Prestwick Academy

Prestwick Academy
Location
Newdykes Road, Prestwick KA9 2LB, Scotland
Coordinates 55°30′10″N 4°36′14″W / 55.5029°N 4.6040°W / 55.5029; -4.6040Coordinates: 55°30′10″N 4°36′14″W / 55.5029°N 4.6040°W / 55.5029; -4.6040
Information
Type State coeducational secondary school
Motto Per Vias Rectas
Established c.1902
Head teacher Gordon Bone
Teaching staff 90 (approx)
Grades S1 - S6
Enrollment 1150 (approx)
Colour(s) S1-S4: black and blue, S5: black and silver, S6: black and gold
Website Prestwick Academy

Prestwick Academy is a state secondary school serving the area of Prestwick, South Ayrshire in Scotland. The school is non-denominational and has a capacity of 1400. Its motto is Per Vias Rectas, Latin for By Straight Paths.

History

Prestwick Academy was opened in 1902 as a primary school, with one building, known as 'Block 1' after the school expanded. The building was extended in 1910 and 1913 to provide more classrooms as the town of Prestwick developed. At the time, all secondary school children in the area had to attend Ayr Academy for further education.

The school went through major expansion to accommodate secondary pupils in the 1960s and more buildings were constructed with primary children being moved into block 7. For students in the 1950s, those wishing to take exams had to go to Ayr Academy. The school leaving age was raised to 15. To cope with this expansion, block 7 was taken over by the secondary school and primary students were moved to other schools.

In 1972, Kingcase Primary was opened and Prestwick Academy's primary department was closed down. The school leaving age was raised to 16 which again caused overcrowding. Various huts in the school were replaced by the building of 5 new blocks between 1972 and 1974. The new buildings comprised; a new, single storey Science building (Block 6); an Art/Technical/Business Studies Building (Block 5); a new Maths/Home Economics/Modern Languages and Music building (Block 3) and Offices, Staffroom, Assembly Hall (Block 4) and two Gymnasia, a Games hall and Community Suite (Block 2).

New Prestwick Academy

As part of the Scottish Executive's Public-Private Partnership policy, it was announced that Prestwick Academy would be re-built. Prestwick and Belmont Academy are the only secondary schools in South Ayrshire being fully rebuilt, while Kyle Academy has also undergone renovation.

Construction started in 2006 with Block 7 (Geography, Religious Studies, Behaviour Support and the Dining Hall) being demolished to make room for the new building. All of the new school, apart from the PE facilities, opened for pupils in October 2008. The new Prestwick Academy is a modern, open-spaced building built on three floors.

The new building the day before its opening to pupils

All buildings of the old school have now been demolished and the construction of the new PE facilities is complete. The full school building – with the exception of the music recording studio – is now open. The construction of the new all-weather pitches took place between August and December 2009.

The construction of the new school, complete with full landscaping and the all-weather pitches, was officially completed at 10:00 pm on 18 December 2009.

The new building is designed as follows.

  1. Home Economics, Design & Technology, Physical Education, Mathematics, Music, Pupil Support, School Admin.
  2. English, Modern Languages, Business Education, History & Modern Studies, Geography, Religious Studies.
  3. Art & Design, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computing.

Notable former pupils

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