Hazlehead Academy

Hazlehead Academy Àrd-Sgoil Cheann Challtain
The school in 2024
Address
Groats Road Hazlehead, Aberdeen , AB15 8BE Scotland
Information
School type	State Secondary School
Motto	Ad altiora tendo (I strive towards higher things)
Established	1970
Local authority	Aberdeen City Council
Head teacher	Jim Purdie [1]
Staff	80
Years taught	S1─S6
Sex	Co-educational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1100
Average class size	30
Education system	Education Scotland
Classrooms	68
Houses	Bruce, Craigievar, Dunecht, Greyfriars, Marischal
Gang	YSB
Colour(s)	Bottle green and navy blue
National ranking	155 of 340
Length of day	7 periods (Monday, Tuesday)
Opened by	Elizabeth II
Website	sites.google.com/ab-ed.org/hazleheadacademy

Hazlehead Academy (Scottish Gaelic: Àrd-Sgoil Cheann Challtain), formerly known as Central School then Aberdeen Academy, is a comprehensive secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It has five main feeder primary schools, Airyhall Primary School, Fernielea Primary School, Hazlehead Primary School, Kingsford Primary School and Countesswells Primary School - in addition to this, pupils who have been part of a Gaelic unit at Aberdeen's Gilcomstoun Primary School can transfer to the school, which offers Gaelic as part of the curriculum.

History

Hazlehead Academy is a six-year comprehensive school on the western edges of Aberdeen, adjacent to Hazlehead Park. It has a history stretching back for over 100 years. In 1901, Aberdeen School Board built Central School on the corner of Schoolhill and Belmont Street, on a site now occupied by a shopping centre named The Academy. In 1954, the school was renamed Aberdeen Academy. When the school closed, the pupils were moved to the new Hazlehead Academy.^[2]

Hazlehead Academy was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 October 1970. Plans were laid towards the end of the 1950s. The education committee at the time had under consideration the reorganisation of the existing Secondary provision of 3 Senior Secondary schools and a number of Junior Secondary schools into 10 co-educational comprehensives. Hazlehead Academy would become one of these senior secondaries and then a comprehensive school.

The current head teacher is Jim Purdie who took up post in August 2016. The school roll is around 1,100 pupils.

In 2012, the school was selected as the Aberdeen base for the Scottish Football Association's Performance Schools, a system devised to support the development of the best young talented footballers across the country (there are seven such schools across Scotland). As of 2018, the dedicated coach for the young players at Hazlehead is Stuart Glennie.^[3]

Houses

Hazlehead Academy has five houses. Bruce was removed in 2010 but was reinstated in 2020 due to increasing pupil numbers.

School layout

The school has nine buildings. The Science building is adjoined to the Main building by an indoor bridge and the North and South Houses are adjoined with a corridor.

Main building

The Main building is the tallest building in the school and is the largest by floor area. It houses most of the core subjects and has a small lift which pupils require a "lift pass" to use due to the school's overcrowding. A one-way system is operated in the building with a southward flow of movement. The south staircase is used for the downward direction (except when travelling from the second floor to the third floor) and the north staircase is used for the upward direction. The only exception to this rule is on the first floor before break and lunch, when it is reversed. The one-way system does not operate at the start or end of the school day.

Science block

The Science block is similar in appearance to the Main building but is wider and shorter. It protrudes out of it to the west. It is the second-tallest of all the buildings in the school and is situated approximately three feet higher than it. It contains four bathrooms, which serve both itself and the Main building. The one-way system operates in tandem with the Main building's in the east-west direction (except on the ground floor and during periods 1, 3 & 5). The staircase on the western end of the building is used for the downward direction except during periods 1, 3 & 5, when it is used for both.

PE block

The PE block is the largest building in the school by footprint. Roughly half of the building's area is made up of the disused swimming pool which closed in 2017 due to structural and financial issues. The building contains 6 changing facilities, 2 shower rooms, a games hall, a gymnasium, a table tennis area (also used as an observation area for the games hall) and a staff base. The games hall has a climbing wall which is not in use due to the high cost of maintenance. The games hall is the largest room in the school, with a floor area of 591 m². The neighbouring gymnasium is smaller, with a floor area of 411 m². The building has group and individual changing rooms. It is joined to the Main building by a covered walkway.

