Kilmarnock - Education

Education

Kilmarnock has 1 college and 17 schools (13 primary and 4 secondary). There is also a college in the town, Kilmarnock College, formerly Kilmarnock Technical College. The schools are managed by East Ayrshire Council. Kilmarnock Academy is a comprehensive school, one of several in Kilmarnock. It can trace its history back to the local burgh school founded in the 1630s and the first school to bear the name was established in 1807. Next to the school is the "Old Tech," formerly Kilmarnock Technical School, which opened in 1910 as part of the Academy. It is also listed, but is no longer part of the school; it was closed in 1997 due to a reduction in student numbers, caused by a restructuring of educational resources in the area. The building remained closed, and reopened in 2006 as luxury housing, due to its prime location directly next to the Dick Institute, the town's primary library and museum, and the centre of town. In the art department at the school, there is a war memorial in memory of those who lost their lives in World War 1. Kilmarnock Academy is one of the few schools in the world to have educated two Nobel laureates: Alexander Fleming and John Boyd Orr.

St Joseph's Academy was originally founded in 1955 in its present location. Initially built on what was the outskirts of Kilmarnock at the time, the adjacent New Farm Loch estate eventually grew and enveloped the school. The school comprised an extended single building, housing most of the subjects taught within. Due to a lack of space, an additional building, commonly referred to as 'A' Block was erected in the 1970s. As the school was constructed on what was essentially fields, the St Joseph's campus included a large playing field, comprising a red blaze hockey pitch, running tracks, and space for 4 grass football pitches.

St. Conval's High School was later annexed with St. Joseph's in October 1998 and became known as St. Joseph's Cumnock Campus. In 2004 however St. Joseph's Cumnock Campus was shut down due to falling attendance figures, and the town's Catholic children now attend the new St. Joseph's Academy campus in Kilmarnock, which now serves the entire Secondary Catholic population of East Ayrshire. In the early 21st century, a programme was initiated by central government to upgrade secondary schools throughout the country using a mixture of public and private money. St Joseph's was one of the schools selected for demolition and reconstruction, along with nearby Grange Academy. In 2008, the rebuilt St Joseph's was opened, including the new St Andrew's Primary – an amalgamation of the former feeder St Columba's and St Matthew's Primaries.

In September 2008, the new Grange Campus was completed and incorporated Grange Academy, Annanhill Primary, and Park School. The opening of the campus was delayed from August. The old Grange Academy and Annanhill Primary School buildings have been demolished.James Hamilton Academy is a non-denominational, co-educational, comprehensive school which means that it is open to all boys and girls who live in the area which the school serves. It is located in Sutherland Drive, Kilmarnock, (New Farm Loch), East Ayrshire.

The P.E. Department consists of a Sports Hall, a Gym Hall and changing facilities. There are Technical Department, Science Labs, an I.T. Department, a Library, Maths and English Departments, Music facilities, Home Economics facilities and a Social Subjects Department (Geography, History and Modern Studies). James Hamilton Academy, there is also a Primary School (New Farm Primary School), and a Nursery (New Farm Nursery) on campus.