Douglas Academy
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Douglas Academy is a
non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...
, co-educational, comprehensive
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
Milngavie Milngavie ( ; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngavie is a commuter t ...
,
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 ...
, serving the Milngavie, Craigton and
Baldernock Baldernock (;G.M. Miller, ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 9. ) meaning 'settlement of St Earnaig' (Iain Mac an Táilleir, Sabhall Mór Ostaig) is a small parish in East Dunbartonshire (formerly in Stirlingshi ...
areas. In 2007, Douglas Academy was ranked as Scotland's top performing
state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
, and with every year the school continues to place among the highest in Scotland.


History

The school is named after the Douglases of Mains, who were a branch family of the
Clan Douglas Clan Douglas ( Gaelic: ''Dùbhghlas'') is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands. Taking their name from Douglas in Lanarkshire, their leaders gained vast territories throughout the Borders, Angus, Lothian, Moray, and also ...
. The Douglases are an ancient
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
, and subsequent
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...
house from the
Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...
who held vast territories throughout the
Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...
;
Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...
,
Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...
,
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
, and in France and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. The Douglases of Mains were related to the main branch through their common ancestor
Archibald I, Lord of Douglas Archibald of Douglas (before 1198 – died c. 1238) was a Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish knight. He was the son of William I, Lord of Douglas, William of Douglas. Life The earliest attestation of his existence is in a charter of confirmation ...
, a Scottish medieval nobleman born in the 12th century. The lands of the Mains, where the school is situated, were originally granted by the
Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first e ...
to Maurice Galbraith in the 13th century. The Galbraith Family held these lands until 1373, when a descendant of Lord Douglas's second son, Nicholas Douglas, married Janet Galbraith, the heiress of the Mains. Thus, the Douglas family inherited the extensive lands of the Mains, and were elevated to
Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...
s of the estate in the same year by
King Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was named Robert Stewart. Upon the death ...
. The title became extinct in the 20th century; the last of the estate (including the house) was sold to
Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...
county and was subsequently used for the erection of the secondary school, Douglas Academy, in Milngavie prior to the death of the last heir, the 21st Lord of Mains, Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Vivian Campbell Douglas in 1977. The original school building served the site from 1967 until 2009, when it was demolished and replaced with a newer one.


New building

As part of an extensive PPP project ( Public-Private Partnership) marshalled by the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
with £100 million funding, Douglas Academy has been rebuilt along with various other
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 ...
schools. The new Douglas Academy building replaced the old school with a modern new look from the beginning of the 2009–2010 school year.


Associate schools

* Baldernock Primary School, Baldernock * Clober Primary School, Milngavie * Craigdhu Primary School, Milngavie * Milngavie Primary School, Milngavie These schools, as associate schools, are the main "feeder" schools for Douglas Academy.


School badge

The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
on the school badge combines references to the school's geographical position and to the history of the grounds in which it is situated. It was designed by a student. The upper half, with its cross and roses, is part of the arms of the Burgh of Milngavie, while the lower half is the arms of Douglas of Mains, owners for many generations of the Mains Estate on which the school stands. By tradition, the heart represents the heart of Bruce, taken by a member of the Douglas family on
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
against the Moors. The
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
motto "Neart-Tre-Eolas" means "Strength Through Knowledge".


Notable Alumni

*
Katie Archibald Katie Archibald (born 12 March 1994) is an elite racing cyclist, specialising in endurance track cycling events in which she represents Great Britain and Scotland. A member of the Great Britain 2016 Olympic champion and 2020 Olympic silver me ...
– cyclist (Olympic gold medallist) *
Greg Docherty Greg Alexander Docherty (born 10 September 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Charlton Athletic. He has previously played for Hamilton Academical, Rangers, Shrewsbury Town, Hibernian and Hull Ci ...
– professional footballer *
Rob Harley Robert John Harley (born 26 May 1990) is a Scotland international rugby union player for Colomiers in the Pro D2. He previously played for Glasgow Warriors and is their most capped player. He also played for US Carcassonne. He plays as a fla ...
– professional rugby player *
Jo Swinson Joanne Kate Swinson (born 5 February 1980) is a former British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. Swinson was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire ( ...
– former leader of the Liberal Democrats, former MP for the local
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
* The Ayoub Sisters – professional musicians (cello and violin) *
Russell Findlay Russell Findlay is a Scottish politician and journalist who has served as Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament as well as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party since September 2024. He has been the Member of the Scottish Pa ...
MSP for the West Scotland Region and Leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party


References


External links

*
Douglas Academy's page on Scottish Schools OnlineLiteracy Across Contexts Insight Video
{{authority control Secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire Educational institutions established in 1967 Milngavie 1967 establishments in Scotland