[16]
- Walter Balmer Hislop, artist[17]
- David McLetchie, politician[18]
- Andrew McNeil, footballer[19]
- John David McWilliam, Labour MP for Blaydon (1979–2005)[20]
- Douglas Millings, tailor[21]
- Suzanne Mulvey (formerly Malone) International footballer[citation needed]
- Prof Tom Patten CBE, Vice-Chancellor from 1980 to 1981 of Heriot-Watt University, Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1967 to 1982, and President from 1991 to 1992 of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers[22]
- Jamie Sives, actor[10]
- George Spence, Canadian politician[23]
- David Torrance, journalist[24]
- Unicorn Kid, (Oliver Sabin), musician[citation needed]
- Jock Wilson (1903–2008), oldest D-Day veteran[25]
Grammar School
[edit]- John Home, minister and writer.[26]
- Robert Jameson, naturalist and mineralogist.[27]
- Andrew MacDonald, poet[28]
Notable former staff
[edit]- Peter Comrie FRSE (d.1944) mathematician, Rector 1922-33[29]
- Dr John Mackie FRSE (d.1955) maths teacher then rector, 1933-53[30]
- J K Rowling (b.1965) bestselling author of the Harry Potter series, foreign languages teacher 1990s.[citation needed]
- John W Tait FRSE (1862-1932) rector for over 20 years including the First World War[31]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ School Prospectus. Retrieved in November 2022.
- ↑ . Retrieved in November 2022.
- ↑ School Prospectus. Retrieved in November 2022.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Secondary schools - Leith Academy". The City of Edinburgh Council. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ↑ "Extracts from the Records: 1521". British History Online. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "An Innovative School Revisited: Leith Academy and the projects that followed" (PDF). PEB Exchange. 2004.1 (51). OECD: 14. February 2004.
- ↑ "Creates Healthy Working Environments - Testimonials". In-Plants. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ↑ "The Big Questions". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- 1 2 Dalgetty, Lee (28 May 2023). "Guilt stars Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives talk Edinburgh school days and 'bittersweet' final season". Edinburgh Live. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ↑ "Rugby world mourns the great Kitch Christie". Dispatch Online. 24 April 1998. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ "Biography of Forrester Cockburn". University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ↑ Clayton, Margaret (26 July 2021). "Isla Dewar obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ "Doran, Frank, (born 13 April 1949)", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U13948, retrieved 6 September 2026
- ↑ Waddell, Gordon (20 March 2016). "Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths on his break as a kid: Under 7s were a boy short so I got on and scored two.. the rest is history". Daily Record (Scotland). Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ Tam Dalyell (13 October 2015). "Sir Peter Heatly: Diver who won Commonwealth medals". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
- ↑ "Dux List -". leithacademy.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ Wilson, Brian (12 August 2013). "David McLetchie obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ "The Big Interview with Andrew McNeil". Strathclyde Telegraph. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ "McWilliam, John David, (16 May 1941–14 Nov. 2009)", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U26249, retrieved 6 September 2026
- ↑ "Obituary: Dougie Millings". 3 October 2001. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ "Tom Patten". Heritage.imeche.org. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ↑ "Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame profile". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ↑ "David Torrance: Author's Profile". Biteback Publishing. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ↑ "Real Lives - D-Day landings hero celebrates 105th birthday". The Scotsman. 6 September 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
Jock attended Leith Academy before starting work as a stationer and nib maker in 1917.
- ↑ Simpson, Kenneth (23 September 2004). Home, John (1722–1808), Church of Scotland minister and playwright - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13646.
- ↑ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14633, retrieved 6 September 2026
- ↑ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17426, retrieved 6 September 2026
- ↑ "Peter Comrie - Biography". University of St Andrews. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
External links
[edit]- Official Leith Academy Website
- Leith Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online[link removed]