Glasgow Academy 150 years by Iain MacLeod - Addendum

Successful completion of The Academy's 150th anniversary celebrations at the end of the 1995/96 session was certainly a milestone in the school's history: but the Rector and Governors had clearly taken to heart Fraser Macnaughton's theme at the Prep Prize-giving in 1996, that it is more important to look forward than to look back. The ten years or so which followed the 150th anniversary were a period of determined development and ambition which saw substantial investment in buildings and facilities and wide-ranging initiatives in teaching, learning and support for pupils.

One of the first new appointments David Comins made on becoming Rector was that of a School Nurse, not just to attend to the regular crop of grazed knees that were an inevitable consequence of the traditional Prep uniform of shorts but also to lend a sympathetic ear when worried or uncertain adolescents - girls and boys alike - felt the need to talk to someone who was not a teacher.

Teachers had an increasingly vital role to play as well, though, in the personal and social development of The Academy's young people. The curriculum was progressively modified to accommodate in all year groups a well-planned programme of lessons which it was hoped would equip pupils to face the challenges of life in the very late twentieth century. Topics ranged from bullying, money management, drugs, alcohol and sexual issues to areas such as careers and further education, the improvement of study skills and the management of examination stresses. Whilst the teaching of personal and social education was delivered by a small number of teachers, all staff were supported in their dealings with young people by an increasingly comprehensive bank of policies and procedures and by training in matters to do, for example, with child protection.

All pupils were supported in this way as they moved through the school. A smaller - though increasing - number benefited from the decision to offer specialised help to those who experienced particular difficulties in their learning. At first, provision for learning support of this kind was made on a part-time basis but before long it was acknowledged that full time teachers were required throughout the school. In March 1999 Carol Hamilton was appointed to the Senior School post. Her death following surgery in December 2000 was keenly felt by the whole school community, once again united in grief at a terrible and unexpected loss.

Others took their leave of The Academy at the end of long careers: John Anthony, appointed as Head of Maths in 1973, retired in June 1996 and was succeeded by Andrew Evans. At the same time, Eira Gleasure retired after 29 years, first at Westbourne and then as an enthusiastic and warm member of the co-educational Academy's English department. John Davidson Kelly retired in 1997, only the second Deputy Rector in The Academy's history and an enthusiastic supporter of the sporting and cultural life of the school, perhaps especially the Pipe Band. Senior pupils who had greatly valued his advice and encouragement marked his retirement with a special dinner. His role of responsibility for S6 was taken over by Andrew Jeffreys and his successor as Deputy Rector was Iain MacLeod.

Margaret Tindall retired from the Prep School in 1997 after 32 years distinguished especially by her commitment to religious education and the welfare of children, both within the school and beyond it. Rae Murphy had been Deputy Headmistress of Westbourne School at the time of the merger and then became an Assistant Rector. After 28 years of service characterised by her special care for the girls and staff of the developing co-educational school, she retired in the summer of 2000. Her successor was Jacqueline Andrews.

Appointed the school's first Head of German in 1974 and then Head of Modern Languages in 1986, Alan Hutchinson retired in the summer of 2003. Commitments to the CCF and curling had gone alongside the nurturing of French and German, particularly through links with partner schools. Bill Ritchie also retired in 2003. He had become Director of Music in 1975 but had had to wait until virtually the end of his career for accommodation to be provided which matched the quality of music made in The Academy during his time at the school.

In 2003, too, Rachel Teggart retired. She had come to The Academy in 1970 as secretary to Basil Holden and had worked with every Rector since, discreet, practical and thoughtful in her support not only for the man at the top but also for every member of The Academy family. (Basil Holden himself had died in 1998.)

Other examples of loyalty to The Academy were not hard to find. The daughter of Sir Tennant Sloan honoured a long and distinguished family connection with the school by making a bequest to The Academy on her death in 1997. John McCann had been the school's handyman for 35 years when in 2000 it was decided to put maintenance on a different footing. Ken Waine refereed a rugby match at New Anniesland on his eightieth birthday in 2004, as interested in the school's sporting life then as he had been when first appointed in 1958.

Valued links with the past went hand in hand with continuing and developing traditions. The Commemoration Service was moved from June to October in 1998, but continued to be held in Glasgow Cathedral. A permanent memorial to the relationship between the Cathedral and three of the city's independent schools was unveiled by HRH the Princess Royal on 3 June 1999 in the shape of a Millennium Window, to the cost of which The Academy, Hutchesons' Grammar School and the High School of Glasgow had all contributed. John Clark, the artist, drew on the Parable of the Sower to illustrate the theme of growth, an appropriate one for the three schools to be associated with.

For a short while the Academy celebrated Christmas in Wellington Church, but links were then made with Kelvin Stevenson Memorial Church, a near neighbour in Belmont Street, and carol services began to be held there. Recognition by the school community of the part played by former pupils in two World Wars remained an important part of the annual calendar. This Act of Remembrance was just one feature of school life which was able to evolve as a result of the programme of far- reaching improvements to the school's fabric which had its beginnings in construction of the Turner Building, opened in September 1995.

Improvements were made to sports facilities - an all-weather surface was provided at Windyedge - and further steps were taken along the information superhighway when an internet connection was installed in the Senior School library early in 1996. Refurbishment of the Physics building was carried out the same year and planning also began for a radical transformation of Colebrooke Terrace. Although the school did not yet own houses 13 and 14, it was hoped that the City Council would agree to a stopping-up order which would be the first stage in incorporating a traffic-free street into a fully integrated school campus.

The ambitious aspirations of the War Memorial Trust (of which Tommy Gemmill became Secretary in 1996 and Bill Mann remained Chairman) depended for their fulfilment on funding both from an appeal, about which there was some deliberation since the school had only recently (and successfully) been asking for help in raising a substantial sum of money for East Park Home, and from annual income. A prudently managed financial regime had as its focus the building up of resources which would enable the school to offer up-to-date facilities and thus a standard of education which would continue to attract parents in a competitive environment. With that in mind, budgets were prepared with the aim of achieving year after year a surplus for re-investment in the school of between 8 and 10% of turnover.

Securing The Academy's future and its attractiveness to West of Scotland families also depended on ensuring the highest possible standards in every area of school life. Once again, the question of games began to concern the Governors and in a way which had become only too familiar to a number of his predecessors the Rector repeatedly found himself called upon to achieve higher standards and better use of facilities. Much progress was made, particularly once it was accepted that it was no longer possible to rely on there being a supply of teachers who would provide expertise in team games as well as in their academic subjects. More and more sports coaches were employed and their skills, allied with those of trained teachers from the PE department and beyond it, contributed to the continuing development of sports which had traditionally been part of the curriculum at the Academy and at Westbourne and of others which became available to senior pupils. (A notable example of a sport which established itself very firmly in the years following the merger was boys' hockey, played by pupils in S4 or above.)

Coaches and teachers were greatly assisted in their work by a committed team of groundsmen, just as teachers of practical subjects at Colebrooke Street benefited from a remarkable degree of continuity amongst the technicians, but the management of PE and Games did go through a difficult period. Rob Littlefield had joined the school in 1973 and had become Head of PE and Games in 1986. He had also contributed very significantly to outdoor education and to the CCF, becoming Officer Commanding in 1998, and he had encouraged the developed of physical education as an academic subject in which pupils could sit Standard Grade and Higher examinations. Following his departure in 1999, Physical Education and Games were eventually separated from the point of view of management, just as they had been at various other stages of the school's history and as recently as the 1960s.

One of the approaches adopted in 2002 to help improve standards was to increase senior pupils' time at Games from two periods on a Wednesday afternoon to three. The additional period was found by removing CCF from the curriculum and holding parades and training after school and during the holidays. This could only work if membership of the CCF became entirely voluntary. There was naturally some apprehension amongst Governors about the possible effect that such a move would have on an organisation which, celebrating its centenary in 2002, had been so fundamental to the school's ethos since its inception. As it turned out, the CCF flourished in its new guise, under the command of Gregor Anderson, and remained extremely popular with a strong complement of willing volunteers who participated in a wide range of activities and camps. The CCF had long been recognised as an effective opportunity for senior pupils to exercise leadership and to take on responsibility for younger ones, training and encouraging them. The Pipe Band, too, equipped with new uniforms and coached by enthusiastic instructors, achieved very high standards in performance and turn-out and was well supported by pupils, generally including several who were still too young to join the CCF itself.

The range of activities on offer beyond the classroom and the playing fields naturally varied as staff and their particular enthusiasms came and went, but some were accepted as fixtures: debating and public speaking, in particular, maintained their strength and the Gavel Club continued to meet on Friday afternoons under the guidance of Vic Hadcroft. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme had been set up within the school in 1984 and in 1988 the first Academy pupils to win the Gold Award had visited Holyrood Palace. Within little more than ten years, by 1999, the number of Gold Award winners had risen to more than one hundred. Whether as part of the Award Scheme or simply because a group of staff had organised a separate venture, Academy boys and girls were given the chance to explore the world more and more widely. Building on many years of experience in sporting and skiing trips within Europe, teachers organised, for example, a climbing expedition to the Himalayas in 1996, a Canadian skiing holiday in 1999 and a lengthy stay in Australia to develop cricketing skills in 2002. There was also an art tour to Madrid in 2000, an expedition to explore Morocco in 2001, a geography and geology trip to Iceland in 2004, a Sixth Year visit to Dubai in 2006 and much else besides.

The arrival of a visiting teacher in 1996 gave The Academy its first formal contact with Japanese culture, but it was thanks to the centenary celebrations of Fukuoka Senior High School that a link between Glasgow and Ninohe City in Japan's Iwate prefecture became firmly established. The first group from Japan visited Scotland in 1998 and three years later Academy pupils travelled to Ninohe and Tokyo.

In 2006 there took place perhaps the most adventurous of all the Academy's expeditions, one which took twelve senior pupils to East Greenland where they made the ascent of twelve peaks, including two first ascents. Amongst the many skills which the participants developed in their preparation for the expedition was the ability to deal with aggressive polar bears. None, however, was encountered. This was an expedition which highlighted in a singularly dramatic way the aspiration towards excellence and distinctiveness which characterised the school's activities outside the curriculum.

Naturally, however, academic standards continued to be of paramount importance in the eyes of Governors, teachers, parents and pupils and significant steps were taken to ensure that teaching and learning were of a consistently high standard. A system of staff appraisal was introduced with agreed targets concentrating on areas which would both assist the personal and professional development of the individual concerned and contribute to the fulfilment of objectives identified in a school development plan. Continuing professional development was achieved through a combination of external courses and training days organised in school, often on the days before pupils returned at the beginning of term. The power of praise was harnessed and pupils' good work commended by the Rector or recognised in other ways. Expectations about homework were clearly set out and communicated to parents and new planners were introduced to make it easier for younger pupils in the Senior School, particularly, to organise their work.

In September 1997 the Governors were pleased to note that external examination results continued to reflect an improving trend, particularly as far as the all-important Highers were concerned. A year later, in the face of results which turned out to be less pleasing, they expressed concern at The Academy's showing in the league tables which by now had become an established feature in the press. It was the view of the Governors that in terms of academic performance The Academy should be demonstrably third, at least, in the west of Scotland. It was recognised that the school's fixed policy of giving preference in the admission of boys and girls to children whose families had a connection with the school would inevitably lead to the enrolment of some who on academic grounds alone might not have been admitted. The Governors felt that the greater proportion of children who would find it difficult to shine in examinations was a price worth paying for the family ethos which the policy helped to promote. Increasingly the family policy meant admission of children with siblings already at the school but the tradition of Academy families enrolling generation after generation of children also continued.

It was accepted in 1998 that the disappointments of that year might prove to be a temporary setback and so it turned out. The upward trend was resumed the following summer and in 2000 the Standard Grade results proved to be the best ever recorded. The Highers were less pleasing, but this was the summer in which the Scottish Qualifications Authority experienced serious operational difficulties to do with new examination systems. Improvements continued in the ensuing years, with a determined emphasis on ensuring that pupils near the borderline between success and failure were helped to secure the best possible grade.

Ever since Roydon Richards had advocated the adoption in 1951 of Advanced Level examinations for Sixth Form boys, The Academy had offered a mixed diet, with Scottish examinations in S4 and S5 followed for the ablest by 'English' A Levels in S6. Changes to A Levels proposed in the late 1990s suggested that it would be increasingly difficult for pupils to excel in them with only the single year after Highers available for preparation. Furthermore, changes to Higher - the introduction of what became known as Higher Still - meant that those examinations led very naturally to Advanced Higher, successor to the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies which had never become established at The Academy. Heads of Department became increasingly enthusiastic about changing to an all-Scottish system, with its various components leading naturally on to one another. Understandably, Governors were wary about abandoning a characteristic of The Academy's curriculum which set it apart from other schools and was seen by some as a sign that the school was particularly well equipped to prepare pupils for entrance to English universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. In 2000, however, the decision was taken to switch to Advanced Highers and the change, once made, was quickly seen to have been appropriate and acceptable to Academy families. Girls and boys who had followed Highers with a successful S6 course were still able to proceed to competitive courses at universities both north and south of the border.

Examination results were one measure by which the school's success could be gauged. Another was to be found in the opinion of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. They had not been to the school since the 1960s and a visit had long been expected when eventually it was announced that they would be inspecting the Prep School in November 1996. They liked what they saw, praising the strong and welcoming ethos, the high expectations of pupils' behaviour, the high levels of attainment in English and mathematics, the planning of lessons, the assessment procedures and the range of extra-curricular activities. The Prep School's development planning in particular was held up as a model of good practice for others to follow. Constructive suggestions made by the Inspectors were quickly taken up and a follow-up visit went very smoothly.

Three years later, it was the Senior School's turn to be inspected. Again, the visit identified a mixture of key strengths and points for action. Strengths included the high expectations which teachers had of pupils' work, behaviour and commitment to the school. Staffing and resources were judged to be very good and comparisons made with other schools led the Inspectors to categorise pupils' performance in national examinations as also very good. They watched much good teaching - and a significant amount of very good teaching.

The Inspectors also commented on the strong ethos of the school, remarking especially on the wide range of extra-curricular activities and on the high level of individual commitment to pupils' academic and personal development on the part of staff. They did feel, however, that the system of pastoral care and the provision of learning support should be further developed, that there was room for improvement in assessment and reporting to parents and that the school's arrangements for evaluating its own performance would benefit from further attention. Although staff had for some time been using a nationally agreed framework to consider how well the school was doing in the various areas of its work, the Inspectors felt that the Senior Management Team had a larger part to play in the oversight of teaching and learning. In a school with a strong historic emphasis on the role of Head of Department it took some time before an appropriate balance emerged from discussions about monitoring and quality assurance. There was some feeling, in the aftermath of the visit, that the Inspectors had not sufficiently taken into account The Academy's entitlement, as an independent school, to do things its own way.

The Inspectors' report also stressed the importance of developing effective teamwork within the school. The Governors, too, had felt the need to encourage better communication and a sense of shared endeavour throughout the school community. Parents were kept informed as policies were revised or new ones developed. The Parents' Social Committee was re-formed in 1999 into something more akin to a discussion forum and among the topics they addressed were issues such as healthy eating, school uniform and the way in which the school approached such sensitive areas as drugs, sex and health education. They were, for example, consulted when decisions had to be made about the degree to which pupils who consulted the school nurse could be offered confidentiality.

After two years it was agreed that parents did value the chance to organise social events and a separate committee was once again organised to harness that goodwill towards the school. In 2005 a fully-fledged Parent Teachers' Association was formed. In the meantime, the parent body had become accustomed to having their views canvassed, as a series of questionnaires was devised and distributed, their findings taken into account during the forward planning process. The views of pupils, too, were gathered through School Councils which were set up within both the Prep and Senior Schools in September 1997. A 'healthy eating' initiative was started in October 1998 and three years later a radical review of catering provision was undertaken. The possibility of out-sourcing the service was considered but rejected and instead the expenditure of some £250,000 on the kitchen and dining hall was authorised in March 2003.

Changes in society and in family life were reflected in a number of ways in the organisation of The Academy and strenuous efforts were made to cater for the wishes of parents. An After School Club was started in 1997 and although numbers were at first rather disappointing the notion that the school could care for children beyond the limits of the school day rapidly became popular with families to the extent that in June 2004 an Out of School Care Manager was appointed. Activities for Prep School children were organised both before and after the school day and during school holidays. There was an increasing emphasis, too, on the importance of Nursery and Kindergarten and eventually it was decided to change the previous policy and make it clear that a child accepted into Kindergarten would automatically be offered a place in Prep 1 at the appropriate time.

At the same time as seeking to accommodate parents' wishes, the Governors did not overlook the importance of communicating effectively with the staff and working as closely as possible with them. From 1998, a series of meetings was arranged and steps were taken to explain to staff what the responsibilities of Governors were and how the Chairman and Board went about discharging them. Further negotiations began in 2000 when it became clear that a Scottish Executive review was likely to recommend far-reaching changes in teachers' conditions of employment, allied to substantial salary increases. There were elements of the national agreement eventually reached which it was difficult to translate into practice within the environment of an independent school where extra-curricular activities, for example, were an essential part of what was offered to parents and their children. Governors were anxious to ensure that distinctive and attractive features of The Academy were safeguarded at a time when parents would be expected to pay higher fees in order to fund higher salaries. New salary scales were eventually introduced which recognised a commitment by the staff as a whole to providing the rich mixture of extra-curricular activities which had characterised the school for so long and which brought such satisfaction to pupils and teachers alike. At the same time as these discussions were being held, it was also arranged that members of staff should join various Governors' committees where their advice, experience and interest would make it easier to reach effective decisions about policy and its implementation. Members of staff were also invited to contribute to discussion and planning when, in 2001, Governors decided to organise a residential weekend at which aspirations for the school, policy developments and strategic possibilities could be discussed more fully than at routine meetings of the Board or its committees. The weekend was judged valuable and similar events became an established part of the Board's procedures.

As well as paying attention to relations with parents and staff, the Board took very seriously its responsibilities for the fabric of the school, seeking to do everything possible to ensure that the environment was both attractive to prospective parents and their children and conducive to effective teaching and learning. By 1996 some of the drawbacks of the Barclays' building of 1878 were becoming all too apparent: but Historic Scotland had still to be consulted before improvements could be made to the boys' toilets. The following year it was estimated that £1 million would need to be invested in a rolling programme of refurbishment and repair to the houses in Colebrooke Terrace and to the main school building. The aim was to make them wind- and water-tight, to improve the décor and to continue the transformation of Victorian classrooms into modern teaching spaces by equipping them with better lighting, for example, and lowering the ceilings. Consideration was also given to achieving improvements in the Cargill Hall, in particular to the seating. After protracted discussions (and on the casting vote of the Chairman) it was decided in April 2000 to refurbish the seats which had been installed when the Hall was built in 1957. A concession to comfort was to be made by providing cushions for use at evening functions such as concerts and plays.

Discussions about the possibilities for far-reaching developments continued in the autumn of 1996 and the decision was taken to launch an appeal the following year. The objectives would be to fund the pedestrianisation of Colebrooke Terrace and construction of a new pavilion at New Anniesland. To this was soon added development of a new building at the end of the Terrace which would provide purpose-built accommodation for Art and for Craft and Design and, later, a project to instal an information technology hub in 9 Colebrooke Terrace and connect it to every part of the school. It was hoped to attract donations from charitable trusts and a contribution (to the Anniesland project) from the National Lottery in addition to the appeal proceeds.

By the spring of 1997 official blessing had been given to the closure of Colebrooke Terrace to all but emergency vehicles, a development which had implications for car parking and which would eventually lead to re-configuration of some of the school's playground space. Parking was provided for both staff and parents collecting children from late 1997, in anticipation of secure playground space being created when the Terrace was transformed. Pending full-scale pedestrianisation, bollards were installed at the entrance to the Terrace. Construction of the new Art building had implications for the management of stage productions, since the backstage space which had previously housed green rooms and toilets would be needed for the new development. These were relatively minor considerations given the overall scope of the developments which were planned, developments for which an appeal target of £1.75 million was agreed in September 1997, the school itself contributing £500,000 from reserves which prudent financial management had made available. It was hoped that parents would be the major benefactors in making the new developments possible. Any approach to former pupils would be delayed until parents had made their contributions.

It had been recognised during the autumn of 1996 that a changing political situation might lead to the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme which had enabled a number of families to send their children to The Academy who would not have been able to do so without such assistance. A General Election the following year did indeed lead to the scheme's abolition. What could have been a serious setback to the school's aim of attracting as wide a range as possible of young people who would benefit from the sort of opportunities which The Academy could offer was avoided thanks to the generosity of a former pupil, whose very substantial bequest to the school was made public at the beginning of 1998.

Robert Alexander McMillan had been a pupil at The Academy between 1928 and 1934. His family had a coal mine at Lesmahagow and until the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947 Robert was a member of the family firm. Then, at a time when land prices were low, he went into farming in Galloway where he remained until his death in 1978. His trustees invested the proceeds of selling the farm at a time when the stock market was low and as a result his testamentary trust grew considerably so that on his widow's death in 1998 it was possible to distribute significant legacies to many charities and to two schools in particular. The High School of Glasgow benefited from the will of Edith McMillan and The Academy received from Robert McMillan's Trust the sum of £2.5 million. It was agreed that a small proportion of this would be allocated to construction of the new Design Centre, on which the Governors bestowed Robert McMillan's name, but the bulk of the bequest was to be invested and the proceeds used to fund bursaries and scholarships. An Investment Committee was established by the Governors to manage the very considerable sum of money which was now available to make access to The Academy easier for a wider cross-section of prospective pupils. Determined efforts were made, through the award of scholarships publicised as extensively as possible, to attract academically promising young people into the first year of the Senior School. Interest in these scholarships was not always as keen as the school might have wished, despite extensive advertising and a letter at one stage sent to all primary school head teachers in the school's extended catchment area. In 2000, however, the Board decided against a switch in emphasis which would have resulted in less money being set aside for scholarships awarded purely on academic merit and more being spent on means-tested bursaries

In the meantime, the school's own appeal continued, attracting some sizeable gifts but not at first as many donations from current parents as had been hoped for. A video was produced to stimulate interest in the four projects which would benefit and towards the end of 1998 members of the War Memorial Trust were each sent a copy of the fund-raising brochure. By the end of August 1999 the appeal had raised just £30,000 short of its target and at Prize-giving the following year the Chairman declared the target to have been met.

The environment of the school, both physical and educational, was transformed by the projects which the appeal made possible. They were officially unveiled by Sir Iain Vallance, the Academical Chairman of British Telecom, during a ceremony on 2 October 1998.

The McMillan Design Centre offered fine facilities for much of the work in Art and Craft and Design undertaken from Transitus upwards, though some Craft and all the outstanding S6 Art work continued to be done across the road on the ground floor of House 9, with accommodation for ceramics in the basement.

Upstairs in House 9 two very large computing classrooms ran from front to back and there was a base for the computing network which had begun to connect the school together. There would soon be a computer on the teacher's desk in each classroom and laboratory. Others were installed in the library. Staff could communicate with one another and with the outside world by e-mail and everyone had free, though controlled, access to the internet. The pace of change was remarkable. It was less than twenty years since the first stand-alone computer had been purchased and less than three years since pupils had first had access to the internet in the library. There had been no real need for an information and communications technology budget in 1996: by 2001 some £150,000 was being channelled towards ICT each year.

Both the ICT Centre and the McMillan Building looked out over a Colebrooke Terrace which had been transformed from a suburban street lined with cars to an attractively paved area complete with shrubs and trees, a secure environment in which the youngest children could play and which unified two areas of the school which, though only yards apart, had sometimes seemed to be separated by a gulf wider than the street. The finishing touches to the pedestrianisation were delayed a little, but by the summer of 1999 gates had been installed which enhanced both the security and the attractiveness of what was increasingly being referred to as the school 'campus'.

Hopes had been high when the appeal was launched that by the summer of 1999 there would also have been a new pavilion at the Academical Club ground. In September 1998, however, an approach was made to the Academical Club which, had it come to fruition, would have resulted in development of part of the site by a health club. In the light of that and the delays which it introduced, the Governors' planning for what might be achieved at Anniesland turned away from major expenditure on the existing pavilion towards the provision of useful new facilities along the road at Windyedge. Whilst there would still be some expenditure at New Anniesland, to keep faith with those who had contributed to the appeal in the belief that the pavilion would benefit, the bulk of the funds available would be enough to provide a new pavilion and groundsman's house, three tennis courts and a small all- weather pitch at Windyedge. By the end of 2000 this work had been done and the appeal projects were completed. Eventually, development of a different sort was undertaken at New Anniesland, where in 2002 two of the squash courts were leased and converted into a privately-run nursery, a welcome source of income for the Academical Club.

Although the appeal was complete, development of the school's facilities did not come to a standstill. A surplus for re-investment continued to be earned each year and attention turned to provision for the Sixth Year. A rudimentary common room had been provided for members of S6 in the basement of the English Department, but it was unsatisfactorily cramped and remote from the rest of the school. At the beginning of 1999 the idea emerged of taking the rooms across the south side of the first floor - the former Writing Room and more recently L and LL - and using their length and height to create a two-storey Sixth Form centre. Within this space it proved possible to create, on the ground floor, a large S6 common room, an Assistant Rector's office, another small office and a careers library. Upstairs, on the mezzanine floor, there was a study area, a classroom and a further social area. The facilities were officially opened on 6 December 2000 by Mrs Judith Sischy, Director of the Scottish Council for Independent Schools. Not long after the S6 Centre was opened, in 2002, Andrew Jeffreys moved on from The Academy and was succeeded as Assistant Rector by Andrew Evans. His place as Head of Mathematics was taken by Linda Moon.

At the same time as facilities for the most senior pupils were being improved, attention also turned to the other end of the school's age range. Atholl Prep School had been started in Milngavie in 1925. Six years later it had moved to a purpose- built site on the edge of Barloch Moor and there it had remained. From the outset there had been a connection with The Academy: of the original six pupils in 1925, two were boys and both went on to The Academy, starting a tradition which had continued uninterrupted. It was a connection wholeheartedly endorsed by Janice Donaldson, who had become Head of Atholl in 1993, and who saw more clearly defined links with The Academy as a way of securing the future of a school which had developed a very particular ethos of its own. From The Academy's point of view, formalising links with Atholl would help to secure an intake of pupils to Prep 5 at Colebrooke Street. In June 1999, therefore, it was agreed that Atholl should become a fully integrated part of The Academy, catering for pupils up to the end of Prep 4. Plans were already in hand for the improvement of facilities in Milngavie and two early projects were a new classroom wing, opened in September 1999, and pre-five accommodation, opened just over a year later. Developments continued and by the time Janice Donaldson retired in 2006 a new Hall had also been opened, which made many activities - PE, for example - a good deal easier to organise.

Negotiations for the purchase of the two remaining houses in Colebrooke Terrace continued and in September 2000 Governors also began to discuss possibilities around the plot of land in Belmont Street which lay behind those properties. It was hoped at the very least to lease this ground from the City Council. In the spring of 2001 the house adjoining that land, 48 Belmont Street, became available and was acquired. All this was done in recognition of the fact that the school's tightly circumscribed site made it very difficult to plan significant new developments and opportunities had to be taken to extend the boundaries of the Trust's properties whenever possible. The increasing demands which a more and more complex campus were making was reflected not only in the appointment of an extra janitor in 2001 but also in discussions at about the same time which led to a re-organisation of responsibilities within the Trust Office, so that financial oversight was separated from property management and handled by a Treasurer. The Head Janitor had for a while been designated Property Services Manager but quickly resumed his historic title and handed some of the additional duties back to the Bursar who was now to be known as the Director of Administration.

A serious accident suffered by a pupil during a holiday activity organised by The Academy led to an increasing emphasis in the new millennium on health and safety procedures. These put the school at the forefront in what was emerging as a very significant area of concern for those with responsibility for young people. Extra- curricular activities and games continued to flourish, however, and the new culture of risk assessments was quickly assimilated by staff who continued to value the opportunities to work with young people away from the school environment.

Horizons were also widened with the inauguration of a series of lectures for Sixth Year pupils, their parents and other friends of the school. The lectures honoured the memory of Hamish Dallachy whose connection with The Academy had begun in 1916 and who for thirty six years had been Secretary and Treasurer to the Trust. The first was given by Sir Jeremy Isaacs in October 2002. Increasingly, Academy pupils also devoted their energies to charity fund-raising and organisations such as Comic Relief, Children First and Hope and Homes for Children benefited from an ever more imaginative range of activities - a Slave Auction in which S6 pupils were 'sold' to younger children for the day was first held in April 2001, for example, and soon became a regular fixture in the calendar.

All these activities and developments helped to keep interest in The Academy strong and demand for places healthy despite changing financial and demographic circumstances which did lead to changes amongst West of Scotland schools. Early in January 2001 it was announced that Laurel Park School, a near neighbour of The Academy in the West End and the product of a merger between Laurel Bank and Park Schools, was to be amalgamated with Hutchesons' Grammar School. The move was not popular with all Laurel Park parents and one result was a significant increase in applications for places at a number of schools, including The Academy.

The Laurel Park experience perhaps reinforced in Governors' minds the need to plan very carefully for the five or ten years ahead. In 2001, mention began to be made of establishing a presence on the south side of the city, reinforcing the position which The Academy had established for itself as a school for the whole of Glasgow. At the same time, planning was under way to celebrate 125 years at Colebrooke Street, where there had long been a range of convenient transport links making possible for pupils to travel from all parts. Here, too, opportunities for improvement continued to be sought out. The possibility was investigated of building a new classroom block on the footprint of the Sports Hall changing rooms, which would be relocated on the one significant but awkward plot of grass remaining on the site, tucked away behind the Sports Hall and Turner Building.

Along Great Western Road at Anniesland, plans to develop ground at Windyedge did not reach maturity but the change in ownership of Laurel Park School and its accommodation did offer intriguing possibilities: amongst the resources acquired by Hutchesons' were playing fields and a recently-built Sports Hall close to Windyedge. Whilst improvements were made to the pavilion at The Academy's School Ground in 2002, the situation at the Laurel Park ground was kept under review. By the spring of 2003 the ground had been offered for sale and a venture to acquire it jointly by The Academy and Jordanhill School had been floated: but it was February 2005 before an arrangement was finalised which gave The Academy another all-weather pitch and Jordanhill the Sports Hall - which The Academy also used, for example to accommodate squash. The area became known as Lower Windyedge.

Sport remained a crucial and often successful feature of The Academy - the First XI were Scottish Schoolgirls Hockey Champions for three years in a row from 2004. A traditional way of recognising excellence in sport had long been the award of colours, but in recognition of the commitment often demonstrated by senior pupils to an activity - music or drama or debating, for example - which had not previously qualified them for colours a new system was devised during session 2001/2002 and evolved in the following years. The familiar initials and dates were replaced by a blazer pocket on which was embroidered in all its colourful splendour the 'official' heraldic Academy crest. In this way it was hoped to recognise through the award of 'Academy colours' pupils' contributions to a whole range of activities which enriched the life of the school as well as regular selection for the Academy's senior teams.

It was increasingly important for The Academy to communicate effectively with parents, prospective parents and former pupils. The school's website and an annual handbook of information for parents were gradually improved and steps were taken to update the database of former pupils. Particular efforts were invested in making it clear to parents that their children would benefit from a Sixth Year spent at The Academy. Paradoxically, success in Highers taking during S5 meant that in terms of progress to university courses of their choice many pupils had no pressing need for the academic qualifications with which a Sixth Year would equip them. Whilst courses at Advanced Higher and Higher remained at the heart of S6, increasing stress was laid on the opportunities which S6 offered for young people to exercise leadership and responsibility, commit themselves to service and explore new areas of interest in the classroom. Distance learning opportunities were exploited and links forged with the University of Glasgow so that enthusiastic S6 pupils could attend undergraduate courses in subjects which the school was unable to provide. The possibility that members of S6 might wear no uniform or a modified uniform was firmly rejected but the trip to Dubai in 2006 was one result of a deliberate attempt to distinguish S6 from the rest of the school. A shade less adventurous but nevertheless extremely successful was a residential visit to the Lake District just before the beginning of each new session from 2005 onwards which developed a whole range of skills within the young people coming to the end of their school careers and preparing for the transition to university.

Those who left the school were, of course, replaced by younger pupils joining the Prep School. The once traditional intake into Prep 5 had fallen away substantially with the demise of the feeder schools which had once educated children for the Prep 1 to Prep 4 years. It was all the more important, therefore, to ensure that what the Prep School was offering, particularly in the early years, was as attractive to parents as possible and plans continued to be nurtured for a substantial development. In September 2002 agreement was reached to lease the Belmont Street land and efforts were redoubled to acquire the two remaining houses in Colebrooke Terrace. The 125th anniversary of The Academy's move to Kelvinbridge was marked in 2003 by burying a time capsule in the Terrace - and by playing a rugby match against Kelvinside Academy, also 125 years old, with players in Victorian garb, the laws of those days in force and a leather ball of the sort remembered more or less fondly by many whose memories did not stretch back as far as 1878.

In the same year 13 Colebrooke Terrace did become available to the school and by the following spring the purchase of No 14 which followed brought about completion of a process started in February 1925 when the Governors of the recently founded War Memorial Trust had bought No 1. It had taken almost eighty years, but the entire street was now in the hands of the school. The prospect of being able to develop a sizeable parcel of land fronting Belmont Street, the river Kelvin and Colebrooke Terrace was an exciting one and a big vision began to take shape. The proposed classroom block was set aside in favour of planning an entirely new Preparatory School and efforts were made to buy the leased Belmont Street ground.

In a parallel development, at the beginning of 2004 an approach was made to the directors of Dairsie House School which led to detailed examination of the benefits for The Academy of acquiring the share capital of the school. In January 2005 the Governors agreed that a formal offer to purchase should be made to the shareholders of Dairsie and matters quickly proceeded to a successful conclusion. Dairsie joined Atholl in becoming a feeder school for The Academy, educating young people until the end of Prep 4 when they would automatically transfer to Kelvinbridge. Shona McKnight, who had been at Dairsie since 1985, remained as Headmistress.

Dairsie actually celebrated its ninetieth birthday later in 2005. Established as the Cathcart and Newlands Private School, in 1971 it had taken the name of the large house in Newlands Road in which its pupils were taught. The thoughts of parents whose children went to Dairsie had not always turned to The Academy when it came to considering the next stage in their education but this second Prep School merger did give The Academy the south side presence to which it had aspired. Like Atholl, Dairsie preserved much of its own ethos as part of the larger school, though schemes of work and educational approaches were gradually harmonised. A substantial sum was also invested in upgrading the building and the playground at Dairsie.

Hand in hand with these educational steps forward went other developments. No longer did the school consist solely of some buildings at Kelvinbridge and playing fields at Anniesland. With three separate school sites, four playing areas at Anniesland, children being catered for before and after school and during the holidays and an ever-growing raft of legislation and regulation to absorb and implement, The Academy had become a large and complex organisation. In March 2003 the decision was taken to create the post of General Manager, with management responsibility under the Rector for all the non-academic work of the school, and Bill Kerr took up the position in June.

It was quickly decided that all administrative work should be centralised and a re- modelling of much of the ground floor of the main building was planned. Much had changed by the time all the work was completed in 2004. Room A, once the domain of William Melven who had taught Hamish Dallachy, was sub-divided. The Rector had a working office there, next to his Secretary. The room in which the Rector had once done all his work was returned to its original size, the bookcase commemorating Donald Morrison was moved, and a very spacious room was created which gave the Rector space in which to meet people away from administrative paraphernalia which could be confined to his office. Across the entrance hall, what had latterly been the school office became a welcoming reception area. It opened out into what had been Room B but was now an open- plan Administration Centre where financial and secretarial staff worked together. This in turn opened into half of what had been Room C, the classroom newly created by Roydon Richards in 1936 and more recently the Deputy Rector's room. Half was now the office of the General Manager and the Deputy Rector remained in what was left.

The creation of another new post was foreshadowed when in May 2003 a group of Governors travelled to Edinburgh to visit the Development Office established by George Watson's College with aims which included improved communication with former pupils. Relationships with Academicals and the Academical Club were regarded by the Governors as very important and much was being doing to cater for their interests. Responsibility for maintenance and repair at new Anniesland had been taken over by the school, for example, and the possibility had been aired of producing a joint newsletter with news from both the school and the Club. The databases of both organisations were merged towards the end of 2003 and early the following year the appointment of a Development Director was being mooted. By the beginning of 2006 Malcolm McNaught was doing a good deal of work in connection with admissions and with former pupils, alongside his teaching in the English Department, and in September of that year he became full-time Development Director. The new termly publication Etcetera was launched that autumn, running alongside the Chronicle and Newslines and a programme of regular giving was being planned.

There were, naturally, other staff changes. In 2003 Joan Deane retired as Deputy Head of the Prep School and a year later Maggie Price left her position as Head of English and was succeeded by Arlene Watters. In 2005 two very long-serving science teachers retired. Ian Shirley had been appointed in 1974 as the school's first Head of Biology and Peter Armit had come to teach Chemistry two years later. The following year Jean Mabon came to the end of her twenty-five years' service on the staff of the Prep School. The Very Revd Dr William Morris preached at the Commemoration Service in October 2005 before retiring as Chaplain, his place taken by a group of Academical ministers and the school's parish minister from Kelvin Stevenson Memorial Church.

In 2007, Helen Fortune retired. Appointed as headmistress of the Prep School in 1990 she had seen many changes, including co-education, the development of learning support and the introduction of classroom assistants. Latterly she had argued persuasively in favour not only of new Prep School accommodation but also of a new management structure for the greatly enlarged Prep School. Her successor, Tony Brooke, had a Deputy and four Assistant Heads, including the Heads of Atholl and Dairsie.

Bill Mann had become Chairman of the War Memorial Trust in 1990 and since 1997 had regularly suggested that he should retire. On each occasion he had been prevailed upon to remain but in November 2003 he was quite firm in his resolve that at the Annual General Meeting of 2004 he would step down. After twenty-one years on the Board, fourteen of them as Chairman, that is what he did, leaving behind him a legacy of keen interest in every aspect of school life and acute financial management which had enabled very substantial sums to be invested in safeguarding the future of the school. Bill Mann's successor was Gordon Jack, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, who had been a member of the Board since 2001.

David Comins announced in June 2004 that it was his intention to retire the following summer and in November his successor was appointed. Peter Brodie would come to The Academy as the school's ninth Rector after experience as a Housemaster at King's School, Canterbury.

David Comins' final year, however, was as much a year of looking forward as any had been since he took up his post in 1994. Initiatives continued to crowd in - there was a new emphasis on promoting positive behaviour, for example, and on catering for young people's different learning styles - and new teaching methods led to ever- increasing budgetary demands. Where once there had been blackboards, then whiteboards, then overhead projectors, now there must be interactive white boards and data projectors. Examination results continued to improve and when Peter Brodie arrived it was to be greeted by the best Higher and Advanced Higher results The Academy had ever secured. The highest achievers were rewarded for their academic success by being appointed Honorary Scholars. The all-round support which a school needed to offer its developing young people became a still more important priority and amongst the new Rector's first initiatives was a radical restructuring and improvement of the pastoral system. This was intended to allow each pupil to develop, within a more fully fledged house system, a continuing and supportive relationship with a member of staff who would remain his or her tutor all the way through the Senior School.

Bricks and mortar mattered too and planning for a new Prep School continued. By March 2005 an exciting model of what was proposed was available for all to see and, following successful purchase of the Belmont Street land during the summer, tenders were sought for construction of the new building and contractors appointed. On a difficult site construction took a little longer than anticipated but it was in daily use long before its official opening by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard on 24 September 2008. The new building offers space and versatility over three floors. Classrooms overlook the river Kelvin and associated with each group of rooms is a 'break-out' area which can be used by smaller groups, away from the rest of the class. There is a library, a meeting room, a staff room, a large Hall and accommodation for children still at the pre-school stage. A roof terrace is capped by a distinctive design feature in the form of a sail-like canopy.

The Prep School is a confident statement in the future of The Academy, but it is not the last word. Once vacated, the Colebrooke Terrace accommodation was refurbished for a variety of uses; new initiatives continued within the curriculum and beyond it, with Spanish and rowing just two introductions; strong demand pointed to the creation of an extra Prep 1 class which would eventually work its way right through the school; the work of the External Relations department grew and grew; and there can be little doubt that by the time the next chapter is written in the history of The Academy another striking new building will be making possible yet more opportunities for exciting teaching and learning.