Alva Academy

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Alva Academy

Motto	Acer in ludo ludisque
Established	1860s
Headteacher	John Meney
Location	Alva, Clackmannanshire United Kingdom
Students	1114
Website	alvaacademy.clacks.sch.uk

Alva Academy is a six year comprehensive school serving the villages of Alva, Menstrie, Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton, Devonside, Dollar and Muckhart. The roll is fairly static at over 1100. It has six associated primaries - Alva, Menstrie, Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton, Strathdevon and Muckhart.

The original Alva Academy was established in the 1860s by public subscriptions from concerned residents of the town to overcome the shortcomings of educational provision. Educational change and a constantly rising school roll forced regular change to meet growing demands. The advent of comprehensive education in 1967/68 saw the linking of Tillicoultry and Alva Schools into a six year comprehensive.

Following a Clackmannanshire Council decision in 1997 to integrate pupils with Moderate Learning Difficulties into a mainstream secondary school, Alva Academy was chosen as the location for this development. MLD pupils in S3 to S6 experience a full and varied curriculum which is integrated with mainstream subjects at appropriate levels.

Pupils receive a broad curriculum in S1. In S2 and S3 pupils select subjects from a whole range of Standard Grade and National Certificate courses. The curriculum is also broad with Higher Still courses at Advanced Higher, Higher, Intermediate 1 and 2 levels and Access levels. The school enjoys excellent relationships with Forth Valley College.

The school is at the forefront of many national developments e.g. curriculum review, use of praise and reward to motivate, support study, activities weeks, European links, Restorative Practice, Co-operative Learning and working with pre-NEET pupils. The school enjoys considerable success in both the formal and informal curriculum.

Extensive use has also been made of the Sport Scotland funded Sports Development Coordinator to offer a full menu of sporting experience.

Information Technology is at a very advanced stage, with seven dedicated computer labs and interactive white boards in every department. All staff members and students are encouraged to take advantage of these resources to extend the range of educational opportunities available.

The school was accredited with the Investors in People standard in 2001 and re-accredited in 2004.

Further information is available from the Headteacher, Mr J Meney (although this may prove unreliable given his tendency to spend most of his time out of school or playing golf in his office),^{[citation needed]} Alva Academy, Queen Street, Alva, FK12 5LY, tel. 01259 760342, fax 01259 769162.