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Bishopbriggs Academy is a
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 ...
in the town of
Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs (; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in Lanarkshire, the area was once part of ...
, Scotland, in the district of
East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling (council area), Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East ...
. Bishopbriggs Academy is a non-denominational, co-educational,
comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
taking pupils from S1 to S6. It is currently one of two secondary schools in Bishopbriggs, along with
Turnbull High School Turnbull High School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school located in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The school was named after William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow from 1448 to 1454, and founder of the University of G ...
at Brackenbrae. The school was established in August 2006 as a result of the amalgamation of Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir High School. In 2021, the school was named "The Scottish State Secondary School of the decade" by the Sunday Times in the Sunday Times School Guide, recognising the "exceptional leadership, top quality teaching and high academic standards that the school provides." It has also twice been named 'The Scottish State Secondary School of the Year' by the Sunday Times in the Sunday Times School Guide, firstly in 2014 and again in 2017. The school consistently ranks at the top of the school exam league tables, with the school currently ranking 10th in the league tables (out of 340 secondary schools in Scotland). In January 2013 the school received four "Excellent" grades and one "Very Good" in an Education Scotland Inspection Report. This was the first time ever that education Education Scotland had awarded four "Excellent" grades under the new inspection standards which ranks school on 5 areas. The Inspectors also described the Academy as an 'outstanding school'.


History

The two antecedent secondary schools were originally established to meet local demand during Bishopbriggs' housing boom beginning in the 1960s. Bishopbriggs High School was opened by Lanark County Council in 1965 and designed by Simon Pollard. It replaced the previous Bishopbriggs Higher Grade School which had originally opened in 1896, designed by David Woodburn Sturrock, and featured inscriptions on its clock tower, commemorating the
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...
that year. This catered only for pupils up to S4 with most leaving at age 15 (S3); Higher Grade pupils transferred to
Lenzie Academy Lenzie Academy is a Coeducation, co-educational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school located in Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The catchment area covers Lenzie, Auchinloch and the southern parts of Kirkintilloch. Senior ...
in Dunbartonshire. The school and its pupils appeared in an award-winning 1959 amateur film, ''L' Inspecteur''. The former Bishopbriggs Higher Grade School building was converted into the town library after the completion of the new High School building. Thomas Muir High School was named after the local historical political radical, Thomas Muir, and opened in 1978 to serve the expanding Woodhill area of the town. The Thomas Muir name was continued for use for a new primary school in Bishopbriggs (an amalgamation of Woodhill Primary and Auchinairn Primary), completed in 2017.


New academy

Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir High School merged in 2006 to form Bishopbriggs Academy as part of a £100million PPP plan to build six new secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire. The school is now situated at the site of the former Thomas Muir High School on Wester Cleddens Road, where the new campus was completed in August 2009. Prior to that, Bishopbriggs Academy had been located at the former Bishopbriggs High School buildings near Bishopbriggs Cross, which were demolished during June 2010. The council consultation with parents had initially resulted in an agreement that the school would be built on the Bishopbriggs High School site, however this decision was later reversed in favour of the Thomas Muir site in Woodhill, releasing the more valuable BHS site for a proposed supermarket.


Teaching and facilities

The school follows the Scottish Qualification Authorities curriculum, offering from National 3 up to Advanced Highers. The school has over 100 teachers, over 40 non-teaching staff (librarian, office staff, kitchen staff, technicians, facilities etc.) and offers around 30 subjects. The school offers over 35 extracurricular activities including football, rugby, athletics, skiing, badminton, public speaking, choir, theatre, supported study, youth and philanthropy initiative (for seniors) and Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme. The school is split over three levels and has a library with computers for study, three gym halls, a fitness suite, and specialised science, computing, art, design and technology classrooms, study areas, a dining hall, and two athletic fields (one grass, one artificial). As of 2019 the grass pitch has been carved up into two separate sections, one of which has been converted into an artificial grass hockey pitch which is used by the Academy and the neighbouring primary school Thomas Muir.


Notable alumni

*
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and Scotland Under 21 football player. * Roderick Buchanan, artist * Akhlaq Choudhury, English High Court judge *
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, Scottish footballer *
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, broadcaster *
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, poet, author, Scottish Makar *
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captain * Darren Lyon, current Queen's Park football player, formerly
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and Queen of the South. *
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, trade unionist *David Wilson, chef & restaurateur, winner of Scotlands first Michelin star in the
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, formerly at Clyde,
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, played for Queen of the South, Clyde,
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References


External links


Bishopbriggs Academy's home pageBishopbriggs Academy's page on Scottish Schools Online
{{authority control Secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire Educational institutions established in 2006 Bishopbriggs 2006 establishments in Scotland