Origins and Green Street (1630s–1876)

Kilmarnock Academy 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. A Kilmarnock Academy operated from Green Street in Kilmarnock, before being relocated to Elmbank Drive to accommodate increased demand for places at the school.^[12] In 1898, the school officially moved from Green Street to Elmbank Drive.

North Hamilton Street (1876–1898)

A new replacement Kilmarnock Academy opened on North Hamilton Street on August 1876, replacing the former Kilmarnock Academy on Green Street.^[13] The foundation stone for the new Kilmarnock Academy was laid on 20 November 1875, with the building designed by William Railton.^[13] The North Hamilton Street building cost £4,500 to build and was constructed by Andrew Calderwood, a local builder within Kilmarnock.^[13]

When the school opened at North Hamilton Street, it had 426 pupils enrolled and contained a School of Science and Art.^[13] The first headmaster of Kilmarnock Academy at North Hamilton Street was Hugh Dickie.^[13] The North Hamilton Street Kilmarnock Academy was where two Nobel laureates were educated – Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, and John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, for his scientific research into nutrition and his work as the first Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).^[13]

The building at North Hamilton Street soon became cramped and could not accommodate the increased number of pupils wishing to attend the school, leading to a newer building being constructed at Elmbank Drive which was erected in 1898, with pupils transferring from North Hamilton Street to the new Elmbank Drive Kilmarnock Academy in 1898.^[13] The North Hamilton Street site formally housed Woodstock School, and following closure and demolition of Woodstock School, the site became the location for both Flowerbank Early Childhood Centre and the Sir Alexander Flemming Centre, which opened on 17 March 2015.^[13]

Elmbank Drive (1898–2018)

Elmbank Drive; The Original Building (left), "New Building" (1968–69, centre), new Technology Block (1997, right)

The Kilmarnock Academy which was situated on Elmbank Drive was erected in 1898 to plans by Robert Ingram.^[13] The Elmbank Drive site was originally land that contained a nursery, with two acres of the site being used as the nursery playground.^[13] The foundation stone for the new Kilmarnock Academy at Elmbank Drive was laid on 31 October 1896. Built of traditional red sandstone, the new Kilmarnock Academy contained a gym, swimming pool and workshops, in addition to the usual classrooms.^[13]

A public clock was erected at the top of the building, facing towards the town centre, with a tall 80 ft square tower which was originally used for astronomy lessons.^[13] The new building could accommodate 868 pupils over the ground and second floor, with the third floor housing cookery classrooms, a lecture room and a chemical laboratory.^[13] Costing £22,000 to build, the new building had a total of 22 classrooms and opened to pupils and staff on 9 February 1899 by Sir Robert Murdoch Smith.^[13]

The original building at Elmbank Drive opened to pupils on 12 September 1898

The first headmaster of Kilmarnock Academy at Elmbank Drive was Dr. Hugh Dickie who previously served as the headmaster of the school at the former site on North Hamilton Street.^[13] On 24 March 1923, a war memorial was dedicated by Sir Charles Fergusson, and was designed by former pupil of the school and architect W.F. Valentine.^[13] To commemorate the loss of soldiers in World War II, a library was opened in the school in 1955.^[13]

Due to population growth in Kilmarnock, the Elmbank Drive site had to be expanded a number of times. A new dining block was built in 1946, and a new "main building" was constructed between 1968–1969.^[13] In 1997, a new technology block was constructed.^[13] Throughout 1996–1998, the school roll was decreased by the educational authority to allow the commencement of a £2.5 programme of refurbishment work to bring the school up to an adequate standard for 21st century learning and teaching.

The Elmbank Drive site closed to pupils and staff on 29 March 2018 when Kilmarnock Academy and James Hamilton Academy merged together to create one school, with the new merged school retained the Kilmarnock Academy name.^[13] In 2019, the Elmbank Drive site and buildings were acquired by Kilmarnock based arts academy, CentreStage.^[13]

Technical College

The Technical College closed in 1997, later became luxury apartments, known as "Academy Apartments"

The Technical School, as it was originally known, was built at the corner of Elmbank Drive between 1908–1909, next to Kilmarnock Academy.^[13] Constructed of Ballochmyle sandstone, the building was erected to plans by Gabriel Andrew and cost £18,000 to build, opening on 26 January 1910.^[13] The technical school contained laboratories "for the study of chemistry, physics, mechanics, high engineering, heavy engineering, electrical engineering, hydraulics, mining, weaving, horticulture, and biology".^[13] Additionally, pupils could study building design, art, domestic science, woodwork, metalwork and plumbing at the site.^[13]

When opened, the Technical School came under the remit of the rector of Kilmarnock Academy, however, was later separated from the academy and became its own separate entity, becoming known as the Technical College.^[13] The technical college later became part of Kilmarnock Academy again, however, in 1997, it was closed following the rearrangement of pupil catchment areas affecting Kilmarnock Academy, meaning there was no longer a requirement for the technical college.^[13]

