Lenzie Academy
Encyclopedia
Lenzie Academy is a co-educational
comprehensive
secondary school
located in Lenzie
, East Dunbartonshire
, Scotland
. The catchment area covers the town of Lenzie
, the village of Auchinloch
and southern parts of Kirkintilloch
.
The current head teacher Brian Paterson was appointed and took up his post in September 2011 after serving as Head Teacher of Abronhill High School
in nearby Cumbernauld
. The previous head teacher Mr Roderick J McLelland entered early retirement on Friday 24 June 2011 after being in the position since May 1997 and Dr James R Melrose was acting head until the replacement was appointed.
In addition eighteen principal teachers of subjects manage the curriculum in separate departments and eight Principal Teachers, manage Guidance and Pastoral Care, with one additional Principal Teacher overseeing Education for Work initiatives.
, Millersneuk, Lairdsland, Lenzie Moss and Lenzie Primary. Nearly half of the total roll are from outside the catchment area, attending as placing requests. The S1 rolls have slightly reduced in recent years and the 2011 intake is 226 pupils, consisting of 119 from the zoned area and 107 through placing requests. The total school roll has been falling every year for the last 6 years with the most recent figure being 25 pupils lower than the previous years 1321 pupils.
"It is not the first time the academy has been rocked by controversy. In 1996, during its Christmas ball, a 15-year-old girl was taken to hospital and seven others were suspended for drunken antics. In October 1995, two12-year-old boys were suspended for dealing with drugs. It followed a string of other drug-related incidents. In 1994, a16-year-old was expelled for drug dealing, then re-admitted. Also that year, four pupils were suspended over claims of drug taking, and a 15-year-old boy was arrested outside school and charged with possessing cannabis. "
8 pupils who smoked cannabis on a school trip to Alton Towers were suspended for a fortnight following a disciplinary hearing at the school in June 1998.
As demonstrated in a 1999 Mirror article:
"Pupils were ordered back to their classrooms when the knife-wielding gangs of ex-pupils laid siege to Lenzie Academy, near Glasgow.
Rector Roderick McLelland ordered staff and pupils inside until police moved the youths on."
The gang issues were again raised in a 2006 Mirror article:
"... Nicola had endured months of vicious bullying by a gang of 30 teenagers, known as "the Neds".
They threw stones, cans, water bombs and food at Nicola simply because she dressed differently to them."
Again in 2011 where a gang targeted a 12 year old boy for being "ginger" just after school had finished. "A redheaded boy of 12 was attacked by bullies over an internet campaign called Slap a Ginger Day. A gang targeted the lad at a local rail station after he left Lenzie Academy in Dunbartonshire."
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
comprehensive
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
secondary school
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
located in Lenzie
Lenzie
Lenzie is a small town by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. It is about six miles north-east of Glasgow city centre and one mile south of Kirkintilloch. It has a population of about 10,000.-Name:...
, East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The catchment area covers the town of Lenzie
Lenzie
Lenzie is a small town by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. It is about six miles north-east of Glasgow city centre and one mile south of Kirkintilloch. It has a population of about 10,000.-Name:...
, the village of Auchinloch
Auchinloch
Auchinloch is a village in North Lanarkshire, near Lenzie in Scotland. The village's name - "Field of the Loch" - derives from its proximity to a small loch locally called the "Gadloch". Industrialization came in the 1880s, with the opening of the Lumloch Colliery, and then in the 1920s Wester...
and southern parts of Kirkintilloch
Kirkintilloch
Kirkintilloch is a town and former burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal, about eight miles northeast of central Glasgow...
.
Senior Management Team
The school is managed by a Senior Management Team, composed of the Head Teacher and six Depute Head Teachers each in charge of a year group. The most recently published team membership was for 2010/2011 and consisted of:- Mr Roderick J McLelland, Head Teacher (retired June 2011)
- Dr James R Melrose, Depute Head Teacher (S6)
- Mrs Heather McCall, Depute Head Teacher (S5)
- Ms Jeanie Robertson, Depute Head Teacher (S4)
- Ms Mary McKechnie, Depute Head Teacher (S3)
- Mrs Moira Cunningham, Depute Head Teacher (S2) (Retired June 2011)
- Mrs Morag Elliott, Depute Head Teacher (S1)
The current head teacher Brian Paterson was appointed and took up his post in September 2011 after serving as Head Teacher of Abronhill High School
Abronhill High School
Abronhill High School is a non-denominational, comprehensive, secondary school in Abronhill, a suburb of the Scottish new town of Cumbernauld. The school roll was 473 pupils in 2008...
in nearby Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
. The previous head teacher Mr Roderick J McLelland entered early retirement on Friday 24 June 2011 after being in the position since May 1997 and Dr James R Melrose was acting head until the replacement was appointed.
In addition eighteen principal teachers of subjects manage the curriculum in separate departments and eight Principal Teachers, manage Guidance and Pastoral Care, with one additional Principal Teacher overseeing Education for Work initiatives.
