Hamilton College is a Co-educational Private School located in Hamilton

Hamilton, South Lanarkshire

Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...

 South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, it provides education from Nursery age (3 years and up) through the full 7 years of primary education and 6 years of high school (up to 18 years old). The school states its ethos to be: "To provide a positive caring ethos that demonstrates the relevance of the Christian faith to every day life; promotes a sense of responsibility that shows respect for oneself, others and the environment, and prepares pupils for active citizenship".

History

Hamilton College was opened in 1983 by the late Charles Oxley. The building was originally used as a teacher training college which opened in 1964. Hamilton College was the third school Oxley opened. He had already opened Scarisbrick Hall Boarding School and Tower College, both of which are in England. Tower College is currently run by his daughter. The school crest partly comprises two oak tree branches and a thistle.

College Vision & Aims

VISION

The vision of Hamilton College is to provide an excellent education for all pupils within a caring Christian ethos.

AIMS

1. Ethos: To provide a positive caring ethos that demonstrates the relevance of the Christian faith to every day life; promotes a sense of responsibility that shows respect for oneself, others and the environment, and prepares pupils for active citizenship.

2. Curriculum: Attainment and Achievement: To provide a framework for learning within and beyond the formal curriculum that offers pupils a range of opportunities designed to help them reach excellent standards of attainment and achievement.

3. Teaching: To provide effective teaching that is marked by high, but realistic, expectations, and which promotes a joy in learning that forms a sound foundation for continuing achievement in later life.

4. Meeting Pupils' Needs: To provide challenge and support for learning that are well suited to pupils' individual abilities and needs.

5. Resources: To provide accommodation, resources and facilities that are appropriate to an excellent modern education.

6. Management: To provide effective leadership and management that enables all staff to be aware and responsive to the needs and aspirations of pupils, other staff members, parents and the wider community; and to be successful in pursuing continuous improvement.

Academic Subjects

Hamilton College has a strong focus on academic success. In first and Second year students take the majority of subjects which are available before choosing the 9 subjects which they will sit either at Standard Grade or the Intermediate 2 in third and Fourth year.

N.B. In third and fourth year the nine subjects each pupil takes must include the following compulsory subjects;

• English(Standard Grade)
• Mathematics(Standard Grade)
• At least one foreign language(either French or German)
• R.M.P.S(Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies) at Intermediate 1 Level

Pupils can then take up to five Highers in fifth year. The School currently offers a broad range of subjects. A complete list is found below;

• Accounting and Finance
• Art
• Biology
• Business Management
• Chemistry
• Classical Studies
• Computing
• Economics
• English
• French
• Geography
• German
• Graphic Communication
• History
• Human Biology
• Information Systems
• Latin
• Mathematics
• Modern Studies
• Music
• Physics
• P.E. (Physical Education)
• R.M.P.S (Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies)
• Technological Studies

Sixth form

In Sixth Year pupils will gain their own common room for use at lunchtimes, etc. complete with its own toilets, televisions, radio, speaker system, etc. Sixth Year pupils at the school have the opportunity to take part in Numerous activities during their timetable outwith the Highers/Advanced highers which they will be sitting such as;

• Young Enterprise
  Young Enterprise
  Young Enterprise is a not-for-profit business and enterprise education charity in the United Kingdom. It is made up of 12 regional organisations, each operating individually under a license agreement...
  
   Scheme
• Duke of Edinburgh Award's Scheme
• Friend in S6, where willing sixth years volunteer in the attached junior school, helping out the children with numeracy, spelling alongside the class teacher
• And Many More.

Academic Facilities

• Carpeted and air-conditioned classrooms
• Five science laboratories for biology, chemistry, and physics
• Three Libraries/Media Centers
• Several computer laboratories
• Separate wings for Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools; separate Early Learning Center (pre-kindergarten to primary 2)
• A computer for every teacher in every classroom
• All classrooms equipped with LCD projectors and speaker systems, and many with SMART Board interactive whiteboards

Athletic Facilities

• Three gymnasiums, One Large Games Hall
• Two Rugby Union
  Rugby union
  Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
  
   Pitches
• One Football Pitch
• One Hockey Pitch
• One Athetics Area (long jumping, etc.)
• One six-lane twenty-five metre heated and covered swimming pool
• One cross-country track
• Locker rooms and shower facilities

Fine and Performing Arts Facilities

• Band rooms
• Strings room
• Choral rooms
• Various individual practice rooms
• Four art studios
• Photography room
• Large Concert Hall

Other Facilities

• Sixth Form Common Room
• Fifth Year Common Room
• Large Whole-School Assembly Hall
• Separate Junior School Assembly Hall
• Two Board Rooms

Sports

Hamilton College has a number of sports teams that compete in national competitions. The school was Scottish Independent Schools football runners up in 2005 - 2006. The school competes in the following sports.

• Rugby
• Hockey
• Swimming
• Football
• Netball
• Chess
• Basketball
• Athletics
• Cross country
• Badminton
• Cricket

Library

The library is open for the whole school community during school hours. It is situated next to the Dining Hall. There is seating for 40 pupils. Nursery classes use it on a weekly basis. J1-3 visit the library to choose books, whilst J4-6 visit fortnightly and J7 weekly to build on their Information Skills and to choose books. The library is open at lunch-times and intervals for Senior pupils. S1 and 2 visit weekly during their English classes. S6 can access the library for Private Study. The library aims to provide pupils and pupils and staff with resources to provide support for learning and teaching.

Junior School

Being on one campus allows the Junior School to liaise with both Senior School and Nursery to ensure smooth transitions across the school from 3-18. Pupils learn to become part of the caring community through involvement in the Pupil Council, Eco-committee, Games committee and in Buddying the younger children. S6 pupils also come to help out in the Junior School as their timetable permits.
As well as a full and varied curriculum, extra-curricular activities such as music, sports, drama, cooking, Girls Brigade and other activities, encourage children to be healthy and active and provide an opportunity to develop their interests and talents.

25th Anniversary Celebrations

The college is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary and has undertaken several events to celebrate this.

• Art Exhibition celebrating 25 years of art at the college, featuring the artwork of 25 pupils who went on to become prominent Artists
• Commissioning of a special 25th picture, which was an aerial photograph of all the pupils and staff at the school in the shape of the number 25 in the school grounds.
• Special 25th Anniversary Service for pupils and parents

Notable former pupils

• Katie Leung
  Katie Leung
  Katie Leung is a Scottish actress, best known for playing Cho Chang in the Harry Potter film series. She returned for a brief role in the video game Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.-Early life:...
  
  - "Cho Chang" in the popular Harry Potter
  Harry Potter
  Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
  
   film series.
• Scott Forrest - Scotland Rugby Player, Who captains the Scotland national rugby union team (sevens)
  Scotland national rugby union team (sevens)
  The Scottish national rugby union sevens team compete in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.During 2006, the side were in danger of no longer competing in the Sevens World Series due to the financial problems faced by the Scottish Rugby Union...
  
  

HMIe Inspection

The school was recently inspected by HMIe. The report can be found at the following link:
Recent HMIe Report

External links

• School Website
• Tower College
• scotland best colleges
• Recent HMIe Report