Kirkcudbright Academy

There is no definitive date for the founding of the Grammar School that, over time, evolved into today's Kirkcudbright Academy. It is possible that the Grammar School owes its origin to the Church of Scotland's 1560 First Book of Discipline that set out a plan for a school in every parish in Scotland. This plan was not universally successful due to financial limitations but it did result in the creation of some grammar schools in the following years. However, the Grammar School may even have existed in some form prior to this date as there were also cases of pre-existing schools being turned into reformed grammar schools by this initiative. The earliest actual evidence of its existence are Council Records show that the Grammar School was already a going concern on 6 June 1582 by stating that the Magistrates and Council "appoint William Turner, schoolmaster, to teach the grammar school, with salary of 50 merks, to be paid quarterly - viz., Candlemas, Beltane, Lammas, and Hallowe'en - and they to find him a sufficient schoolhouse, mail free."

The Grammar School stood on the grounds of St. Andrew's Church, the site of the present Roman Catholic Church, which was given to the burgh by Sir Thomas M'Lellan (the Provost) for the Freres Kirk and orchards, on which site he built his castle, the present ruin.

The school at this time was supported by a combination of kirk funds, contributions from the burgh council and charging parents fees. The contributions of the burgh council were chiefly derived from the common good — that is, the common property of the burgh — consisting of lands, houses, mills, fishings, feu-duties, customs, feudal casualties, entry-money of burgesses, fines, and casualties. A couple of examples from the Burgh Records of Kirkcudbright show that in 1696 the tacksman of the "ladle" was ordered to pay to the schoolmaster £15, 2s. 4d., which shall be allowed to him in the ' fore-end of his rent (effectively the Ferryman had to pay £15+ a year for the ferry concession) and in 1696 the schoolmaster of Kirkcudbright received £7 as part of his harvest salary from a fine imposed for "blood and battery".

Another, not inconsiderable, source of master's emoluments was the proceeds of cockfighting, which was common in all Scottish Burgh schools on Shrove Tuesday—Pastern's E'en. Pupils had to pay a small contribution which was called cock-money. In the Council Records of 1693, the council of Kirkcudbright ordained that the doctor in the grammar school should have the "cock-money at fastern even, conform to use and wont."

Education was focussed on the classics but it is possible that other subjects such as French and catechism were taught. It is recorded that pupils, many of whom were boarders, came from a much wider area of Scotland and England with records of a concentration coming from Liverpool and its surrounding areas.

In 1815, the Grammar School amalgamated with two other schools, the English School and the Commercial School to form the Academy of Kirkcudbright. This consolidated school needed more accommodation and so it moved to a new building on the current site in 1818 which had been constructed at a cost of £1129. The accommodation initially consisted of three large class rooms entered from a spacious porch. The Academy also had about an acre of ground belonging to it for the use of the scholars. The site of the building, with the ground was presented to the Burgh by the Earl of Selkirk.

An interesting insight into education in the newly formed Academy in 1843 was provided by the Church of Scotland's New Statistical Account of Scotland which provided a review of every Scottish Parish. It reports that "The Grammar, the Commercial, and the English schools, are united, and form the Academy of Kirkcudbright. This institution is under the patronage of the magistrates and town-council, and the salaries of the masters are paid by the burgh. There are nearly 200 pupils constantly attending the academy, and the fees for one branch of education vary from 2s. to 7s. 6d. per quarter. In the classical departments are taught Latin, Greek, and French, with ancient geography, &c. Attached to the grammar school is a library consisting of between 300 and 400 volumes of useful literature. It was instituted by the present master in 1837. The teacher of the grammar school is allowed a yearly salary of L.50; and he realizes by fees about L.60. In the commercial department are taught mathematics, navigation, geography, book-keeping, arithmetic, writing, &c. The teacher receives a salary of L.50; and his annual fees amount to about L.90. The master of the English school has a yearly salary of L.40; and his fees on an average amount to L.60. In this class are taught history, geography, composition, and the principles of the English language. The Academy of Kirkcudbright has long maintained a high reputation."

With the passing of the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, the Academy came under the management of the newly created Kirkcudbright School Board. This Act brought in compulsory education for all children between 5 and 13 in Scotland although fees still had to be paid until 1890.

By 1882, Kirkcudbright Academy had 6 teachers and a school roll of about 160 pupils, with numbers split between Primary and Secondary. The Secondary part was still divided into the 3 departments but they were now known as the Department of Ancient and Modern languages, the Commercial and Mathematical Department and the English Department.

The next 2 major developments occurred in 1901: the first was the minimum school leaving age was raised to 14; the second resulted from the Kirkcudbright School Board's decision to raise the Academy to the rank of a secondary school. In order to achieve this the school needed to create science and art departments so during 1901 an entire reconstruction of the school was carried out to provide those departments with properly equipped accommodation. The main building, built of whinstone, and dressed red sandstone, was designed by Alan B Crombie, and was built in 1901, incorporating the earlier school built in 1818. Further extensive reconstruction of the main building was carried out in 1926.

The Cochran Hall, designed by W.A. McKinnel was built in 1931 as a result of a donation by Thomas Cochran of New York in memory of his Kirkcudbright ancestors.

By the mid 1950s the school buildings were severely overcrowded and pressure on classroom space had been relieved by the construction of temporary buildings. These were replaced in 1958 by a major extension.

Pupil numbers peaked in 1981 when the closure of Gatehouse Secondary School resulted in the Academy having over 800 secondary pupils together with 52 members of teaching staff in 17 subject departments. Since then pupil numbers have steadily declined despite a higher percentage of pupils completing 6 years of education at the Academy. This reduction is due to a combination of an aging population reducing the number of school age children in the Kirkcudbright area together with the upgrade of the other surrounding schools; Castle Douglas High School and Dalbeattie High School, meaning that pupils from those catchment areas no longer need attend Kirkcudbright Academy to study for their Highers.

