Scottish School Uniform: School Types--Public Schools / Academies


Figure 1.--These two boys are students at Morrison's Academyh, one of several academies that continue to operate in Scotland. This school continues to operate as a private school.

Scotland and England are in the same country, but there are differences including education. There are schools analgous to English public (private secondary boarding) schools, but they are ot called public schools. Many are call academies. One type of school characteristic to Scotland is the academy. Americans think of academies as military schools, but this was not the case in Scotland. The word 'academy'" has several meanings in the English language. The primary definition is a school with a specialized academic program. This is the sence that academy was adopted by American military schools, meaning a school with a s;evcisalized military program. Schools specializing in the arts are also often called academies. This as not the sence in which academy came to be used in Scotland. We do not yet have details on when academies first began to appear in Scotland. We do not know what individual or group adopted the term. We do know that it was adopted because of its clasical connotations. The classical Academy was of course was the classical school of philosophty based on Platonic thought. It was name after a grove of trees in Athens where Plato thought. We do not know when the first academy was founded in Scotlsand. We do know that academies were well established throughout Scotland by the late 19th century.

Characteristic of Scotland

One type of school characteristic to Scotland is the academy. Americans think of academies as military schools, but this was not the case in Scotland.

Definition

The word 'academy' has several meanings in the English language. The primary definition is a school with a specialized academic program. This is the sence that academy was adopted by American military schools, meaning a school with a specisalized military program. Schools specializing in the arts are also often called academies. This as not the sence in which academy came to be used in Scotland. The Scottish acadeny has come to mean 'college' in the European sense. That means a schools with combined primary secondary program. They were initially boarding schools, but that is becoming less true today as day programs are becoming dominant in academies which were once primarily boarding schools. While there are few academies in England, there are some colleges.

Origins

We do not yet have details on when academies first began to appear in Scotland.

The Classical Academy

We do not know what individual or group adopted the term. We do know that it was adopted because of its clasical connotations. The classical Academy was of course was the classical school of philosophy based on Platonic thought. It was name after a grove of trees in Athens where Plato thought. We do not know when the first academy was founded in Scotlsand. We do know that academies were well established throughout Scotland by the late 19th century.

The Scottish Academy

As best we can understand, academies were founded in Scotland during the early 19th century. Some may have been founded in the 18th century, but we think they were mostly founded in the 19th century. Scotland beginning with the Reformation had an early system of public education founded on the kirk. Many of these schools, however, disappeared with the dislocations associated with the Industrial Revolution. I'm not sure who founded accademies. Several appear to have been founded by philanthrpists. Even so, they were fee paying institutions whoich for the most part excluded the working class. The fees seem to have been low enough that most middle-clss families could afford them. As state schools were founded, the academies countinued to operate for middle class families. The acadamies offered both primsry and secondary education, in this mtter they differed from Enghlish public (private) schools wghich in the q9th century became essentially secondary schools. Many accademies have continued to operate in Scotland. Many are still private schools. Others have been incorporated into the state syste and ioeratec as grammar or comnprehensive schools.

Individual Schools

We have begun to collect some information on individual Scottish private schools with secondary programs. They include include several academies. These include: Daniel Stewart, Dollar, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Greenock, Heriots, Morrison's, and Scotus. The schools in the major cities are primarily day schools today, but there are still boarding schools in the smller cities and towns. The Scootish schools, presumably because of the accademy influence are combined primary/secondary schools to a greater extent than the English schools. We also see a move toward coeducation a shift whichlagged behind schools in England.

English Public Schools

The Scottish academies that are part of the private (independent) sector are comparable to the English public (free paying private) schools. There are some differences. The Scottish academies mostly date from the 19th century. We do not know of any founded in the 15h-6th centuries as is the case of some of the English schools. Also most English public schools are secindary schools while many Scottish acadamies include junior (primary) sections.







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Last updated: 1:02 PM 8/8/2017