Hillhead High School
 The main building of Hillhead High School |
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| Motto | Nous maintiendrons (French for "We will maintain") |
|---|---|
| Established | 19th century (as Hillhead Primary School) |
| Religion | Non-denominational |
| Headteacher | Mr. W. Wight |
| Depute Headteacher | Mr T Gough, Mr C McTrusty, Mr J Meechan & Mrs H Campbell |
| Location | Oakfield Avenue Glasgow G12 8LJ Scotland  |
| Staff | about 90 |
| Students | about 1000 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 12–18 |
| Colours | Navy, black, white, pink, red and gold |
| Athletics |
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| School Years | S1-S6 |
| Contact No | 0141 582 0100 |
| Website | Hillhead High School |
Coordinates: 55°52′28″N 4°17′07″W / 55.87455°N 4.28538°W
Hillhead High School is a day school located in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow.
Contents |
[edit] Admissions
It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow.
[edit] History
[edit] Grammar school
Until 1972 it was a co-educational selective school. It then became a comprehensive school though pupils continued to benefit from the high standards expected for sports, music, art and academic studies.
[edit] Comprehensive
In 1972 the local authority in Glasgow abolished the selectivity process and the school gradually became a comprehensive school serving its geographical catchment area of Glasgow's West End, and serving many pupils from wider afield who had attended the primary school.
[edit] Former teachers
- Colin Campbell, SNP MSP from 1999-2003 for West of Scotland (taught from 1961-63)
[edit] School facilities
The school has two buildings, the Main Building and the Terrace Building. It also uses the nearby Wellington Church for mass assemblies at October, Christmas, Easter and Summer.
The X-shaped listed Main Building, acquired in the 1930s, is the larger of the two buildings, and is where most pupils begin their studies. Most of the school's classrooms and offices are situated on its four floors. Its departments include Drama, Music, Physical Education, English, Art, Mathematics, Modern Languages, Home Economics and most recently and controversially, Hair and Beauty. Also in the Main Building is the library, where a career and exam advisor makes biweekly appearances. The main building was designed by E G Wylie in 1921, and construction finished in 1929. It is now protected as a category B listed building.[1]
Originally owned by the University of Glasgow, the Terrace Building was acquired by Hillhead in c.2001. Its five floors house the Information Technology, Technical and Graphic Communication Studies, Geography, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Modern Studies and History departments, including their classrooms and accompanying staff rooms. This building is used primarily for applied studies.
[edit] Minority Time Activity
Hillhead High School is the only school in Glasgow which has implemented Minority Time Activity (MTA). On Friday afternoons, teachers host activities ranging from football to ten pin bowling. Students who take part in extracurricular activities can alternatively use this time for additional practice. Pupils choose their desired activity at the start of each major term, for example when returning from the summer holidays. When participating in MTA, pupils are dismissed at 2:40 p.m. rather than the usual 3:30 p.m.
[edit] School music
During the 1960s, under John McKendrick, the school developed a widely respected tradition for orchestral and chamber music, regularly coming first in the Glasgow Music Festival. At the height of its success the combined schools boasted three symphony orchestras, several wind ensembles and string ensembles, a madrigal group and a primary boys' choir. This last choir, under John McIntosh, participated in a performance of Carmina Burana with the SNO.
From the late 1970s until the mid 1990s, Hillhead High enjoyed a reputation for producing the best school shows in Glasgow. The tradition for staging quality musicals began in 1977 when Oklahoma! was performed in the school itself, with Bye Bye Birdie the following year at Partick Burgh Halls as a result of a very successful collaboration between classics teacher Alistair Fulton and music teacher Irene McLennan. This partnership, over the following years, provided a chance for many pupils to develop their talents both on-stage and backstage. The growing popularity of the shows led to the decision to perform them at the Mitchell Theatre, which helped to add to the professionalism of the productions. In 1985, to celebrate the school's centenary, a special version of The Music Man was produced, which featured several former pupils as cast members. Culminating the partnership between Fulton and McLennan was the Scottish premiere of Li'l Abner in the summer of 1992, after which McLennan retired. In 1994 Fulton again produced Oklahoma! as his farewell show before also retiring. The following year Calamity Jane was produced by a new production team consisting of two music teachers and two English teachers, and was very well received. However this proved to be the final show after a run of nearly twenty years. The tradition still provides some of the fondest memories for ex-pupils,[citation needed] many of whom went on to pursue careers in art, drama and music, having been inspired after their involvement in the shows.
