Boclair Academy

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Boclair Academy
File:Boclair Academy logo cropped.jpg
Motto Wisdom, Justice, Compassion and Integrity[1]
Established 1978
Type State secondary school
Headteacher Douglas Brown
Location Inveroran Drive
Bearsden
East Dunbartonshire
G61 2PL
Scotland
Students 912 (Sept 2010)[2]
Gender Co-educational
Ages 11–18
Colours
                                               

Junior colours

                                             
Senior colours
Publication Bac Talk
Staff 74 (Sept 2010)[2]
Feeder Schools Torrance Primary, Killermont Primary, Westerton Primary, Colquhoun Park Primary
Website Official website

Boclair Academy is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school located in the Greater Glasgow suburb of Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The school serves pupils aged 11 – 18 from Southern Bearsden, Westerton and Torrance. Boclair Academy is affiliated with four local primary schools within its catchment area, Westerton Primary School, Killermont Primary School, Colquhoun Park Primary School and Torrance Primary School Schools. The school's exam achievement has improved in recent years, in 2011 27% of S5 gained at least 5 Higher passes (A-C), which placed it 21st in Scotland for a state school.[3]

History and recent upgrades

File:Boclair Academy from Kessington Road - geograph.org.uk - 1220602.jpg
Boclair Academy from Kessington Road

Boclair Academy was built in 1976 to meet increased demand in the area; initially the school accommodated overflow with Douglas Academy and Bearsden Academy but later the school had an increased number of placing requests from outside East Dunbartonshire. In 1998, because the school was over capacity, an annex was erected for the Maths department.

HMIe inspection

The school's last inspection was carried out in January 2009 by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (merged in 2011 with Learning and Teaching Scotland to form Education Scotland).[4] The report, published 17 March 2009, was largely positive and praised the following particular strengths:

  • Positive relationships between staff and young people
  • Enthusiastic, well-motivated and friendly young people
  • High-quality learning and teaching in all departments
  • Consistently high attainment in national examinations
  • Effective partnership working to support young people with additional support needs
  • Effective pastoral support for young people moving from primary school into S1, particularly for those most likely to find the move difficult.

HMIe also agreed the following areas for improvement with the school and education authority:

  • Continue to improve learning and teaching by better sharing of good practice and through more effective self-evaluation
  • Continue to improve achievement by building more effectively on young people’s learning at primary school and through better links with community partners.[5][6]

The inspection of the school was accompanied by an inspection of the learning community surrounding Boclair Academy.[7] There was also a follow through report, which evaluated the school's progress, published by East Dunbartonshire Council in February 2011.[8]

Dress code and uniform

File:Boclair Ties Flipped.jpg
Boclair school junior tie (left) and senior tie (right)

The following is according to the 'student planner' 2013-2014 issued to all pupils (see Bibliography below)

  • White Blouse/shirt
  • Clearly visible school tie
  • Black skirt/trousers
  • Plain black top (jumper, cardigan etc.)
  • Blazers

Campus

The school is spread over four buildings within its 16 acres (65,000 m2) site. The main building contains an assembly hall, dining area, staff room, pupil social areas, green house and classrooms over five floors for Art,English, Home Economics, Business & IM, Modern Languages, Social Subjects and Science. There are separate buildings for Technical, Physical Education (which has its own swimming pool) and mathematics which is housed in a 'temporary' annex.

Departmental facilities and equipment

Physical Education

File:Boclair exercise bikes.JPG
Exercise bikes in the PE fitness room. The windows look down on the small games hall.

The PE department has a swimming pool. It also has a variety of equipment to cater for sporting activities within two games halls (used for gymnastics, circuit training, social dance, badminton, basketball, football, and indoor games such as Danish Longball) and an outside area consisting of two all-weather pitches for football and hockey, two grass rugby pitches, and spare grass areas used for football. In the PE building upstairs there is a fitness room.[9]

File:Boclair Interior.JPG
interior of typical classroom

Modern Languages

French, Spanish, German are taught depending on course choices available and picked.[10]

File:Library Boclair.JPG
The school library, showing computer suite
File:Boclair Pitches.JPG
Picture taken from grass rugby pitch shows all weather pitches (red) in background and PE block on the left.

RMPS

The Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies department runs a chess club and a debating society which has produced finalists in the Junior English-Speaking Union Scotland debating competition and more recently semi finalists in the Law Society of Scotland Donald Dewar Memorial Competition.[11] It also runs a novelty 'rock, paper, scissors club' every so often in place of chess/debating clubs when they cannot run.

Other

There are other activities within the school including a school magazine, which won several awards in the Scottish school magazine awards 2008,[12] a number of school trips run by lots of departments and after school supported study groups around exam time for specific subjects.

In the news

  • The Evening Times reported on a pupil beating the UK Pi memorising record (12 May 2008).[13]
  • The BBC reported on a technician being injured following an explosion in the school laboratory (23 June 2009).[14]

Popular culture

Scottish musician Tommy Reilly,[15] the winner of Orange unsigned act 2008, was a pupil at the school until 2007.

The school building has been used for several sketches in the second series of Burnistoun. (see Bibliography below)

Notable former alumni

  • Dr Eleanor Gilroy, winner of the Peter Massalski Prize for her scientific research into potato disease.[16]
  • Don Maclean, wounded Royal Marine who took part in a 3,000 mile cycle across America for charity Help for Heroes.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/BoclairAcademyIns20090515_tcm4-699706.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/BoclairAcademyinspecIns20090306_tcm4-699676.pdf
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Bibliography

  • "Episode 3", Burnistoun Series 2, BBC One, Television, First Broadcast 18 Apr 2011.
  • Boclair Academy School Handbook 2012-2013
  • Boclair Academy Student Planner 2012-2013

External links

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