Music block

The Music block is located between the Science block and the Home Economics block. It has 3 classrooms, 4 one-to-one instruction studios and a recording studio. This building is the centre of the Performing Arts faculty and is where the faculty head's office is located. The building is largely symmetrical, with M2, the largest classroom, in the middle with two entrances on either side. There is a studio and another classroom on either side.

Art block

The Art block is on the south-western extremity of the school and has 5 classrooms, each with open layouts and large windows. The building has a computer suite which is used for digital Art & Design topics such as Digital Media and Graphic Communications. There is also a kiln at the rear of the building. The building has a T-shaped corridor, with a classroom to either side when entering and the main corridor to the front.

Home Economics block

The Home Economics block houses 2 food technology rooms, a textiles room, an art room and a drama studio. In addition to this, it has a youth workers' facility which can only be accessed from the outside. It is situated between the Art block and the Technology block. Every room has an emergency exit that is a direct route outside.

Technology block

The Technology block has 4 classrooms (one of which being a computer suite) and 3 workshops. It is next to Groats Road, on the southeast corner of the school. It has solar panels on its roof which are used to supply the school with energy. Like the Home Economics block, every room has a direct route outside. The building has distinctive blue doors on its east side which are visible from Groats Road.

North House

North House is a two-storey building to the east of the Main building. It is where the senior canteen (S4─S6) is located. It has two dining areas and is joined to South House by a corridor which runs between them. Between the two buildings is a courtyard with picnic tables and a gardening area known as the "outdoor classroom". The North House is also where seniors have their lockers. In Hazlehead Academy, a locker is not guaranteed. You must pay a £2 fee per year, and £1 is returned to you if the locker is in good condition. On the first floor there is another Drama studio but this is not used as often as the larger Studio B in the Home Economics block. Studio A is occasionally used as a dance studio for the PE faculty. Its first floor is accessed from the first floor of the Main building.

South House

South House is practically symmetrical to North House and contains the junior canteen (S1─S3). It has two dining rooms and a locker area. On the first floor is the Support for Learning department. The guidance base was formerly located there but was moved to the ground floor, where Support for Learning was previously based. Both South House and North House have staircases which lead from the first floor down to outside the entrance to the ground floor but are only used as emergency exits. South House's first floor is accessed from the landing of the Main building's south staircase between the ground and first floors.

School day

A school day at Hazlehead starts at 08:30 and ends at 15:35 on Mondays and Tuesdays (long days) and at 14:45 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (short days). Each period is 50 minutes long. Lunch also lasts 50 minutes, from 12:45 to 13:05 but at 13:00 a "warning bell" is sounded for people to get to class. Similarly, a warning bell is sounded at 08:25 for people to get to registration at the start of the day. Registration is a 10-minute period at the start of the day for the form class to socialise and for attendance to be marked.

*Monday and Tuesday only

Notable former pupils

• Graham Davidson: racing driver, 2019 British Champion - Aston Martin - GT3 driver
• Stuart Armstrong: professional footballer, currently playing for Southampton F.C.
• Fraser Fyvie: professional footballer, currently playing for Cove Rangers F.C.^[4]
• Lee Mair: professional footballer, notably formerly of Aberdeen F.C. and St Mirren F.C.
• Derek Rae: football commentator, currently working for BT Sport and ESPN
• David Rowson: professional footballer, notably formerly of Aberdeen F.C. and Partick Thistle F.C.
• Hugh Robertson: professional footballer, notably formerly of Ross County F.C. and Hartlepool United F.C.
• Neale Cooper: professional footballer, notably of Aberdeen F.C. and former manager of Hartlepool United F.C.
• Rachel Corsie: professional footballer, currently playing for Utah Royals FC and Scotland women's national football team
• Laura Main: singer and actress. Star of BBC One's hit drama Call the Midwife
• Richie Ramsay: professional golfer and former champion of U.S. Amateur

References

External links

• Official website

57°8′37″N 2°10′38″W / 57.14361°N 2.17722°W / 57.14361; -2.17722

This page was last edited on 27 March 2024, at 11:52