Campbeltown Grammar School was founded in 1686. Since June 1969 it has occupied new buildings on a site at Limecraigs overlooking the town. It is a non-denominational co-educational secondary comprehensive school, taking all children between the ages of 12 and 18 from the south Kintyre area (as far as Tayinloan on the west side and Carradale on the east) and from the island of Gigha. The designated catchment area contains nine associated primary school ranging from the larger town primaries with around 300 pupils to small, single teacher rural primaries. The school had a roll of 520 pupils in August 1997. There is a teaching staff of 42.5FTE organised into sixteen subject departments.
School address Campbeltown Grammar School Hutcheon Road Campbeltown PA28 6JS
School telephone 01586 552907 (5 lines) and 553648 Fax. 01586 554691 e-mail: cgs@easynet.co.uk RectorÕs e-mail: d007mht@A007.ecsu.org The school buildings consist of the main teaching block and two separate blocks housing the technical and music departments. Two ramps provide access to the ground floor of the main building and there is a lift to the upper floors available for those with mobility difficulties. Surrounding the school are extensive playing fields. The school has a minibus which is used for excursions of small groups of pupils. Community groups may make use of the schoolÕs facilities in the evenings for sporting or other activities.
Courses In the first two years pupils follow a common course covering all the modes recommended by the SCCC and including one period per week of information technology. Subject choices for years three and four are organised to ensure that all the required elements are included. The curriculum followed by all pupils enables them to sit eight SCE Standard grades. In the fifth and sixth years pupils reduce the number of subjects to a maximum of five, two of which must be English and Maths at the appropriate level. Much work has been done in recent years to provide suitable curricular pathways for all levels of pupil ability; the School Group Award and other Scotvec modular clusters are available alongside the traditional SCE Higher provision. At all stages pupils have one period per week of Personal and Social Education. Physical Education is a core activity from first to fourth year and an optional activity in S5 and S6.
Further education provision is delivered in the evenings by staff of the Community Education service and during the day through the facilities of the ABLE (Argyll & Bute Link to Education) Centre which is located in the school.
Guidance The Guidance department consists of a Principal Teacher and four Assistant Principal Teachers who oversee delivery of the PSE programme and address the pastoral needs of pupils. The Guidance structure is organised on a vertical basis, each pupil linking with the same member of the Guidance staff for the whole of his/her time at the school. The department works closely with a number of external agencies in the interests of pupils. Special Educational Needs The Grammar School caters for the full range of pupil ability, including pupils who have special educational needs. There are two fully-equipped learning support bases, two full-time auxiliary staff and 7 full-time or part-time learning support teachers, in addition to the schoolÕs Principal Teacher of Learning Support. In 1995/96 ten pupils with Records of Need were on the school roll. Whatever their special needs, all pupils are fully integrated into the life and work of the School.
Extra Curricular Activities The School offers, through the goodwill of many staff and parents, a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and societies. There are also regular school dances. These out-of-hours activities are an extremely important part of the wider life of the school. The following is a list of what was available during session 1995/96:-
Football Volleyball Cricket Sailing Badminton Hockey School Show Choral Group Guitar Club Brass Band Wind Band Pipe Band Art Club Computing Debating Young Enterprise Canoeing Shinty
There are also regular foreign trips in recent years for ski-ing (in Italy and France) and for language study (Spain and France).
Music Tuition Particular features of the SchoolÕs extra-curricular activities are the Concert Wind Band and the Brass Band. Both have come to prominence in national competitions, the Brass Band being the Scottish Junior Champions in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and runners-up in the UK championships in 1996. Tuition is also offered in the Scottish bagpipes and pupils may join the Kintyre Schools Pipe Band. Drum tuition for the Pipe Band is provided on a voluntary basis.
School Chaplaincy and Religious Observance The SchoolÕs policy on religious observance affirms that religious observance contributes to the whole ethos of the school and provides opportunities for the school to come together as a community to express, develop and deepen its faith. It is seen not only as the activity of a believing community but includes collective expressions of both joy and sadness and allows reflection on shared values and concerns. It provides, in a non-denominational setting such as the Grammar School, a meaningful experience for pupils of all religious faiths and of none. Chaplaincy services for pupils and staff of the Grammar School are provided by a Chaplaincy Team consisting of the Rev. Michael Lind of the Highland Parish Church, Campbeltown, the Rev. Father Roddy McAulay of St KiaranÕs RC Church, Campbeltown, and Lt Jim Prescott of the Campbeltown Citadel, The Salvation Army. As well as assisting in the weekly assemblies, the Chaplains are available for consultation by pupils and staff on matters of private concern on request.
School Uniform The school values the support for its ethos which comes from the wearing of the school uniform. The School Board is closely involved in programme of supporting and encouraging the wearing of the uniform and runs a uniform shop within the school. Approximately 95% of puipls now follow the school dress code.
The School Board The School Board is active in fundraising and is deeply interested in and supportive of the work of the school in a variety of ways. Board meetings regularly feature presentations by staff about the work of their departments or other aspects such as Work Experience, Health Education, etc. The partnership between staff and parents which the BoardÕs activities represent is a strong and very valuable one.