Knox Academy is a

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, 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 ...

located in Haddington,

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

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 ...

. Originally founded in 1379 as a medieval

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, it is one of the oldest schools in the world.

History

The modern school can be traced back to a

late medieval The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the period of European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

grammar school, founded in 1379 in Haddington, East Lothian. It was not until 1879 that it was first dedicated to

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

, and named the Knox Memorial Institute to mark the construction of a new building designed by John Starforth."Building/Design Report"
''Dictionary of Scottish Architects'' Though it no longer houses the school, this historic structure is now a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and remains in private use, located on the same street as the modern Knox Academy. In 1930, construction began of a replacement campus on the current site, which was further extended in 1960. During this period, the school became known as Knox Academy for the first time. In 2005, a major refurbishment and rebuild of the school was completed. In June 2012, head teacher Janis Craig retired after fifteen years in the role. During the 2016–17 academic year, Molly Young, a pupil at the school, was injured in an acid attack by a pupil in the same year. The incident was widely covered in the national press, and following a second violent incident, Lauren Rodger, head teacher of North Berwick High School, was seconded to the school as acting headteacher. The current head teacher is Susan Cook, formerly acting head teacher at Trinity Academy,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 2018, it was announced that an extension of the school would be required by 2024 in order to meet demand from new housing developments in the area.

Meadowpark

Meadowpark opened in 2016 and supports learners with

special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Meaning The meaning of S ...

. While part of Knox Academy, it primarily operates within dedicated buildings which are located separately to the main campus.

Cadet Force

Knox Academy was the last state school in Scotland to have a

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

, the Knox CCF. The CCF was disbanded in 2010 due to disagreements between the school and the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

over the storage of weapons on school grounds."Verbal shots fired in cadet force closure blame game"
''East Lothian Courier''

Notable alumni

The Grammar School

Walter Bower Walter Bower (or Bowmaker; 24 December 1449) was a Scottish canon regular and abbot of Inchcolm Abbey in the Firth of Forth, who is noted as a chronicler of his era. He was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian, in the Kingdom of Scotl ...

( 1385–1449), chronicler and clergyman *

John Major (philosopher) John Major (or Mair; also known in Latin as ''Joannes Majoris'' and ''Haddingtonus Scotus''; 1467–1550) was a Scottish philosopher, theologian, and historian who was much admired in his day and was an acknowledged influence on all the great t ...

(1467–1550) *

(c. 1514–1572) protestant reformer * James Carmichael (1542/3–1628) church minister, schoolmaster and author of a Latin grammar and a collection of proverbs in Scots *

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense real ...

(1723–1794), signatory to the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

* Richard Gall (1776–1801), poet * Sir Peter Laurie (1778–1861), Lord Mayor of London * Thomas Burns (1796–1871), early settler in

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

William George Gillies Sir William George Gillies (21 September 1898 – 15 April 1973) was a renowned Scottish landscape and still life painter. He is often referred to simply as W. G. Gillies. Life Gillies was born in Haddington, East Lothian and is brother o ...

(1898-1973), renowned Scottish landscape and still life painter

Knox Academy

* Callum Booth, professional footballer * Danny Handling, professional footballer * Grant McKelvey, professional rugby player and coach * Cameron Murray (rugby union), professional rugby player * Joel Sked, TV presenter, podcaster and sports journalist

References

External links

* {{authority control Secondary schools in East Lothian 14th-century establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in the 14th century Haddington, East Lothian