Dumfries Academy

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Dumfries Academy is one of four secondary schools in the town of Dumfries in South West Scotland.

[edit] History

Dumfries Academy has existed in its present form, though not in the buildings it currently occupies, since 1804. However, its history dates back to the 14th century, making it the earliest school in the Dumfries area.

Early records show that John of Greyfriars, a monk, was appointed rector of a new school in Dumfries in 1330. Being a church school it concentrated on the study of religious texts, but in the centuries which followed other schools built in the town which taught subjects such as Brewing, Mathematics, English, Baking and Needlework became integrated into the Academy building.

The Academy operated as a grammar school for those in Dumfries deemed academically gifted as deemed by exam results until July 1983.

[edit] Dumfries Academy today

The Academy has been a six-year comprehensive school since July 1983 serving part of the Burgh of Dumfries and surrounding rural communities, with an average roll of over 900 pupils and around 100 teaching staff. Students are placed into one of three houses in their First Year; Criffel, Nithsdale and Solway.

The curriculum comprises subjects in the fields of Arts & Creativity, Health, Food and Nutrition, Language & Literacy, Mathematics & Numeracy, the Sciences, Social Subjects and Technology.

Since the construction of the historic Minerva Building, three further buildings have been built on the grounds and make up the school as it exists today. What became known as the Main Building was built adjacent to the Minerva Building and is the location of the school office, while the five-floor Tower Block was erected to the rear of Minerva in the 1960s, and most recently a Games Hall was constructed on the other side of the Main Building. Behind the school flows the River Nith, across which are the playing fields.

[edit] Well-known former pupils

Of all the Academy's former pupils, J. M. Barrie is undoubtedly the most well-known. The Peter Pan playwright attended the school from 1873, and it was here where his first play Bandelero the Bandit was performed by the Dumfries Amateur Dramatic Club in 1877. [1]

Other well-known former pupils include:

• Rev. Dr. Henry Duncan, founder of the first savings bank;
• Sir James Anderson, who captained the SS Great Eastern on the Trans-Atlantic telegraph cable-laying voyages in 1865 and 1866;^[1]
• Jane Haining, Church of Scotland missionary;
• Sir Alexander Knox Helm, civil servant who held several important diplomatic posts;
• John Laurie, actor famous for Dad's Army;
• Robin Philipson, artist;
• John Hanson, singer;
• Alexander S Graham, cartoonist best known for the Fred Bassett series;
• Jock Wishart, who in 1998 set a new world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powered vessel;[2]
• Neil Oliver, archaeologist and author best known for his television work on the BBC series Coast and Two Men In A Trench.

[edit] Awards

Among the achievements of Academy pupils in recent years are:

• • Scottish Champions in Badminton three times
  • Winners of the Motorola Youth Parliament Competition four times
  • Debating Champions of Scotland
  • CBI and Motorola Award winners for Enterprise Education
  • Winners of numerous sports awards including Scottish Champions in Football, Golf, Judo, Mountain Biking and Rowing
  • Robert Gordon's University Modern Studies Award for Scotland
  • Pushkin Prize for Writing

Also, in 2005, William McGair, History teacher at the Academy, was awarded the Scottish Daily Record Gold Award for Inspirational Teacher http://www.nationalpriorities.org.uk/Resources/Miscellaneous/ScottishEducationAwards/SEA2003/SEA2003-12.html]

[edit] See also

• Education in Scotland
• Scottish Qualifications Authority
• List of schools in the United Kingdom

[edit] External links

• Dumfries Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online
• Dumfries & Galloway Council
• Dumfries Academy Reunion