Kelvinside Academy
The School
The school building is located in the Kelvinside area of the north of Glasgow, near the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. It has a large main building, which is category A listed and was designed by James Sellars, with a number of more modern additions. The original building was opened on 02.09.1878 and cost 21,698 11s, this included the construction of both roads and sewers. The school crest shows Minerva with the motto (ever to be the best). Minerva appears prominently in carved stone above the main entrance, and in a bronze medallion set in the perimeter wall. Unlike many of the surrounding buildings, the school retains much of its original cast iron fences despite the metal shortages during the Second World War. The school has a well established house system, which divides all pupils in the school into four different Houses, each represented by a Colour, RED for Stewart House, YELLOW For Buchanan House, GREEN for McGregor House and BLUE for Colquhoun. The school has a Combined Cadet Force, and has a shooting range on-site. The school also runs a civilian rifle club, with a membership of around 40 pupils and a small number of adult FP’s.
The school is a war-memorial school, akin to Glasgow Academy and it is for this reason that it practices the CCF. Two walls in the original school building are dominated by bronze plaques that list pupils and academicals who gave their lives in The Great War and World War II. In the case of the 1st World War, proportionally, the school lost the highest number of Academicals – for further reading see the publication by Brodie.
Extra-Curricular Activities
The school supports a wide range of sporting activities including rugby union, hockey, football, athletics, cricket, target rifle shooting, curling, ice skating, squash, aerobics, tennis, and golf. The school owns the Balgray Playing Fields, a short distance from the main site. A new all weather playing facility has been created at Balgray and was formally opened on 2 September 2006 – the school’s 128th Anniversary.
The school also encourages a wide range of non-sporting activities, such as drama (KA OWLS), music, public speaking, debating and many others. The newly built Gilchrist Theatre, named after a former pupil, has played host to a number of school productions. These include, the musicals Grease and Guys and Dolls, Don Quixote, The Glass Menagerie, Anything Goes, and many musical concerts, of both school performers and other musicians including the Glasgow Gospel Choir.
Kelvinside Academicals
Upon leaving Kelvinside Academy, a pupil is automatically granted membership to the Kelvinside Academicals Club, a vibrant, world wide community which aims to help maintain a former-pupil’s relationship with the school. During your time at school 5.25 is paid as an Academicals club levy, this ensuring membership upon leaving school. The club has branches all over the World. An Academical’s dinner is held in London every year. The Academical’s also have sports clubs, playing Cricket, Angling, Rugby, Curling and Golf. One of the many highlights of the Academical club year is without a doubt the Academical’s Rugby Match, whereby Former Pupils take on the current School First XV. The 2009 Match took place on 28th March with kick-off at 10-30am, Balgray. There was a fairly large crowd turn-out and the final score ended in a 12-12 draw.
Trivia
Two children dressed in the Academy uniform were featured in an episode of Rab C. Nesbitt which depicts an idyllic middle-class family.
The lower school classrooms were used in the early 90’s for a BBC television series – the scene featured a fake body dropping from an upper classroom.
The Merrilee’s building of the school is said to be ‘host to a ghost’. Down the years pupils and teachers alike claim to have seen the ‘ghoul’.
During the construction of the “Mall” the contractors made a slight error and pumped 3000 worth of concrete into the drainage system – a large section of the floor had to be repoured.
An Army Air Corp. helicopter once landed in the south playground on a visit to the school. A famous story within the senior school at the time was of a 6th year pupil who tried to sneak in undetected at 11:00, only to be met by the rector, dept. rector, the top flight of prefects and an Army Air Corp. helicopter.
Notable alumni
John Joy Bell, journalist and author
David Brogan, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Edinburgh West
Robert Browning (Byzantinist)
Brigadier General John Charteris
Bob Forrest, Scottish Liberal Democrat
Sir Hugh Fraser, 2nd Baronet, of the House of Fraser department store chain
Air Vice Marshal Alexander Vallance Riddell Johnstone
Lord Kinclaven, judge
Ian Livingston CEO of BT Group
Sir George Donald Alastair MacDougall, economist
Colin MacKay, TV political commentator
Sir Thomas Risk, former Governor of the Bank of Scotland
Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and President of the Expert Witness Institute
Alasdair Cameron Sutherland, architect and academic
Craig Wright, cricketer,
Related Publications
Kelvinside Academy, 18781978 by Colin Mackay
Kelvinside Academy, 18781923 by William Brodie
Kelvinside Academy, 18781928 by David Morrice Low
Minerva, termly newsletter
External links
Kelvinside Academy
ISCis page for Kelvinside Academy
Friends Reunited page for Kelvinside Academy (registration required)
Kelvinside Academical Club
Kelvinside Academy’s page on Scottish Schools Online
Sources
http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=sellars_j
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/iss/archives/collect/10lo80-1.html
http://pmsa.courtauld.ac.uk/pmsa/GW/KS-002.htm
http://www.schoolsguidebook.co.uk/schools/Kelvinside_Academy.html
http://www.isbi.com/isbi-viewschool/2869-KELVINSIDE_ACADEMY.html
Coordinates: 555258 41744 / 55.88280N 4.29566W / 55.88280; -4.29566
v d e
Schools in Glasgow
Independent Schools
Belmont House School Craigholme School The Glasgow Academy The High School of Glasgow Hutchesons’ Grammar School Jordanhill School Kelvinside Academy St. Aloysius’ College
Glasgow City Council
Secondary Schools
Bannerman High School Bellahouston Academy and the School of Sport Castlemilk High School Cleveden Secondary School Eastbank Academy Hillhead High School Hillpark Secondary School Hyndland Secondary School Knightswood Secondary School Rosshall Academy Shawlands Academy Smithycroft Secondary School
Catholic
schools
Holyrood R.C. Secondary School John Paul Academy Lourdes Secondary School Notre Dame High School St Margaret Mary’s Secondary School St Mungo’s Academy St Paul’s High School St. Roch’s Secondary School St Thomas Aquinas
Categories: 1878 architecture | Category A listed buildings | Listed buildings in Glasgow | Educational institutions established in 1878 | Schools in Glasgow | Schools with Combined Cadet Forces | Member schools of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference | Private schools in Glasgow
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