Kelvinside Academy is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of over 600 pupils and spans two years of Nursery, six years of Junior School (

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

), a transition year of Senior Preparatory, and six years of Senior School (

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

), comprising fifteen years in all. Kelvinside was founded as a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

and remained so until the late 1940s when, like many similar schools, it became 'grant-aided' until 1985 when it reverted to its fully independent roots once more. Formerly for boys only, the school became fully

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

in 1998.

The School

Kelvinside Academy is in the Kelvinside area of the north of Glasgow, near the

Glasgow Botanic Gardens Glasgow Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. It features several glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace. The Gardens has a wide variety of temperate and tropical flora, a ...

. It has a large main building, which is category A listed and was designed by

James Sellars James Sellars (2 December 1843 – 9 October 1888) was a Scotland, Scottish architect who was heavily influenced by the work of Alexander Greek Thomson. Life Sellars was born in the Gorbals in Glasgow, son of James Sellars, house factor a ...

, with some modern additions. The original building was opened on 2 September 1878 and cost £21,698 11s; this included the construction of both roads and sewers. The School crest shows

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

with the motto ''ΑΙΕΝ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ'' which translates as "Ever To Be The Best". This has also been given a "modern" translation of "The Best You Can Be". 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 Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

fences despite the metal shortages during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. There is a well-established house system, which divides all the pupils into four different houses, each represented by a colour: red for Stewart House, yellow for Buchanan House, green for MacGregor House and blue for Colquhoun. The School opened a new Nursery at its Balgray Campus in August 2013. In 2018, Kelvinside merged with Craigholme School to form th
Glasgow Schools Trust
which was created to share resources between both schools and preserve both schools due to falling pupil numbers.

Notable alumni and staff

* John Joy Bell, journalist and author *

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

, Byzantinist * Brigadier General John Charteris * Sir Hugh Fraser, 2nd Baronet, of the

House of Fraser House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

chain (1936–1987) * Richie Gray, Scottish International Rugby Union player currently playing for Glasgow Warriors * Brigadier

Alastair Pearson Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Alastair "Jock" Stevenson Pearson, (1 June 1915 – 29 March 1996) was a baker, farmer and one of the most highly regarded soldiers of the Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom), Parachute Regiment and th ...

, Parachute Regiment, DSO***, MC * Air Vice Marshal Sandy Johnstone * James Broom Millar – first

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (1954–1960) * Boyd Muir, EVP & CFO, President of Operations, Universal Music Group * Ian Livingston, Baron Livingston of Parkhead * Sir George Macdonald, archaeologist, teacher at the school 1887–1892 * Sir Donald MacDougall, economist * Donald Orr, cricketer * Alan Rodger, Baron Rodger of Earlsferry (1944–2011) * Craig Wright, cricketer. * Sandy Wylie, Lord Kinclaven, Judge of the Supreme Courts * Scott Cummings, Scottish International Rugby Union player currently playing for

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

* Douglas Gairdner, paediatrician * Rennie Keith, cricketer * Colin Neill, Former President Cricket Scotland, Current Chairman of The Forty Club *

Craig Whyte Craig Thomas Whyte (born 18 January 1971) is a Scottish businessman best known for his controversial spell as owner of Scottish football club Rangers. Whyte first entered business in a plant hire company, after which he moved into security, ...

, former owner of Rangers FC

Related publications

* ''Kelvinside Academy, 1878–1978'' by Colin Mackay * ''Kelvinside Academy, 1878–1923'' by William Brodie * ''Kelvinside Academy, 1878–1928'' by David Morrice Low
Minerva
termly newsletter

References

External links

Kelvinside Academy

* ttp://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/FriendsReunited.asp?wci=Register&type=Register&school_key=139439 Friends Reunited page for Kelvinside Academy(registration required)
Kelvinside Academical Club

Kelvinside Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online

Sources

* * * http://pmsa.courtauld.ac.uk/pmsa/GW/KS-002.htm * https://archive.today/20130421040234/http://www.schoolsguidebook.co.uk/schools/Kelvinside_Academy.html * {{authority control School buildings completed in 1878 Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Educational institutions established in 1878 Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Private schools in Glasgow James Sellars buildings 1878 establishments in Scotland