James Gillespie's High School
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| Mottoes | Fidelis Et Fortis (Latin: Fidelity and Strength) |
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| Established | 1803 |
| Type | State school |
| Religion | Non-denominational |
| Headteacher | Donald J Macdonald |
| Founder | James Gillespie |
| Location | Lauderdale Street Edinburgh EH9 1DD Scotland |
| Local authority | Edinburgh City |
| Staff | FTE 81.9 (2006)[1] |
| Students | 1080 (2006) |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | www.jghs.edin.sch.uk |
James Gillespie's High School is a state secondary school in Marchmont, Edinburgh. The school is a comprehensive high school, educating pupils aged 11 to 18. It recently celebrated its 200th anniversary, and its campus consists of primarily 1960s buildings alongside the 16th century[2] Bruntsfield House. The catchment area is in the centre of the city.[3]
The school's curriculum includes Gaelic.
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[edit] History
In 1803 as a result of the legacy of James Gillespie, an Edinburgh Tobacco Merchant, a school for 65 students and one master was opened in Bruntsfield Place and administered by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh. In 1870 the school moved into a larger building where the Royal Blind Asylum now stands at Gillespie Crescent. As the school developed, girls were admitted as well as boys and the number of students exceeded 1,000. In 1908 the Edinburgh School Board took over the responsibility for the school from the Merchant Company of Edinburgh Education Board, James Gillespie's legacy having run out many years before.
In 1914 the school moved into the building at Bruntsfield Links, until recently used by Boroughmuir High School as an Annexe. In 1935 Edinburgh Corporation acquired Bruntsfield House and its grounds from the Warrender family. The building of the present school commenced in 1964 and was completed in 1966. The school became a secondary school for 800 girls.
In 1966 there was a revamp for the then-girls' school. New buildings, swimming pool and gymnasium were part of the regeneration of the school. In 1989 the school moved to one site on the completion of an extensive building and modernisation programme.[4]
Formerly the High School divided the student population into four 'houses' - Warrender, Roslin, Spylaw, and Gilmore. The houses would compete in intramural sports events, etc. The house system lasted into the early 1980s. Since then the buildings of the High School campus adopted the names of the houses with the addition of a new name, Bruntsfield. Each of the house (now building) names reflects a connection to the name of a locality in, or a historic family from, south Edinburgh.
In 2005 the school adopted 3 new 'social communities' (like the house system but without competitions only for arranging social guidance.) based on James Clerk Maxwell (Maxwell) Henry Raeburn (Raeburn) and Aung San Suu Kyi (Kyi.) [5]
In 2007 improvements were made to the fabric of the school's buildings after a state inspection found significant deficiencies in several of the 1966 structures. There is currently a campaign to build a new school.[6] Following extensive consultation with parents, students, staff and the wider community a state of the art new school will be built on the existing site. Completion date is estimated to be 2015.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable former pupils
- Muriel Spark - Scottish novelist. Attended what was then James Gillespie's High School for Girls and later set her famous novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in "Marcia Blane's School for Girls" - a school resembling Gillespie's.
- Dorothy Dunnett - Scottish novelist and painter. Author of the Lymond Chronicles, House of Niccolo and King Hereafter.
- John Leslie - ex-television presenter on Blue Peter, Wheel of Fortune and This Morning.
[edit] References
- ^ Scottish Schools Online: JGHS. Retrieved 5 May 2008
- ^ [1]. Retrieved 28 October 2008
- ^ JGHS Catchment - Edinburgh Council. Retrieved 5 May 2008
- ^ JGHS Our School. Retrieved 5 May 2008
- ^ Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 5 May 2008
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 55°56′12.20″N 3°12′1.62″W / 55.936722°N 3.20045°W