• Jennie Adamson was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. She sat in the House of Commons from 1938 to 1946, and served as a junior minister in Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government.
• Samual Anderson first settler in Westernport, Victoria
• John Brown of Wamphray, an exiled minister of the Church of Scotland, was the most important Scottish theologian of the period known as the Killing Time (1660–1688). He was one of the strongest defenders of the Covenanter cause. Among many books he wrote while residing in Holland, Brown's magnum opus is his De Causa Dei contra Antisabbatarios (2 volumes 4to, Rotterdam, 1674, 1676). Brown's life is detailed in Thomas Lockerby's book "A Sketch of the Life of the Rev. John Brown, Sometime Minister ... in Wamphray: With Notes and a Historical Appendix"
• Katrina Bryan, actress
• Malcolm Caldwell, (1931-1978) academic and Marxist writer, twice chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Caldwell was murdered, under mysterious circumstances, a few hours after meeting Pol Pot in Cambodia. Was Dux of the Academy in 1949.
• Finlay Carson, Scottish Conservative Party MSP for the Galloway and West Dumfries constituency[4]
• Robert Carson, leading expert on Roman coins, and Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum from 1978 to 1983[5]
• John Corrie, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party politician, former MP & MEP
• David Coulthard, former Formula One racing driver[6]
• James Craik was Physician General (precursor of the Surgeon General) of the United States Army, and George Washington's personal physician and close friend.
• John Duncan, Adventurer, explorer and author
• John Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine of Rerrick, banker, Governor of Northern Ireland[7]
• Dr Maxwell Garthshore, Scottish physician who practiced as an Accoucheur and was a Fellow of the Royal Society
• Bazil Gordon, tobacco merchant who by the time of his death was believed to be America's richest man and its first ever millionaire
• Thomas Gordon, Scottish writer and Commonwealth man
• Sir Robin Gray, former MP and 23rd Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
• William Greggan, Olympian who won a silver medal as a member of the Liverpool Police team in the Tug of war at the 1908 Summer Olympics
• George Henry, Glasgow Boys Artist
• Edward Atkinson Hornel, painter
• Innes Ireland, former Formula One racing driver. Winner of the 1961 United States Grand Prix [6]
• David S. Kennedy, former New York Merchant Banker - in the early 1800s his bank Kennedy & Maitland was known as one of the "greatest commercial houses in the United States". Served in several roles including as the 23rd President in the charitable Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York.
• George Kerr politician
• Robert Lenox, brother of David above, American businessman and property investor after whom the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City is named. As well as being one of the preeminent merchants of his day, Lenox held numerous civil positions including two periods as an Alderman of New York; being one of the founders of the Lying-in Hospital, along with Alexander Hamilton, and later its President; President of New York Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of Princeton College. On his death, Lenox's fortune passed to his only surviving son James Lenox, a noted bibliophile and philanthropist, who used the fortune to create the Lenox Library (now part of the New York Public Library) and to found the Presbyterian Hospital. Both the Lying-in Hospital and the Presbyterian Hospital are now, following a series of mergers, incorporated within the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital.[8]
• Bert MacLachlan, former professional football player who played for Aston Villa F.C., Aberdeen F.C. and Heart of Midlothian F.C.
• David MacMyn, former rugby union international, captain of the British and Irish Lions on the 1927 British Lions tour to Argentina later a Selector for then as President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He trained as a surgeon but, after military service in World War II, he returned to Kirkcudbright to join his father in General Practice.
• Bob McDougall, former professional football player who played for Liverpool FC
• Stafford McDowall, Professional rugby player with Glasgow Warriors[9]
• Sir John McMichael FRSE LLD, Cardiologist. He developed the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith.[10]
• James McMonies, former Canadian businessman and politician
• Alexander Manson FRSE physician based in Nottingham who pioneered the use of iodine in medicine
• Robert Milligan, Liberal Party politician and the first mayor of Bradford
• William Mouncey Artist
• Sir John Nairne, 1st Baronet, former Chief Cashier then Director of the Bank of England and a BBC Governor
• Emma Pollock, Singer-songwriter, musician, and a founding member of the bands The Delgados, The Burns Unit and The Fruit Tree Foundation
• Arthur Smith former rugby union player winning 33 caps for Scotland including some as captain, twice selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions, as a player on the 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa and as captain on the 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa.
• Samuel Smith, Liberal politician, former MP and co-founder of Edge Hill University[11]
• Edward Telfair, American Revolutionary, slave owner, three time Governor of the state of Georgia, member of the Continental Congress, and signatory to the Articles of Confederation. Telfair County, Georgia is named after Edward Telfair and Telfair Square in Savannah, Georgia is named in honour of the Telfair family: Edward Telfair, his son Congressman Thomas Telfair and his daughter Mary Telfair, benefactor of Savannah's Telfair Museum of Art.
• George Thompson, Former MP who initially attended as a pupil then returned as a French teacher in 1973-74 before being elected SNP MP for Galloway 1974-79. In 1989 he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest and was appointed Parish Priest of St Peter's Catholic Church at Dalbeattie.
• James Williamson Banker, pastoralist and politician in Australia. Member of the Legislative Council for Nelson Province from Dec 1882 to Aug 1888.
• James Wolffe QC, is a senior Scottish lawyer who has served as Lord Advocate since 1 June 2016.

• Christian Jane Fergusson, artist[12] taught for a year between 1905 and 1906 on secondment

• Official website