[edit] Notable former pupils
- Shahbaz Chauhdry, contestant on Big Brother UK series 7
- Kari Corbett, actress
- Laura Fraser, actor
- Shuna Scott Sendall, opera singer
- Liam Burns, Professional Footballer
[edit] Grammar school
- Dr Munro Archibald CB MBE, Deputy Chief Medical Officer from 1973-77 at the DHSS
- Stanley Baxter, comedian (Parliamo Glasgow)
- Prof John Beath, Professor of Economics from 1991-2009 at the University of St Andrews, and Secretary General since 208 of the Royal Economic Society
- Prof Douglas Bertram, Professor of Medical Entomology from 1956-76 at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
- Mike Bolland, TV producer at BBC Scotland and Channel 4 (who commissioned the The Comic Strip series in 1981), and later Director of Television from 2004-7 at BBC Scotland
- Robert Brown, Director from 1986-91 of the Housing Corporation
- James Cairns, Chief Architect and Director of Works from 1975-80 at the Home Office
- Rev Laurence Campbell, Headmaster from 1970-87 of Kingswood School (Bath), and Chairman from 1977-81 of Christians Abroad
- Menzies Campbell, advocate and politician
- Daniel Cappell CBE, Professor of Pathology from 1945-67 at the University of Glasgow
- Josephine Pleasence, maiden & stage name Josephine Crombie, actress and singer. Wife of Donald Pleasence
- David Dunbar, architect, and President from 2009-10 of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
- Prof Jack D. Dunitz, Professor of Chemical Crystallography from 1957-90 at ETH Zurich, and known for the Bürgi–Dunitz angle
- Sir Alastair Dunnett, journalist and newspaper editor, Editor from 1956-72 of The Scotsman, and from 1946-55 of the Daily Record
- David Dunnett, Secretary from 1946-64 of the Commonwealth Economic Committee, and older brother of Alastair
- Andrew Flanagan, Chief Executive since 2009 of the NSPCC, and from 1996-2006 of SMG (STV Group since 2008)
- Alexander Fleck, 1st Baron Fleck, Chairman from 1953-60 of ICI
- Prof Charles Fleming CBE, Professor of Medicine from 1960-71 at the University of Glasgow Medical School
- Dr Gilbert Forbes, Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine, Glasgow from 1964-74
- Prof Iain Gillespie, Professor of Surgery from 1970-92 at the School of Medicine, University of Manchester
- Sir Bill Gray, founding Chairman (from 1974-79) of the Scottish Development Agency, and Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1972-75
- Prof Alexander Haddow CMG, Professor of Medicine from 1971-78 at the University of Glasgow Medical School
- Janice Hally, playwright and scriptwriter
- Gilbert Highet, Anthon Professor of the Latin Language and Literature from 1950-72 at Columbia University, New York
- Prof E. A. J. Honigmann, Joseph Cowen Professor of English Literature from 1970-89 at Newcastle University
- Sir Laurence Hunter CBE, Professor of Applied Economics from 1970-2003 at the University of Glasgow
- Gordon Jackson OBE, actor, noted for The Great Escape and The Professionals
- George Leslie,
- Ian McColl CBE, Editor from 1971-74 of the Daily Express
- Dr Derry Macdiarmid
- Sir Alexander McDonald, Chairman from 1967-76 of the Distillers Company
- Maj-Gen Robert MacFarlane MBE, Director of Army Medicine from 1973-74, and Professor of Military Medicine from 1970-71 at the Royal Army Medical College
- Ian MacGregor, metallurgist and industrialist, antagonist in the UK miners' strike (1984-1985), Chairman from 1983-86 of the National Coal Board, and Chief Executive from 1980-83 of the British Steel Corporation
- Harry McGowan, 1st Baron McGowan, Chairman from 1930-50 of ICI
- Alexander Mackendrick, film director
- Alistair MacLean, author
- Prof George McNicol CBE, Vice-Chancellor from 1981-91 of the University of Aberdeen, and Professor of Medicine from 1971-81 at Leeds General Infirmary
- Saul Metzstein, film director
- Edward Rosslyn Mitchell, Labour MP from 1924-29 for Paisley
- Prof George Montgomery CBE, Professor of Pathology from 1954-71 at the University of Edinburgh Medical School
- James Morrison, painter
- Robert Murdoch, gynaecologist, and President in 1956 of the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association
- Prof Munro Neville, Associate Director from 1985-2005 of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
- Walter Owen, translator of S.American poetry (Argentine gaucho epic Martin Fierro, etc.)
- Very Rev John Paterson, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1984-85
- Sir Horace Phillips CMG, Ambassador to Turkey from 1973-77, High Commissioner to Tanzania from 1968-72, and Ambassador to Indonesia from 1966-68
- Sir John Rennie CMG OBE, Governor of Mauritius (the last before its independence) from 1962-68
- Prof Anne Robertson, Titular Professor of Roman Archaeology from 1974-75 at the University of Glasgow
- James Robertson MBE, painter
- Prof Archie Roy,
- Robert Service, poet
- May Miles Thomas, film director
- Alexander Trocchi, novelist who wrote Young Adam
- Jean Turner, former Independent MSP from 2003-07 for Strathkelvin and Bearsden
- Prof Eldred Walls, former Professor of Anatomy from 1967-74, and Dean at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School
- Jonathan Watson, comedian. (Only an Excuse?)
- James Alfred Wight OBE, writer and veterinary surgeon from 1939-90 (pen name: James Herriot)
- Sir Charles Wilson, first Vice-Chancellor from 1957-61 of the University of Leicester, then Principal of the University of Glasgow from 1961-76
- Dr David Wright {awarded the Dutch Bronze Lion)
- John Young, Conservative MSP from 1999-2003 for West of Scotland
[edit] References
- ^ "Hillhead High School and Entrance Lodge: Listed Building Report". Historic Scotland. http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=32909. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
[edit] External links
- Hillhead High's official website
- Hillhead High School's page on Scottish Schools Online
- League tables for the school — Taken from BBC Education
