| Motto | Spe et labore By hope and work |
|---|---|
| Established | 1885 |
| Type | Comprehensive |
| Rector | James Thewliss |
| Founder | William Harris |
| Location | Perth Road Dundee Dundee City (former Tayside) DD2 1NL Scotland |
| Local authority | Dundee |
| Students | 1300 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Houses | Birnam Cawdor Forres Kinloch |
| Colours | Maroon, Yellow, Black |
| Website | Harris Academy |
Harris Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school located in the West End of Dundee, Scotland.
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The school's current rector is Mr. James Thewliss.
The school is situated in the west of Dundee, north of the railway line, the A85 and Dundee Airport. The University of Dundee Botanic Garden is nearby to the west.
Harris Academy has a house system which allocates each pupil to one of four houses, named Birnam, Cawdor, Forres and Kinloch. The former three come from houses in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth". The latter comes from the name of George Kinloch, former MP and reformer in Dundee and from the village of Kinloch. Each of the houses has an associated colour, Birnam - Red, Cawdor - Yellow, Forres - Green, Kinloch - Blue. Each house competes against each other in Interhouse competitions; both sporting and academic. They receive points for their success, and at the end of the year, the points are totalled to declare the winner of the house championship.
There are captains of each house (1 boy, 1 girl, 1 boy's vice, 1 girl's vice and a house secretary) who encourage members of their house to participate in Interhouse events.
Sixth Year pupils who have shown exemplary behaviour throughout their time at the school become Prefects. Prefects are determined by the results of combined vote of S6 pupils and teachers. There are also 2 school captains from S6 (one boy and one girl) and four vice-captains (2 boys and 2 girls) that represent the pupils and organise events for the school chosen by the teachers.
The school's rector is supported by one Depute Rector, Mr Quinn, and 4 House Heads who are each in charge of a 'house' group for their duration at the school.
The annual school's prizegiving ceremony, held on the last day of the school year in the assembly hall is steeped in tradition. Merit prizes are awarded to pupils in all years who are judged to have shown excellent behaviour and a positive attitude to learning. Along with this, academic subject prizes are awarded along with a Dux in every subject for pupils in the senior school. The Frida C. Swanson Prize (formerly Dux of the School) is given to a sixth year pupil who is widely considered to have shown academic excellence throughout their 5th and 6th years at Harris.
It was established in 1885 through a bequest from corn-merchant and mill owner William Harris. The original building was in Park Place and the school moved to its present building in Perth Road in 1931.
It became a comprehensive in 1973.
The uniform of Harris Academy is a three button blazer in maroon with the school badge embroidered on the left Front pocket. It is compulsory for pupils to wear a white shirt with black trousers or skirt but not the maroon blazer. Prefects wear yellow bands on the arms of their blazers.
The Harris tie is a maroon tie striped with yellow and black. All the pupils are supposed to wear ties. Since the school session 2007/2008, pupils in their sixth year who participate in the school's peer support schemes receive a special tie that is maroon with the school crest on it. Pupils who have represented Scotland receive an International tie to acknowledge their achievements.
The main building was built in 1931 after the school population outgrew the previous Park Place building. The current building houses the Modern Languages department, the Social Subjects departments, the Science departments, The Religious Education department, the Craft and Design department, the Mathematics department, Assembly Hall, the Guidance base, Year-Heads' offices, and the Rector's office.
Pupils of the nineteen fifties will remember with mixed feelings the Crawford Lodge annex to the west of the main school. It had been purchased by the Town Council in 1946 as an extension to the school (see school history). Classics and modern languages were taught there in rather primitive conditions. It was burnt down in 1958 and remained a shell till it was replaced by the new buildings in the late 1960s. This houses the Computing and Business Studies departments, the Home Economics department, the English department, the Art department, the school library, the careers base, the Dining hall, two of the three gymnasia, and the school's swimming pool.
In addition to these there is also a Music Block housing the Music department as well as rooms for music tuition; and a substantial Games Hall building with a fitness room. The school has access to a wrought-iron footbridge over the Dundee-Perth railway line to playing fields at the Riverside.
Not far from the school are the school sports grounds at Elliot Road. These include a recently-improved pavilion, a rugby pitch and several football or hockey fields. In summer time, it is converted to Athletics tracks.
In the late 70's the school experienced a boom in numbers, as a result of its conversion from a Senior Secondary School to a comprehensive school (it was never known as a 'grammar school'). In addition to its Perth Road buildings, Harris Academy took over the premises of Logie Junior Secondary School on Blackness Road, Dundee.
The school was split with 1st and 2nd years attending Harris Academy in the Blackness annexe, 3rd to 6th Years continued at the Perth Road building. Mini-buses provided transport for staff between the two locations by Red Line Coaches. The Logie building burnt down in 2001 and teaching is now entirely centred in the Perth Road campus.
Former pupils of notability include: