Stranraer Academy

Infobox Secondary school
name =Stranraer Academy

established =1845
address = McMasters Road
city =Stranraer
state =Dumfries & Galloway
country =Scotland
type =Comprehensive secondary
rector = Mr. Norman Dawson
students = 1150 approx
grades = S1 - S6
colours = Blue, Yellow, Grey, Black (Senior School)
newspaper =
yearbook =
free_label_1 = Feeder schools
free_1 = Belmont, Castle Kennedy, Drochduil, Drummore, Glenluce, Kirkcolm, Leswalt, Park, Portpatrick, Rephad, St. Joseph’s, Sandhead, Sheuchan
free_label_2 =
free_2 =
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = [http://www.stranraeracademy.co.uk Official Website]
[http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/dumgal/MiniWeb.aspx?id=66&menuid=583&openid=583&pageid=764 D&G Council, School Website]
footnotes =
picture =

Stranraer Academy is a secondary school in the town of Stranraer in South West Scotland, it serves the area of Stranraer, the Rhins, and parts of the Machars.

The original Stranraer Academy was opened in 1845 on the site of the present Stranraer Campus of Dumfries & Galloway College. In 1965 a new Academy (B Block) was built alongside a new High School (A Block) and in 1970 the schools joined together.

Recent History & Today

The Academy is a six-year comprehensive school, with a school roll is currently above the 1000 mark, and is the second-most attended secondary school in Dumfries and Galloway. Nearly 100 full and part time teachers work at the Academy, and are aided by a team of support staff. The curriculum comprises subjects in the fields of Arts & Creativity, Healthy Living, Language & Literacy, Mathematics & Numeracy, the Sciences, Social Subjects and Technology.

The school was pioneering in the early 2000s with the introduction of IT across the whole school. The school boasts a network of 300 PCs, 2 Successmaker suites, dedicated to supporting literacy and numeracy and the use of electronic whiteboard technology, and has whiteboards in 72 classrooms. The school also has comprehensive PE facilities, which include a large games hall, 2 gymnasia, a swimming pool, a fitness room and a dance studio. In addition the Aird special unit (which provides education for children of secondary school age with disabilities and severe learning disabilites) has a hydrotherapy pool and multisensory room.

A large range of extracurricular activities are available, including Art & Design, Athletics, Badminton, Debating, Discos, Discussion Group, Film Show, Football, Hockey, Scripture Union, Step Aerobics, and Yearbook. The school has an active Student Council, with senior members attending meetings of the school's Senior Management Team on a regular basis.

HMIe Inpection & Aftermath

In January 2006 the HMIe report was released. It did not give Stranraer Academy a good report, and many sections were rated "poor".

In May 2006 the school's Rector (James Higgins) announced his retirement from the school, and left the following August. Following the HMIe report of that year he increasingly saw his powers and roles of rector being devolved to the school's new Authority Manager. Following the retirement of Rector James Higgins, the new Authority Manager Joanna Pallet became Acting Head Teacher for a period, until a replacement (Mr Norman Dawson) could be found.

The school has recently (January 2008) received an impressive follow-up report from HMIe. The inspectorate stated that there has been "significant improvements", particularly in terms of the overall quality of learning and teaching and that there had also been some improvements in pupils’ attainment, relative to schools with similar characteristics. However, they also stated that more now remained to be done to rebuild the school’s reputation in the community, improve attainment levels, address staffing difficulties and deal with outstanding health and safety issues.

The new Academy strives to provide uniformly good quality opportunities for all. In addition to providing a modern environment for learning, all buildings have been modified through the provision of ramps and adaptation of toilets for catering to as wide a range of young people from the area as possible.

Buildings

Up to the mid 1990's the School consisted of three buildings built in the 19060's and 70's. Namely 'A', 'B', and 'C' Blocks. At this time Dumfries & Galloway Council drew up plans to rebuild the entire school by 2000. Phase 1 was opened in Autumn 1997, bringing a major advance in the quality of the school's built environment. The new PE facilities are the envy of many due to the provision made by Dumfries and Galloway Council. In February 2000 A Block was vacated and classes moved into newly refurbished areas in B and C Block, creating a more compact campus. Due to funding problems (particular with [PPP] projects) Phase 2 was continually delayed by the council, along with the demolition of 'A' Block, which lay empty and derelict for five years. After campaigning by the local newspaper, school, school board, and student council, demolition work on 'A' Block finally begun in Autumn 2005, being completed in January 2006.

Stranraer Academy 2009

As Part of Dumfries & Galloway's £100 million Public Private Partnership (PPP) project to build nine new schools within Dumfries and Galloway (e4d&g), Stranraer Academy is currently being extended and refurbished. The construction of the new school has already started and is expected to be completed by 2009, or early 2010, well over a decade after the whole school was originally supposed to be rebuilt by.

Delays in completion of Phase 2 of the Academy has led to a deterioration in the building quality of the 1997 New Building, and thus as part of the e4d&g project this building is to be fully refurbished.

The new school's accommodation is to be as follows [ [http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/dumgal/MiniWeb.aspx?id=225&menuid=7761&openid=7720 MiniWeb: Schools PPP - Stranraer Academy ] ] :
* 40 General classrooms
* 9 science labs
* 3 music rooms and 4 practice rooms
* Recording control room
* 5 ICT/business studies classrooms
* 5 technical rooms and a design area
* 2 food technology rooms
* GP/Fabric room
* 4 art rooms
* Kiln room
* 2 Design areas
* Assembly hall with stage
* 1 drama studio
* PE Department (as existing)
* 4 Pupil support rooms
* Medical Suite
* Library
* Conference suite
* Dining hall
* Administration offices

Notable Alumni

*Kevin Kyle, Scottish Football Player
*Colin Calderwood

Gallery

See also

* Education in Scotland
* Scottish Qualifications Authority
* Public Private Partnership

References

External links

* [http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scottishschoolsonline/schools/stranraeracademydumfriesgalloway.asp Stranraer Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online]
* [http://www.dumgal.gov.uk Dumfries & Galloway Council]
* [http://www.stranraeracademy.co.uk Stranraer Academy]
* [http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/dumgal/MiniWeb.aspx?id=66&menuid=583&openid=583&pageid=764 Dumfries & Galloway Council, School Services; Stranraer Academy Information Page]
* [http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/dumgal/MiniWeb.aspx?id=225&menuid=4546&openid=4537 Smarter Schools PPP, Stranraer Academy Development Page]