Leith Academy facts for kids

Leith Academy is a public school located in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It's a busy school, teaching about 1000 students during the day. It also helps around 2,800 adults learn new things part-time. Mr. Mike Irving has been the head teacher since August 2017.

Discovering Leith Academy's Past

Leith Academy is one of Scotland's oldest schools. Its beginning is usually set in 1560. However, there are records of a "grammar school" in Leith as early as 1521.

Early Days and Church Connections

At first, the school was managed by the local church group, called the kirk session, of South Leith Parish Church. This continued until 1806. We don't know exactly where the school met until 1636. Records from that year show it was meeting in Trinity House.

The school stayed at Trinity House until 1710. After a disagreement about rent, the church group decided to move the school. They moved it to King James Hospital. This hospital was located where the South Leith Parish churchyard is today.

New Buildings Through the Years

In 1792, the church agreed to build a special new building for the school. This building was designed by Robert Burn. It was located near Leith Links and finished in 1806. The school officially changed its name to Leith Academy in 1888.

The Leith Links school building was later taken down. A new one opened in 1898 to replace it. Because more and more students were joining, another new building was needed by 1931. This led to the school being built on the Duke Street site. The old Links building is now used as Leith Primary School. The Duke Street school building was later used by Queen Margaret University College. It was changed into apartments in 2014.

The school's current building is located off Easter Road. It was finished in 1991. This new building came about after a lot of effort from staff, students, and parents. The school still has strong ties to South Leith Parish Church. For example, the school's yearly Christmas service is held there.

Exploring the Modern School Building

The current Leith Academy building was completed in May 1991. Its design was based on ideas from the OECD. These ideas focused on "planning for change" in educational buildings.

Unique Design and Features

The building has a special design. It features a "Main Street" that runs from one end of the school to the other. All departments and facilities, including a swimming pool, are located off this Main Street. The Main Street has a glass roof, letting in lots of light. It is also lined with plants on both sides. These plants were even shown on the BBC Television programme The Beechgrove Garden.

In 2016, the school was chosen to host the BBC's The Big Questions programme.

Meet Leith Academy's Famous Alumni

Many notable people have attended Leith Academy. Here are a few:

• Mark Bonnar, an actor
• Kitch Christie, a rugby union coach from South Africa
• Frederick Coutts, who was a General of The Salvation Army from 1963 to 1969
• Frank Doran, a British Labour Member of Parliament (MP)
• Leigh Griffiths, a footballer
• Sir Peter Heatly CBE, who was Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation from 1982 to 1990
• David McLetchie, a politician
• Andrew McNeil, a footballer
• John David McWilliam, a Labour MP for Blaydon from 1979 to 2005
• Douglas Millings, a tailor
• Suzanne Mulvey (formerly Malone), an international footballer
• Prof Tom Patten CBE, who was Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University from 1980 to 1981
• Jamie Sives, an actor
• David Torrance, a journalist
• Unicorn Kid, (Oliver Sabin), a musician
• Jock Wilson (1903–2008), the oldest D-Day veteran
• Walter Balmer Hislop, an artist

Notable Students from the Grammar School Era

Before it was Leith Academy, some famous people attended the grammar school:

• John Home, a minister and writer
• Robert Jameson, a naturalist and mineralogist
• Andrew MacDonald, a poet

Notable Former Staff Members

Leith Academy has also had some well-known teachers and rectors:

• Peter Comrie FRSE (died 1944), a mathematician who was Rector from 1922 to 1933
• Dr John Mackie FRSE (died 1955), a maths teacher who became Rector from 1933 to 1953
• J K Rowling (born 1965), the bestselling author of the Harry Potter series, who taught foreign languages there in the 1990s
• John W Tait FRSE (1862–1932), who was Rector for over 20 years, including during the First World War

See also

• List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom