Dingwall Academy is the largest secondary school in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

of Scotland, with an enrolment of 1,048 pupils as of August 2018. The academy is situated in the centre of

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

and brings in pupils from Conon Bridge, Maryburgh,

Muir of Ord Muir of Ord () is a village in Easter Ross, in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated near the western end of the Black Isle, about west of the city of Inverness and south of Dingwall. The village had a p ...

Strathpeffer Strathpeffer () is a village and spa town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. Geography It lies in a strath west of Dingwall, with the elevation ranging from above sea level. Sheltered on the west and north, ...

, Evanton and the surrounding area. The school's motto is the Latin "Salve Corona" which translates as "Hail the Crown".

History

The school was originally built in the 1930s and many additions were made throughout the years. In 2005 it was decided a new £28 million school should be built through the PPP agreement as the old building was falling into disrepair and had high maintenance costs. The new school building is situated outside the current school in the old sports field. Building began in mid-2005 and a completion date of May 2008 had been agreed on. Dingwall Academy was officially handed over to Highland Council on 20 May 2008, and opened to pupils on 9 June. The new school has a range of classrooms with specialist facilities and incorporates community facilities such as a drama studio, all-weather pitches and a library which is used by both the school and the community. Dingwall Academy won the Scottish Schools' Football under-18 Shield in 1994 beating Cardinal Newman 1–0 in the final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

, Glasgow. They were the first school from the North of Scotland to win the Senior Shield.

Notable alumni

* Will Anderson, BAFTA Award-winning animator *

Kate Forbes Kate Elizabeth Forbes (born 6 April 1990) is a Scottish politician who has served as deputy first minister of Scotland, Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic since May 2024. A member of the Scottish Natio ...

, Deputy First Minister of Scotland, MSP for

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood) covering part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one ...

and Finance Secretary * Finlay Graham, Paralympic double silver medallist in

track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its i ...

References

External links

*
Dingwall Academy's page
on Education Scotland's ParentZone
Profile
on Highland Council website Secondary schools in Highland (council area) Dingwall Scottish Gaelic-language secondary schools {{scotland-school-stub