Portlethen Academy is a six-year comprehensive secondary school in Portlethen

Portlethen

Portlethen is a town located approximately 7 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland along the A90. The estimated population is currently 7,327.To the east of Portlethen lie three fishing villages: Findon, Downies and Portlethen Village .Although Portlethen has been granted official town status, it...

, Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

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History

With the expansion of the communities of Portlethen and Newtonhill in the 1980s, the Education Committee of Grampian Regional Council decided to build a new six-year Academy in Portlethen. Until then, pupils from the area were bused to Mackie Academy

Mackie Academy

Mackie Academy is a secondary school in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. As of 2008, Mackie Academy currently has roughly 1300 pupils and 80 staff.-History:...

, in near-by Stonehaven

Stonehaven

Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...

. Portlethen Academy opened on 20 April 1987 as a new school for the communities of Portlethen

Portlethen

Portlethen is a town located approximately 7 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland along the A90. The estimated population is currently 7,327.To the east of Portlethen lie three fishing villages: Findon, Downies and Portlethen Village .Although Portlethen has been granted official town status, it...

, Newtonhill

Newtonhill

Newtonhill is a farming village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has been popular with farm workers and tradesmen for decades for its cheap housing and location, just six miles south of Aberdeen.-Facilities:...

, Muchalls

Muchalls

Muchalls is a small coastal ex-fishing village in Kincardineshire, Scotland, south of Newtonhill and north of Stonehaven. Muchalls is situated slightly north of a smaller hamlet known as the Bridge of Muchalls. At the western edge of Muchalls is the historic Saint Ternan's Church...

 and Banchory-Devenick

Banchory-Devenick

Banchory-Devenick is a village approximately two kilometres south of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire....

. Originally owned by Grampian Regional Council and Kincardine and Deeside District Council, the school passed to Aberdeenshire Council, when it formed in 1996.

The school opened with 180 pupils in Years 1 and 2 and a capacity of around 650. The Academy has expanded in numbers each session since April 1987, reaching over 800 pupils. As the roll rose, the school became too small to accommodate all the pupils and staff. Seven temporary classrooms were added to the school prior to closure. The current head master is Albert Swinborn.

Aberdeenshire Council commissioned a new school under the PPI2 Scheme

Private Finance Initiative

The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...

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Current building

As early as the turn of the millennium, plans existed for a new school, to be built and managed by Robertson FM, as part of the Government's PPI2 scheme. It was built on the playing fields adjacent to the existing Academy. Construction started in June 2004, and was completed by the end of July 2006. Originally set to open in June 2006, for the start of the new timetable, a burst pipe delayed the school's opening until August. The new building opened on 22 August 2006 with a role of 867. The existing school has been knocked down, and the main car park which forms part of the area along with the all-weather pitch made up stage 2 of the relocation programme.

The school has state of the art facilities, and is one of the most technologically advanced and biggest state schools in 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 school roll is continuing to rise, and there are already reports that the new building will not be able to handle the expected influx of new students.

For information of extreme weather arrangements at Portlethen Academy, Phone 0870 054 4999 and use 021120 for Portlethen Academy.

Community School

Portlethen Academy is aiming to become more involved in the local community after moving into the new building. Many local groups also meet at the school, including the local Portlethen Panthers basketball team. The community library has opened to the public and the new Community Centre is also within the building. It is currently unknown what will happen with the land where the old community centre stood, although there have been rumours that the new Portlethen Primary School

Portlethen Primary School

-History:The school dates back to the nineteenth century when Portlethen was a small fishing village. The first school building was what is now the Police Station. The school moved to the building more recently used as the Community Centre, which was built in 1860...

 will be built on it.

All ALIS members have access to the new library which offers a wide range of book and non-book resources. The library is managed by a full-time professional librarian, Carol Love, who also manages the Newtonhill branch library, with the support of a team of 5 library assistants.