Hutchesons' Grammar School
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Hutchesons' Grammar School was founded by the Hutcheson brothers, George and Thomas, in 1641. It was opened originally to teach orphans and started with "12 boys on the roll". It is a fee-paying school in Glasgow, Scotland.
In 1876 a girls' school was opened on Kingarth Street. The Boys' and Girls' schools amalgamated in 1976 at Beaton Road, leaving Kingarth Street to house the primary school. In 2001, the school expanded into Glasgow's West End when it merged with Laurel Park School and created a nursery and primary school on Lilybank Terrace, although this has since closed.
Today, the school has around 2,000 pupils on the roll at its three sites.
The current rector is Dr Kenneth M Greig MA PhD.
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[edit] History
The history of Hutchesons' Grammar School offers insight into the history of Glasgow over the past 360 years. When George and Thomas Hutcheson set aside money in 1641 for their school, they started an educational enterprise which has continued to flourish.
The brothers originally intended the School to be for orphans. Archibald Edmiston, an orphan himself, became the School's first pupil in 1643 and, seven years later, the School had the "12 boys on the roll", at least, according to the School song.
The stone built Hutchesons' Hospital Building in the Trongate - right in the heart of Glasgow - survived the devastating fire that destroyed so much of the city in 1652. It survived, too, the ravages of the earlier Civil Wars before peace - and, later, the monarchy - was restored.
So, after a stuttering beginning, Hutchesons' Grammar School began to grow in size and reputation - requiring several moves to accommodate its multiplying numbers. It twice changed address before Ingram Street became home to the school in 1802. By 1815, the year of Waterloo, the roll had risen to 76. By 1839 it stood at 120 which prompted the Patrons' decision to build a new school in Crown Street, Gorbals. The location was described as 'possessing quietness of situation, good air and a roomy open site'. The new building was opened in 1841 and remained in use until 1960.
In 1876, Hutchesons' Girls'School opened its doors for the first time in Elgin Street. The Girls' School was extremely successful and the number of pupils enrolled was far greater than the building was designed to hold. One final move saw Hutchesons' Girls' Grammar School, as it was now known, re-located in 1912 to the present Junior School building in Kingarth Street.
Beaton Road in Crossmyloof became home to Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School half a century later in 1960. It was seen then as an extremely fashionable building, daring in its modernity.
Despite these many changes to the schools over the centuries, the single most significant change occurred in 1976. The year marked the amalgamation of Hutchesons' Girls' Grammar School and Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School, to form Hutchesons' Grammar School, the co-educational institution which remains in this form today. The girls' site in Kingarth Street became the mixed junior school with all the senior pupils at what had been the boys' school in Beaton Road.
Perhaps the most rapid changes at Hutchesons' have occurred in the last decade. In 1991, a new 3-storey Science Block was erected in the Beaton Road carpark while 1994 saw the construction of a new Infant Block at Kingarth Street. A new multi-million pound Sports Building was developed on the Playing Fields at Beaton Road in 1998, allowing the old gymnasium in the Senior School to be converted into a state-of-the-art library in 1999.
The new Millennium saw the newly-purchased Pollokshields United Reformed Church, in Beaton Road, developed to accommodate new classrooms and offices for the Music and ICT departments. The merger between the school and Laurel Park School, announced in early 2001, has seen the arrival of new pupils and staff at Beaton Road from Laurel Park and the opening of Hutchesons' Lilybank Junior School in the West End of Glasgow, allowing easier access to Hutchesons' for new and existing pupils living on the North side of the city. However, in 2006 it was announced that Lilybank Junior School would be closed.
[edit] Ethos
The school has a very forceful self-image, and significant claims have been made as to its ethos, reputation and academic achievements. For example, the school claims:-
Hutchesons' Grammar School has an outstanding record in placing its pupils in universities in Scotland and throughout the UK, including Oxford and Cambridge. In addition, many Hutchesons’ pupils spend a ‘gap’ year before proceeding to university.
[edit] Controversy
Following the departure of the well respected Andrew Ward as Rector, Mr John Knowles was appointed to the post. There was, and still is, a divide in opinion as to his effect on the school. Major changes took place, some successful, some not. The Fotheringay Centre was built, housing the IT and music departments, plus a number of conference facilities and has been seen as a fantastic addition to the school. However, Laurel Park school was a costly mistake. Staff, parents and pupils at the school seemed to oppose the move, with many of the girls opting not to join Hutchesons'. The attempt to make a primary school out of the Lilybank site was costly, time consuming and ultimately, a failure. The roll remained small, in a building requiring much improvement. West End parents had a number of top schools to choose from which offered a secondary locally, unlike Hutchesons. Many senior staff had to divert time to the problems which arose, as discontent crept in amongst staff and parents at the senior school.
[edit] Front Page News
The discontent reached the press. The Scotland on Sunday ran a story under the title "Exam Failings, Lax Discipline and Split Staff ... Is This A Top Scottish School?". It cited a number of concerns which had emerged among staff and parents. The school has a proud academic reputation, but after ten years as one of the top 3 schools in Scotland, it had slipped to 7th in 2002 and 10th in 2003, lagging behind once close rival, The High School of Glasgow. Staff were split over Knowles' liberal policies to discipline, which clashed with the views of the highly regarded Sandy Strang, a former Head Boy, English teacher and depute rector by the age of 36. While some of the senior staff could modernise enough to allow make-up and mobile phones, they could not tolerate the growing lack of respect being shown by some pupils. In a shock announcement, Strang announced his immediate departure from the school just before the start of the 03/04 term in another story which made headlines across the country just after the Chairman of Governors announced his retirement. Many reports suggested the governors decided Strang and Knowles could no longer work together and wanted one to leave. The changes certainly seemed to work, the next year the school was back among the top 3 in Scotland, with its best ever exam results. The day the exam results were announced, the short period of stability ended, as Mr Knowles announced his resignation.
[edit] Dr Greig and The Future
Mr Knowles saw out his notice until Christmas when Mr MacAllister (depute Rector) was appointed interim Rector as a stabilising force. Highly respected, Mr MacAllister has a history stretching back more than 40 years with the school. He was Rector until the end of the year, with his role in the improvements being praised by Inspectors in 2006. Upon the arrival of the new rector, Dr Greig, he became "second in command" as Senior Depute Rector and took up a visible position with pupils and staff. Dr Kenneth Greig attended Edinburgh and Oxford Universities, and has been well received by pupils, parents and staff. Inspectors commented that "He was highly regarded by staff, pupils and parents. In his short time in the post, he had inspired their confidence and quickly built strong relationships". Throughout the report, there were indications of rapid improvement, and plans for the years ahead. The new session saw new staff including a Director of Studies, Mr Bagnall, a new prefect system and the news that the school could net £5 million from the sale of the Lilybank Site. Dr Greig will no doubt be well aware of the trouble Mr Knowles ended up in when it was felt he wasn't up to the job, and will want to continue to improve on his good start, particularly exam results and discipline.
