Dunoon Grammar School 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 ...

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

, on the Cowal Peninsula, in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, west of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was founded in 1641. It is currently 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 ...

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 ...

which covers all stages from S1 to S6 (ages 12–18).

Building

The present school building, which took two years to complete, is on Ardenslate Road, Kirn, and was opened to pupils and staff in August 2007. It consists of a main teaching block with two

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasia, a fitness suite, dance studio, assembly hall, technology and technical areas and music rooms. There is a suite of rooms, purpose-built for education of pupils with additional support needs. Two

astroturf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...

sports pitches have been built on the site of the old school building, which was demolished in 2007. The pitches are serviced by training floodlights. The newest building is the third Grammar School building in Dunoon. The first was in Hillfoot Street in the town, while the second was built on Ardenslate Road adjacent to where the latest facility is located. The Hillfoot Street premises became

Dunoon Primary School Dunoon Primary School is a school in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located in a Category B listed building dating from 1901. The school accommodates 300 pupils. History The site was the original 1641 location of Dunoon Grammar Schoo ...

when the newer building was built on Ardenslate Road in the 1960s. The agreed maximum capacity of the school is 1150 pupils. As of 2013 it was well below this limit with 824 pupils and around 70 staff. The next year the roll fell to 783.

Hostel

Unusually for a state school Dunoon has a boarding facility for some of its pupils. From Mondays to Fridays pupils from the furthest parts of the catchment area stay here in preference to a twice daily 30-mile bus journey. The concrete facility, built in the 1960s, superseded the system of local digs, which were used in earlier eras by the likes of Labour party leader John Smith. The pupils using the hostel are cared for by a staff of seven.

Primary schools

As the only secondary school in

Cowal Cowal () is a rugged peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland to the north, and is bounded by Loch Fyne to the west, by Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde to the east, and by the Kyles of Bute ...

, Dunoon Grammar receives pupils from all of the primaries on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

. These include primary schools in Dunoon,

Kirn Kirn () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Kirner Land. Kirn is a Central place theory, middle centre serving an area ...

Innellan Innellan is a village in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland, on the western shore of the Firth of Clyde. It is four miles south of Dunoon. History The origin of the name "Innellan" is obscure. The village was developed as a holiday destinatio ...

Kilmodan Kilmodan is a civil parish situated on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It includes the valley of Glendaruel and surrounding areas, with Kilmodan Church located in the Clachan of Glendaruel. The alternative historical ...

, Sandbank,

Strachur Strachur () and Strathlachlan () are united parishes in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Strachur is a small village on the eastern coast of Loch Fyne. Geography Cowal is the large peninsula situated between Loch Long to the east and Loch Fyne ...

Strone Strone () is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands at the point where the north shore of the Holy Loch becomes the west shore of the Firth of Clyde. The village lies within the Loch Lomond and The Trossa ...

Tighnabruaich Tighnabruaich (; ) is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, on the western arm of the Kyles of Bute in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. In 2011 the population was 660. It is west of Glasgow and north of the Isle of Arran. Tighnabruaich is now p ...

Lochgoilhead Lochgoilhead (, IPA: �kʰʲaun̴̪ˈɫ̪ɔxˈkɤilə is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It stands at the head of Loch Goil. Location The village is surrounded by se ...

and

Toward Toward () is a village near Dunoon, west of Scotland, in the south of the Cowal Peninsula. During World War II, the Toward area was a training centre called HMS ''Brontosaurus'' also known as the No 2 Combined Training Centre (CTC), based at ...

School roll

In recent decades the total roll has been falling. The number of pupils staying for S5 and S6 has increased over the same period. The school had higher numbers between the 1960s and 1990s when an American naval squadron was based at

Holy Loch The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...

Exam pass rate

In 2012 it was shown that the exam pass rate among senior pupils at the school had lagged behind the rest of Argyll and Bute for the past 3 years consecutively.

Head teachers

Notable former pupils

* Reverend Donald Caskie –

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

minister in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, also known as the ''Tartan Pimpernel'' for helping an estimated 2000 Allied servicemen escape from occupied France during

World War II 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 ...

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John MacKay, Baron MacKay of Ardbrecknish John Jackson Mackay, Baron Mackay of Ardbrecknish (15 November 1938 – 21 February 2001) was a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party politician. Early life Mackay was born in 1938, the son of Jackson and Jean Mackay, and was educated at ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP,

deputy speaker Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain ...

of the

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Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long ...

- actor, best known as the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

in ''

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''. *

George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

– former Labour Party politician and secretary-general of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

from 1999–2004. * John Smith – politician who served as leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death on 12 May 1994. *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

– former Labour Party politician.

References

External links

Official school website

Dunoon Grammar's page on Scottish Schools Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunoon Grammar School Secondary schools in Argyll and Bute Grammar schools in Scotland 1641 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in the 1640s Scottish Gaelic-language secondary schools Schools in Dunoon