School roll
The most recently reported school roll is 1296, taught by a teaching staff of 101. The S1 intake cap is 240,based on an average annual first year intake of eight classes of approximately thirty pupils each, mostly coming from five associated primary schools, namely AuchinlochAuchinloch
Auchinloch is a village in North Lanarkshire, near Lenzie in Scotland. The village's name - "Field of the Loch" - derives from its proximity to a small loch locally called the "Gadloch". Industrialization came in the 1880s, with the opening of the Lumloch Colliery, and then in the 1920s Wester...
, Millersneuk, Lairdsland, Lenzie Moss and Lenzie Primary. Nearly half of the total roll are from outside the catchment area, attending as placing requests. The S1 rolls have slightly reduced in recent years and the 2011 intake is 226 pupils, consisting of 119 from the zoned area and 107 through placing requests. The total school roll has been falling every year for the last 6 years with the most recent figure being 25 pupils lower than the previous years 1321 pupils.
| School year | School roll | Source |
| 2006/2007 | 1380 | |
| 2007/2008 | 1362 | |
| 2008/2009 | 1358 | |
| 2009/2010 | 1334 | |
| 2010/2011 | 1321 | |
| 2011/2012 | 1296 |
Drugs Controversies
The school has attracted some negative coverage in the press over drugs taking/drugs dealing at the school and at school events. To quote one 1998 article for example:"It is not the first time the academy has been rocked by controversy. In 1996, during its Christmas ball, a 15-year-old girl was taken to hospital and seven others were suspended for drunken antics. In October 1995, two12-year-old boys were suspended for dealing with drugs. It followed a string of other drug-related incidents. In 1994, a16-year-old was expelled for drug dealing, then re-admitted. Also that year, four pupils were suspended over claims of drug taking, and a 15-year-old boy was arrested outside school and charged with possessing cannabis. "
8 pupils who smoked cannabis on a school trip to Alton Towers were suspended for a fortnight following a disciplinary hearing at the school in June 1998.
Bullying/Gang issues
The school has also received continuing attention for problems with gangs/bullying as well as knife crime.As demonstrated in a 1999 Mirror article:
"Pupils were ordered back to their classrooms when the knife-wielding gangs of ex-pupils laid siege to Lenzie Academy, near Glasgow.
Rector Roderick McLelland ordered staff and pupils inside until police moved the youths on."
The gang issues were again raised in a 2006 Mirror article:
"... Nicola had endured months of vicious bullying by a gang of 30 teenagers, known as "the Neds".
They threw stones, cans, water bombs and food at Nicola simply because she dressed differently to them."
Again in 2011 where a gang targeted a 12 year old boy for being "ginger" just after school had finished. "A redheaded boy of 12 was attacked by bullies over an internet campaign called Slap a Ginger Day. A gang targeted the lad at a local rail station after he left Lenzie Academy in Dunbartonshire."
School buildings
Founded in 1886, the current red brick School building was built in 1960 and a number of different extensions have been added to it over the years.People educated at Lenzie Academy
- Moira AndersonMoira AndersonMoira Anderson, OBE is a Scottish singer.- Life and career :Following an education at Lenzie Academy, Anderson quickly established herself at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow before getting her big break in the media after a successful audition at the BBC.She landed her...
(born 1938), Singer - Jane DuncanJane DuncanJane Duncan was the pseudonym of Scottish writer Elizabeth Jane Cameron, best-known for her My Friends series of semi-autobiographical novels...
(born 1910), Author (known by her legal name of Elizabeth Jane Cameron whilst a pupil) - Andy DunlopAndy DunlopAndy Dunlop is a Scottish musician, who is currently the lead guitarist of Scottish indie band, Travis.-Biography:...
(born 1972), TravisTravis (band)Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
guitarist - Andrew Henderson (born 1980), Scottish rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer. - Tom Johnston (politician) (born 1882), Secretary of State for Scotland during the Second World War in Churchill's cabinet
- Ian McCartneyIan McCartneySir Ian McCartney is a former politician, who was the British Labour Party Member of Parliament for the Makerfield constituency between 1987 to 2010, and served in the Cabinet, from 2003 to 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister...
(born 1951), former MP, chairman of the Labour Party and member of Tony Blair's cabinet - Nicola RaphaelNicola Ann RaphaelNicola Ann Raphael was a 15 year old Scottish schoolgirl who committed suicide after enduring years of bullying because she dressed in a Goth style. Her death on June 24, 2001 and allegations of bullying at her school, Lenzie Academy, led to wide coverage in the local and national press...
(born 1985) – A pupil whose suicide and preceding bullying at the school led to wide press coverage and later legal action. - Michael Shea (diplomat)Michael Shea (diplomat)Michael Sinclair MacAuslan Shea was press secretary to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom from 1978 to 1987. Earlier he had been a career diplomat and was also an author....
(born 1938), Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II (1978–1987)
See also
- List of places in East Dunbartonshire
- List of places in Scotland
- :Category:People educated at Lenzie Academy