Hamilton Grammar School
Encyclopedia
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....
.
Situated in central Hamilton, Scotland, its predecessors can trace their history back to the year 1452. With the introduction of comprehensive schools
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
and the abolition of selective schools
Selective school
A selective school is a school that admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems....
such as Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school situated in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, Hamilton Academy featured in the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association Magazine article series on...
in the early 1970s, Hamilton Grammar School was formed as a new school, using the buildings of the former Hamilton Academy and the nearby St. John's Grammar School, Hamilton.
Famous former pupils of Hamilton Grammar or its predecessor schools include the economist (Sir) Alexander Cairncross, the politician Margo MacDonald
Margo MacDonald
Margo MacDonald MSP is a Scottish politician and former Scottish National Party MP and Deputy Leader...
, the novelist Robin Jenkins, author and motoring writer James Currie, the product designer Philip Ross (SafeHinge), pioneer photographer James Craig Annan, doctor and chemist William Cullen
William Cullen
William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and one of the most important professors at the Edinburgh Medical School, during its heyday as the leading center of medical education in the English-speaking world.Cullen was also a central figure in the...
and Ali Richardson, the drummer of the rising Death Metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Bleed From Within.
Hamilton Academy gave its name to Hamilton Academical F.C.
Hamilton Academical F.C.
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...
, the football club, which was founded in 1874 by the Rector and pupils.
The current Hamilton Grammar building was built in 1913 as the Hamilton Academy building. The building underwent an £8 million improvement in 1995, when the original building was retained and fully renovated, with an additional building extension attached to rear. The new building contains science and technical facilities. In 2004, a communicational disorders unit was added to the school.
A new Physical Education centre was built at the rear of the school. Building work started in June 2008 and was completed August 2009 . This replaced the old Physical Education department which was at the back of St John's Primary School.