Proposals for merger (2013–2018)

The "Old Building" of Kilmarnock Academy (1898), in 2023 under the ownership of CentreStage

In 2013, East Ayrshire Council launched a consultation report on the future of the education provision at a number of primary and secondary schools in the Kilmarnock area, including James Hamilton Academy, New Farm Primary School, New Farm Early Childhood Centre and Silverwood Primary School.^[14] This report put forward the case for educational provision at the schools coming to an end in term 2016/2017 (however, as of January 2017, this has run over time and projected now for 2018 completion), and the named educational establishments merge into one campus.^[14] This would lead to the creation of a "superschool", merging James Hamilton Academy and Kilmarnock Academy together, as well as New Farm Primary, New Farm Early Childhood Centre and Silverwood Primary together.^[15] In 2016, the decision was made to house these schools on the newly formed William Mcilvanney campus, named after the late William McIlvanney who was born in Kilmarnock and best-selling crime author. The secondary provision will remain as Kilmarnock Academy, whilst the primary provision is renamed as James Hamilton Primary and Early Childhood Centre.^[16]

On 12 October 2016, Deputy First Minister of Scotland in his capacity of Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney, visited the site of the construction for the new school where he laid the foundation stone for the new structure.^[7] Pupils from each of the schools involved in the merger – Kilmarnock Academy, James Hamilton Academy, Silverwood Primary School and New Farm Primary School, choose items to bury in a time capsule underneath the structure of the new school.^[7]

Rector

• William Thomson (1808–1830)
• Alexander Harkness (1830–1851)
• William Taylor (1851–1852)
• Alexander Smith (1852–1869)
• George Younger (1869–1873)
• George Smith (1873–1876)
• Hugh Dickie (1876–1904)
• David Murray (1904–1907)
• Dr James Clark (1907–1926)
• Alexander Cumming (1926–1938)
• Robert McIntyre (1938–1964)
• James Hislop OBE (1964–1977)
• Frank Donnelly (1977–1997)

Head Teacher

• Carole Ford (1997–2011)
• Bryan Paterson (2011–2015)^[19]
• David Rose (2015–present)^[8]

Notable alumni

• Rev Prof Hugh Anderson (1920–2003) theologian
• Air Vice-Marshal Stuart Atha, AOC since 2011 of No. 1 Group RAF, and Station Commander from 2006–08 of RAF Coningsby
• Craig Conway, Scotland international footballer
• Bob Ellis (born 1940), cricketer
• Nesbitt Gallacher (born 1936), cricketer
• Bobby Hill (1938–2017), cricketer
• Air Chief Marshall Stephen Hillier, Chief of the Air Staff 2016–2019
• Major General Sir Robert Murdoch Smith, engineer, archaeologist and diplomat
• Lorraine Fullbrook (Campbell), Conservative Member of Parliament, South Ribble, Lancashire – Elected 2010^[21]
• Ronnie Hamilton, professional footballer^[22]
• Hugh Whyte (1955-2009) Doctor and Scottish football goalkeeper, who played for Hibernian and Dunfermline Athletic

Grammar school

• Rev. James Barr, Labour MP from 1935 to 1945 for Coatbridge, and from 1924 to 1931 for Motherwell
• Rev. Prof. Matthew Black, Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism from 1954 to 1978 at the University of St Andrews
• Robert Colquhoun, artist
• Stewart Conn, poet and playwright
• Sir David Cuthbertson, physician
• Robert Dunsmuir
• George Forrest, botanist and explorer
• Adam Ingram, SNP MSP 2011-2016 for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
• Jimmy Knapp, General Secretary from 1990 to 2001 of the RMT, and from 1983 to 1990 of the National Union of Railwaymen
• Sir James Learmonth CBE, pioneer in nerve surgery
• Margaret McDowall, swimmer
• William McIlvanney, author
• Lt-Gen Robert Menzies CB OBE, Surgeon General to the Armed Forces from 2000 to 2002
• William Muir, orientalist
• Colin Rankin
• James Stevenson, 1st Baron Stevenson, businessman and politician
• Peter Sturrock, Conservative MP from 1885 to 1886 for Kilmarnock Burghs
• Murray Tosh MBE, Conservative MSP from 2003 to 2007 for the West of Scotland
• Hugh Watt (1848–1921) MP
• Marie Macklin CBE, CEO of The KLIN Group and founder and executive chair of The HALO Urban Regeneration

Church of Scotland clergy

A number of alumni are Church of Scotland ministers who have held high office or are otherwise well-known church figures:

• Andrew McLellan CBE, Moderator of the General Assembly, 2000; (also HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, 2002 to 2009)^[23]
• John D. Miller, Moderator of the General Assembly, 2001^[23]
• Bill Hewitt, Moderator of the General Assembly, 2009^[23]
• John L. Bell, contemporary hymnwriter and speaker^[24]
• Lorna Hood (née Mitchell), Moderator of the General Assembly, 2013^[25]