Leith Academy facts for kids

Leith Academy is a public school located in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It teaches about 1000 students and also has around 2,800 adult learners who study part-time. Mike Irving has been the head teacher since August 2017.

School History

Leith Academy is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It is believed to have started in 1560. However, there are records of a grammar school in Leith as early as 1521. In its early days, the school was controlled by the church leaders of South Leith Parish Church. This continued until 1806.

It is not known where the school met until 1636. Records from that year show it met in Trinity House of Leith. The school stayed there until 1710. After a disagreement about rent, the church leaders moved the school. It then moved to King James Hospital. This building stood where South Leith Parish Churchyard is now.

In 1792, the church decided to build a special building for the school. This building was designed by Robert Burn. It was located next to 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 building opened in its place in 1898. Because more and more students joined, another new building was needed by 1931. This school was built on Duke Street. The old Links building is now used as Leith Primary School. The Duke Street school was later used by Queen Margaret University College. In 2014, it was changed into flats.

The school's current building is located off Easter Road. It was finished in 1991. This happened after a lot of effort from staff, students, and parents. The school was founded by South Leith Parish Church. Strong connections between the school and the church still exist today. For example, the school's yearly Christmas service is held there.

The School Building

The current Leith Academy building was finished in May 1991. Its design was very modern for its time. It was planned to be flexible and easy to change. This idea came from an international group that studies school design.

The building has a special "Main Street" inside. This street runs from one end of the school to the other. All the different departments and facilities lead off this main path. There is even a swimming pool inside the school. 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 TV show The Beechgrove Garden.

In 2016, the school was used to host the BBC program The Big Questions.

Famous Former Students

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

• Mark Bonnar, an actor.
• Kitch Christie, a rugby union coach from South Africa.
• Frederick Coutts, a General of the Salvation Army from 1963 to 1969.
• Leigh Griffiths, a professional footballer.
• Sir Peter Heatly CBE, who was the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation.
• David McLetchie, a politician.
• Andrew McNeil, a professional footballer.
• Suzanne Mulvey, an international footballer.
• Prof Tom Patten CBE, who was a Vice-Chancellor at Heriot-Watt University.
• Jamie Sives, an actor.
• Unicorn Kid, (Oliver Sabin), a musician.
• Jock Wilson, who was the oldest D-Day veteran.
• Walter Balmer Hislop, an artist.

From the Grammar School Era

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

• John Home, a minister and writer.
• Robert Jameson, a naturalist and expert on minerals.
• Andrew MacDonald, a poet.

Famous Former Staff

Some well-known people have also taught at Leith Academy:

• Peter Comrie FRSE, a mathematician and Rector (head teacher) from 1922-1933.
• Dr John Mackie FRSE, a maths teacher who became Rector from 1933-1953.
• J K Rowling, the bestselling author of the Harry Potter series, who taught foreign languages there in the 1990s.
• John W Tait FRSE, who was Rector for over 20 years, including during the First World War.