Everything about Aberdeen Grammar School totally explained
Aberdeen Grammar School, known to students as
The Grammar or
AGS, is a
state secondary school in the City of
Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of twelve secondary schools run by the
Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest in the city and one of the oldest
grammar schools in the
United Kingdom, with a history spanning 750 years. There are three
houses in the school—Byron, Melvin and Keith-Dunn—who compete frequently in different inter-house sporting events. Originally on Schoolhill, near the site of the current Robert Gordon's College, the curriculum consisted of Latin, Greek and ancient geography. In 1612, the pupils, many of whom were related to the
gentry in the country, rioted with
pistols and
hagbuts, and took over part of the school. The masters got involved and stopped the riot, and 21 pupils were
expelled, while some were arrested.
From 1861–1863, the school moved to its current location on Skene Street. A large granite building in
Scottish baronial style was constructed and officially opened on
23 October 1863. This allowed expansion of the curriculum to include English, mathematics, modern languages, art and gymnastics. Other buildings and extensions have been added to the 1863 building since it was built. These include the Modern Language Block (originally a
primary school) and the 1960s modern design: west-wing science block, theatre and the dining hall. Originally a fee-paying boys' school it became a council grammar school and then a comprehensive
academy in 1970. It became co-educational after the summer of 1973 when girls were first admitted.
In 1986, the original building was devastated by a
fire, destroying most of the rooms including the large library, a collection of Byron's notebooks, the trophy room and other classrooms, although the historic
façade was mostly undamaged. The school was rebuilt over many years, with modern facilities, while pupils studied in temporary classrooms in the playground. These
Portakabins were used by the English and Art Departments.
The school and FPs club own the 18 acre
Rubislaw Playing Fields at a site about a mile away from the main school building.
The school marked its 750th anniversary year in 2007 with a series of fund-raising events, the proceeds of which went towards buying a new school
minibus. Also in 2007, work was completed on a new
gymnasium, after beginning two years previous. The new building is a stark contrast to the remainder of the school, as it has a modern interior compared with the old granite.
The motto is
Bon Record. This isn't to be confused with that of the City of Aberdeen—
Bon Accord—which was first heard of in 1308, over 50 years after the school was founded.
Present day
Today the school is run by
Aberdeen City Council in accordance with the
Scottish Executive's educational guidelines for
state schools. In the 1998–99
academic year, the education of each pupil at the Grammar School specifically cost
£2,690.
This is however much less than today, when Aberdeen City Council spent an average of £5,834 per secondary school pupil as a whole in its authority during the 2005–2006 session.
Subjects and qualifications
The curriculum is much the same as used for the rest of the Scottish state secondary schools, and provides for a wide range of subjects. Pupils are presented for
Standard Grade,
Intermediate 1 and
Intermediate 2,
Higher and
Advanced Higher examinations through the
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). An emphasis is on the more traditional subjects such as
mathematics,
English and
modern languages.
French and
German are taught at the school, but
Spanish was discontinued in 2006 due to shortage of staff. Also taught are subject areas such as
craft,
design and
technology,
business studies and the social subjects –
modern studies,
history and
geography.
To conform to government health and fitness regimes, each year must spend one afternoon per week at the Rubislaw Playing Fields with their year. This isn't an optional area of the course, until the sixth and final year. However, in this year it can be selected as an additional subject which isn't in any columns on the choice form.
Pupils and catchment area
About 1160 attend the school each year, between the ages of about 11 to 18. The school's catchment area centres around the west-end of the city, including Rosemount and Mannofield. There are five main primary schools that feed into the school, located throughout the centre and west-end of Aberdeen:
Ashley Road Primary School,
Gilcomstoun Primary School,
Mile-End School,
Skene Square Primary School and
St. Joseph's Primary School (a
Roman Catholic faith school). There is a strong link to the former pupils club, who provide extra coaching on some games afternoons and with whom many pupils continue to play for once they leave school. The school has several successful teams, including football, hockey and rugby sides, and in basketball the school has a strong team linked to the former pupils Greywolves team. There is also representation in golf, swimming, badminton, tennis and netball.
A yearly school musical is performed by the
Face the Music society; recent performances include
Grease,
Annie Get Your Gun and
Snork – a locally written musical. A solely pupil-run theatre group performs each year as part of the
Pied Piper society.
The school has a large and active Former Pupils' Club, which has members all over the world and a clubhouse at Queens Road opposite the extensive Rubislaw Playing Fields. The club is home to the largest selection of sports clubs in Aberdeen. These include the Scottish Premier Division rugby team and the
Aberdeen GSFP RFC, who play at Rubislaw Playing Fields.
Hector Munro Macdonald, Scottish mathematician and Fellow of the Royal Society in 1901, of Edinburgh in 1905 and was awarded the Royal Society Royal Medal in 1916.
Robin Cook, former cabinet member and Secretary of State, now deceased.
Alexander Cruden, theologian, author of Cruden's Bible Concordance.
David Masson, Scottish writer.
Eric Grove, Professor of Naval History, University of Salford
David West, Scottish watercolour painter.
Steve Robertson of "Scotland the What?"
Russell Anderson, Scotland international footballer, former captain of Aberdeen FC and now signed to Sunderland FC.
Kyle Coetzer, Scottish Cricketer.
Andrew Cruickshank, Film and television actor.
David Wedderburn (teacher), wrote Vocabula in 1636.
Andrew J. Milne, Moderator of the General Assembly, 1905.
James Fraser McLuskey, Moderator of the General Assembly, 1983.
David William Lacy, Moderator of the General Assembly, 2005.
James Legge, first Professor of Chinese at Oxford University.
David Gregory, Professor of Mathematics at University of Edinburgh, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University. Commentator on Isaac Newton's Principia.
William Robinson Clark, Dean of Taunton and Prebendary of Wells and Professor of Theology, mental and moral philosophy at University of Toronto, Canada.
Sir James Donaldson, former Principal of University of St Andrews, Professor of Humanity at University of Aberdeen, Rector of both Stirling High School and Royal High School of Edinburgh.
James Beattie, Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic at University of Aberdeen, Marischal College.
Craig Clunas, Professor of Art History at University of Sussex, SOAS and Oxford University.
