The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational private day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland.[2] Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully private school[3] in Glasgow.
History
In May 1845, William Campbell of Tullichewan convened a meeting in the Star Hotel in George Square with Free Church ministers to discuss establishing "an Academic Institution in the City". As a result of this meeting, The Glasgow Academy was formed.[4]
The Scottish Rugby Union was founded on Monday 3 March 1873 at a meeting held at The Glasgow Academy.[5]
The school war memorial was designed by former pupil Alexander Nisbet Paterson in 1922.[6]
In 1981 the school admitted girl pupils for the first time.[7]
In 1991, Glasgow Academy merged with Westbourne School for Girls,[8] adopting the distinctive purple of its uniform in the school badge and tartan. It is in Kelvinbridge and has approximately 1350 pupils, split between three preparatory school sites and a senior school.
The Glasgow Academy's preparatory school is the first school in the UK to have been awarded the Diana Gold Award for Anti-Bullying.[9]
In 2024, The Glasgow Academy was awarded the Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award by the Ministry of Defence.[10]
The current rector is Matt Gibson, who has held the position since 2025.[11]
HMIe last inspected the school in November 2008.[12]
Notable alumni
- Frederick Anderson, Chairman, Municipal Council, Shanghai International Settlement, 1905–06.
- John Arthur, Church of Scotland missionary to East Africa.
- J. M. Barrie, writer of Peter Pan
- Laura Bartlett, British hockey international and Olympic athlete[13][14][15]
- John Beattie (rugby player), rugby player for Scotland and British Lions
- James Bridie, playwright, screenwriter and physician
- Jack Buchanan, actor, singer & dancer
- Sir James Caird (1864–1954), founder of the National Maritime Museum.
- Sir David Young Cameron (1865–1945), Scottish painter and etcher.
- John Traill Cargill, Chairman of Burmah Oil Company, 1904–1943
- Jackson Carlaw, Scottish Conservative Party MSP
- Horatio Scott Carslaw (1870–1954), Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney.
- Archibald Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan, politician and philanthropist.
- Douglas Crawford, Scottish National Party MP
- Pippa Crerar, Political Editor of the Daily Mirror
- Darius Campbell (born Danesh), singer-songwriter & actor
- Donald Dewar, Scottish Labour Party MP and MSP, first First Minister of Scotland
- Ronald Drever, Professor of Physics at Caltech and part of the team that first detected gravitational waves
- Andrew Dunlop, Baron Dunlop, Conservative peer
- Walter Elliot, Scottish Unionist Party MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
- Niall Ferguson, Professor of History at Harvard University
- Alexander Forrester, cricketer and cricket administrator
- George MacDonald Fraser, author[16]
- John Gardner (law), Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Oxford
- Thomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde, Scottish Unionist Party MP
- Group Captain Sir Louis Leisler Greig, KBE, CVO British naval surgeon, and intimate of King George VI (1880–1953)
- Sir Angus Grossart, Chairman and executive director of merchant bank Noble Grossart[17]
- Rev. Dr Andrew Harper, Scottish–Australian Biblical scholar and Principal of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne and St Andrew's College, Sydney (also attended Scotch College, Melbourne)[18]
- Sir Michael Hirst, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party MP and chairman
- Sir William Wilson Hunter, KCSI CIE (1840–1900)
- Andrew Innes, cricketer
- Jeremy Isaacs, founder of Channel 4
- William Paton Ker, literary critic
- John Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard, diplomat and crossbench life peer
- Alexander Dunlop Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker, philosopher
- Maurice Lindsay CBE Scottish broadcaster, writer and poet (1918–2009).
- Sir James Lithgow, shipbuilder and industrialist; 1883–1952
- Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum[19]
- Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, leader of the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democrats
- Alan MacNaughtan, actor
- Guy McCrone, author and founding member of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre
- George Matheson theologian and preacher (1842–1906)
- Jim Mollison pioneer aviator (1905–1959)
- W. H. Murray, mountaineer, explorer and writer
- Robin Nisbet (1925–2013), professor of Latin literature
- David Omand Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, former senior British civil servant, visiting professor at King's College London
- Alexander Pollock, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party MP, sheriff
- William Ramsay, Nobel laureate (Chemistry 1904), discovered the gas 'Argon'
- John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, founder of the BBC
- Albert Russell, Scottish Unionist Party MP, Solicitor General for Scotland
- James Scott, obstetrician and gynaecologist
- William Sharp, poet and literary biographer
- Chris Simmers, professional rugby union player and Scotland rugby league international
- Ninian Smart, scholar of religion
- Norman Stone, historian
- Euan Stubbs, cricketer
- Iain Vallance, Baron Vallance of Tummel, ex-Chief Executive of BT, Liberal Democrat politician
- Herbert Waddell Scottish rugby internationalist and president of the Barbarians (1902–1988)
- William Walker, cricketer, cricket administrator, and British Army officer
- Sir James Wordie, polar explorer and geologist
Notable alumnae of Westbourne School for Girls
- Vivien Heilbron, actress
- Fiona Kennedy, singer, actress and broadcaster
- Kate Mavor, CEO of English Heritage
- Jacqueline Lee, Chair, Association for Heritage Interpretation, Founder Artemis Scotland.
Bibliography
MacLeod, Iain M., The Glasgow Academy 150 Years, (The Glasgow Academicals' War Memorial Trust, 1997)
References
- ^ Children bowled over by Newlands Nursery for The Glasgow Academy, Mosaic Architecture + Design, 23 January 2018
- ^ "Record exam results!". Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Glasgow Academy | Junior and Senior Mixed Independent School | Scotland". Guide to Independent Schools. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ MacLeod, Iain (1997). The Glasgow Academy : 150 years. Glasgow Academicals' War Memorial Trust. Glasgow: Glasgow Academicals' War Memorial Trust. ISBN 0-9530515-0-1. OCLC 37560336.
- ^ Barnes, David (3 March 2023). "Happy birthday to the Scottish Rugby Union – 150 years old today". Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects – DSA Architect Biography Report (September 7, 2022, 3:57 am)".
- ^ Shields, Tom (25 May 1981). "Glasgow Academy to take in girl pupils for the first time". p. 14. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Luckhurst, Tim (12 January 2001). "Till the End of Their Days". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
- ^ "Diana Award". The Glasgow Academy. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Diana Award". The Glasgow Academy. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ Reporter, S. M. P. (5 September 2024). "The Glasgow Academy appoints new rector". School Management Plus. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Laura Bartlett. "Laura Bartlett". Great Britain Hockey. Retrieved 26 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Athlete – The official website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games". Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Parents Info – News". Theglasgowacademy.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "George MacDonald Fraser". The Telegraph. London. 3 January 2008. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ Fraser, Douglas (11 September 2008). "Why Grossart's appointment is such a coup". Herald Scotland. Glasgow. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ Chambers, Don (1983). "Harper, Andrew (1844–1936)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 9 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 200–202. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
- ^ "Briton of the Year: Neil MacGregor". Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
External links
- Official website
- The Glasgow Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online
- Profile on the Independent Schools Council website
- Saturday School Ltd website.
55°52′33″N 4°16′46″W / 55.87583°N 4.27944°W
