Welcome to the Nairn Academy

Nairn Academy is a Secondary School serving the Nairn area of Highland, Scotland.

Nairn Academy is a six-year comprehensive school which was founded in 1832.  The school serves the burgh and former county of Nairn and has a roll which has varied, recently, between 770 and 830 pupils.  Until 1953, the school had been known as Rose’s Academical Institution, in honour of an early benefactor, Captain James Rose, RN.  From 1953 onwards it has been known as Nairn Academy and was formerly housed in what is now Rosebank Primary School.  By 1969, the school had grown to outstrip its former site and a new building was planned and subsequently erected at the western end of the town.  The new school was first occupied in January, 1976, and was formally opened in June of that year.

 The present school building was designed to be as flexible as possible to cope with change.  Its lay-out, though unconventional, is purposeful and practical.  The building is largely single-storey, and, in addition to normal classrooms, there are open-plan areas eg in English, Mathematics, Social Subjects, Special Education and in three of the practical departments - Art and Design, Technological Education and Home Economics.   The Business Studies, Physical Education and Science departments have their own specialist facilities.  There is also a Library which is staffed by a full-time Librarian.  The school is very well equipped and is maintained to a high standard.

 An extension was opened in August 1993 which provides specialized accommodation.   Included in the area are toilet facilities for pupils with physical handicaps, a physiotherapy suite and teaching areas for pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties.

In pursuit of these aims for pupils, the staff will:

• provide equal opportunities to all pupils through an appropriate range of courses and experiences suitable for their needs and abilities, whatever their race, creed, gender or social circumstances;

• adopt a full range of appropriate methodologies and provide challenging learning activities;

• provide a responsive Guidance system (involving all staff) which will afford support for pupils’ personal needs and will assist them to make informed course and career choices;

• aim to achieve health promoting school status by raising pupils' awareness of health promotion and lifestyle choices through personal and education activities and participation in the school's broad Active School programme of activities and sports;

• aim to promote the health and well-being of staff by achieving accreditation through Scotland's Health at Work scheme;

• promote a working partnership with parents, informing them of their children’s progress, involving them actively in their children’s education, developing their awareness of the work and life of the Academy;

• promote appropriate links with the community, locally and globally, to enhance pupils’ learning experiences;

• seek to improve the quality of the education provided for our pupils through development planning, school audit, self-evaluation and staff development to raise standards of teaching and learning, of support for pupils and to meet the professional development needs of staff;

Nairn Academy has a strong tradition in extra-curricular activities and provides many opportunities for pupils to be involved in activities outwith the timetabled school day.  These may occur at lunchtime, after 3.45pm or they may involve day visits or residential visits either at home or abroad.

The number of activities depends of course, on pupil demand and voluntary teacher participation.  As a result, the activities offered change from time to time depending on other educational demands on teacher’s time, on expertise, on interest and inclinations of individuals or groups of staff.

Within the Active School Co-ordinator programme, and with the assistance of staff and parents, opportunities are made available to pupils to participate in a range of sports.  Both team and individual pursuits continue to be promoted, either within the school or in collaboration with clubs in the community.

We hope that pupils will take full advantage of the wide range of activities on offer and will use these opportunities to socialise, to improve their skills, to take positions of responsibility and to make a contribution to society.

	Musical and Sporting activities	Follow these links to see lists of the extra-curricular activities which have been made available in recent years.  The pages may be a little slow to load but may be worth the wait! The lists are updated annually (usually in January/February).
	Other activities