Dunfermline High School is one of four main high schools located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The school also caters for pupils from Kincardine, Camdean and Rosyth.[1] The school was founded in 1468 and has a proud history. Today it has over 1,550 pupils.[2]
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The School has its origins in the 12th century when Dunfermline was the capital of Scotland. King David I (son of Queen Margaret and Malcolm Canmore) initially put up the money to found a school as part of the wider operations of Dunfermline Abbey in the early 1120’s(meaning Dunfermline has a claim against the Royal High School in Edinburgh and Glasgow High School for being the oldest in Scotland). Abbot Richard de Bothwell formally founded the high school in the town in 1468 as a separate organisation although the school maintains a strong link with the Abbey. The original buildings were destroyed during the reformation and the school was reconstituted by Queen Anne of Denmark in the 16th century. The poet Robert Henryson was one of the first to hold the title "Master" (now Rector) of the high school. It is from these people, who shaped the school in the first 800 years of its life, that the house names come from: Canmore, Queen Margaret, Bothwell, and Henryson. Denmark house was lost as recent school restructuring work took place.
The school celebrated 500 years since its official foundation in 1968.
The pupils attending Dunfermline High will decline sharply according to Fife Council's policy. A new school is currently is the construction process, with projected completion by 2012.
The school's feeder primary schools are:
Within Dunfermline
Outwith Dunfermline
There are many facilities provided on the school grounds. This includes a five-a-side football pitch; a main football pitch; meeting room; free parking spaces on site; sports hall; swimming pool, and an assembly hall with a stage. [3]
Dunfermline High School has a long standing link with Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, Virginia. Students from Dunfermline High School travel to the USA over the Easter break, with Americans returning in the Summer. The next planned exchange is for 2009 with approximately 40 students participating from both schools.
The school badge is made up from the crest of Malcolm Canmore, the Queen Margaret Cross and the symbol of Abbot Bothwell. The two typical colours featured as part of the school blazer and ties are black and "gold" which is more or less yellow.
More recently the school crest now appears on the 5th and 6th years blazers.
The school has two Latin mottos: