Shawlands Academy
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| Established | 1894 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non denominational, State school |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Head Teacher | Mrs Ann Grant |
| Teaching staff | 87 |
| Students | 1,250 |
| Location | Moss Side Road, Glasgow, G41 3TR, Scotland |
| Website | http://www.shawlandsacademy.glasgow.sch.uk |
Shawlands Academy is a non-denominational Secondary school on the southside of Glasgow, Scotland. It has a roll of approx 1,250 pupils and 90 teachers.
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[edit] History and features
Shawlands Academy has recently undergone and extensive renovation with one of its most prominent features the brand new sports hall. It is built beside the Mathematics building, offering students more space and classrooms to carry out their P.E. time more effectively.
The school takes immense pride in the multicultural student population leading to the senior staff dubbing the school 'The Greatest Show on Earth'. At present there are over 40 languages spoken by the school's students. The Bilingual Unit helps those not proficient in English lead an education albeit separate from the general population.
Ann Grant is the Head Teacher who was appointed in June 2007 and joined the school in September 2007.
[edit] Charity Committee
The school's Charity Committee was founded in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Money was originally raised through class collections and small collections at school events. The committee's first large event was a curry and ceilidh night and money raised from this went directly to small charities in communities which were affected by the tsunami. The committee has held subsequent events, both small and large scale. As of Christmas 2006, after just two years, the committee had raised roughly £10,000.
[edit] Sports Teams
Shawlands Academy plays host to a great many sports teams and clubs which offer students extracurricular activity, all within the school premises. However, the school cannot take pride in the teams' notoriously bad performances throughout the years with perhaps the worst performing team being the football team. For years it had continually sat bottom in the leagues in which it has participated. Presently the schools football teams are doing pretty well, the Under 16s even have a great utility player who currently plays with Aberdeen, Christian Kisuka. However, the school does have a history of success with its cricket team, producing a number of junior representative players and winning the Glasgow Schools Junior and Senior titles on a number of occasions.
[edit] Pluralism
Shawlands is noted for its pluralism. In the 1960s, the school had a particularly high concentration of Jewish pupils, and was consequently one of the few state schools in Scotland to offer Hebrew as a curriculum subject. Today its multi-cultural character is striking. According to a survey in 2006, over 57 languages are spoken in the playground.[1]
[edit] Alumni
Shawlands Alumni include:
- Idnaan Hanif, actor
- Ghazal Asif, contestant on the 2007 series of BBC1's The Apprentice.
- Ivor Cutler, comedian (1923-2006)
- John Martyn, musician
- Flt Lt AA McKellar DFC* DSO, RAF Pilot. One of the top ten pilots, Mckellar shot down 14 enemy planes in his Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of Britain
- Robert Millar, former professional road cyclist who was Britain's most successful rider in the Tour de France ever.[citation needed]
- Jack Milroy, Comedian
- Alex Norton, actor
- Jerry Sadowitz, comedian, magician
- Robert McIlroy, Footballer (Kilmarnock FC)
Perhaps the most infamous alumnus is Ian Brady, who carried out the Moors Murders with Myra Hindley in the 1960s.[2]
