Mearns Castle High School
Encyclopedia
For schools of the same name, see Castle High School
.
Mearns Castle High School is a secondary school
situated on Waterfoot Road in Newton Mearns
, an affluent commuter town
in East Renfrewshire, Scotland
roughly seven miles from Glasgow. Built in 1978, pupils from Mearns Primary, Eaglesham Primary, Kirkhill Primary and Calderwood Lodge are all part of the schools catchment area. The Head Teacher is Dean Smith.
The school has recently received a new extension. The extension of the school is part of a Public Private Partnership Project with builders HBG, the extension provides many extra classrooms, currently used for Maths, Social subjects and the school office. Mearns Castle is situated next to Maxwell Mearns Church which hosts the numerous services for all yeargroups throughout the year. It is also positioned next to Mearns Castle
(15th Century), hence the name, "Mearns Castle High School"
It is currently named the Sunday Times Scottish State School of the Year, and the SQA results each year place Mearns Castle in the top 5% for Scotland as the school achieves consistently high marks in school performance tables.
In 2009, the school raised over £7000 during Charities Week.
The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice recently opened its training hub, 'Mearns Castle High Training Suite' in recognition of the fundraising efforts of students, teachers and parents who collected £15,000 (mainly from Charities Week) to help with refurbishment costs.
The Senior Concert Band have recently been awarded Platinum at the regional stage of the NCBF in Glasgow and Gold in the National Finals in Birmingham in mid-April.
The recent Pakistan Floods funds run by several S6 years
The Senior Boys Basketball Team won the Scottish Cup in 2008.
The Senior Boys Volleyball team came 2nd in the Scottish Schools Cup.
The school has also won the Scottish State Secondary School of the Year in 2010
Mearns Castle High School also has a very successful debating team, run by Mr. J McGowne. There is both a Junior and Senior team, which are both around 20 - 30 pupils strong, and regularly participate in, and host, debating competitions from around the country. Having won the Glasgow Bar Association competition in 2009 (and coming a close second in 2010), participating at Oxford University Competition, narrowly missing out on sending pupils to Cambridge University Competition, participating in EYP (European Youth Parliament - both in Scotland and on a national scale) and competing in the Law Society Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament twice, all in recent years the debating team is on top form and looks set to stay this way for many years to come.
Castle High School
Castle High School can refer to:*John H. Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, United States*James B. Castle High School in Kaneohe, Hawaii, United States*Castle High School in Belfast, Northern Ireland...
.
Mearns Castle High School is a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
situated on Waterfoot Road in Newton Mearns
Newton Mearns
Newton Mearns is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, an affluent commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
in East Renfrewshire, 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...
roughly seven miles from Glasgow. Built in 1978, pupils from Mearns Primary, Eaglesham Primary, Kirkhill Primary and Calderwood Lodge are all part of the schools catchment area. The Head Teacher is Dean Smith.
The school has recently received a new extension. The extension of the school is part of a Public Private Partnership Project with builders HBG, the extension provides many extra classrooms, currently used for Maths, Social subjects and the school office. Mearns Castle is situated next to Maxwell Mearns Church which hosts the numerous services for all yeargroups throughout the year. It is also positioned next to Mearns Castle
Mearns Castle
Mearns Castle is a fifteenth-century tower house in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, to the south of Glasgow, Scotland. It is a Category A listed building. The castle has been restored and is now part of the Maxwell Mearns Castle Church...
(15th Century), hence the name, "Mearns Castle High School"
It is currently named the Sunday Times Scottish State School of the Year, and the SQA results each year place Mearns Castle in the top 5% for Scotland as the school achieves consistently high marks in school performance tables.
Charities Week
Charities Week is the school’s main charity fundraising endeavour of the year. Various events are held during the week, with the main focus being the variety shows that take place in the theatre each lunchtime featuring pupils and staff. They normally also have a range of other events including; ‘Pie the Teacher’(The Pie Mafia), Van de Graph Generator Experience, Raffles, Tombola, Sponge the teacher, 5-a-side football and many more. Individual classes and class teachers often arrange a fundraising activity during the week as well and there is usually a non-uniform day on the Friday when pupils (and staff) have to pay £1 if they choose not to wear uniform that day.In 2009, the school raised over £7000 during Charities Week.
Awards and recognition
The school was one of three finalists in the Most Enterprising Secondary as part of the Scottish Education Awards 2007, which aim to celebrate successes and recognise achievements in Scottish education.The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice recently opened its training hub, 'Mearns Castle High Training Suite' in recognition of the fundraising efforts of students, teachers and parents who collected £15,000 (mainly from Charities Week) to help with refurbishment costs.
The Senior Concert Band have recently been awarded Platinum at the regional stage of the NCBF in Glasgow and Gold in the National Finals in Birmingham in mid-April.
The recent Pakistan Floods funds run by several S6 years
The Senior Boys Basketball Team won the Scottish Cup in 2008.
The Senior Boys Volleyball team came 2nd in the Scottish Schools Cup.
The school has also won the Scottish State Secondary School of the Year in 2010
Mearns Castle High School also has a very successful debating team, run by Mr. J McGowne. There is both a Junior and Senior team, which are both around 20 - 30 pupils strong, and regularly participate in, and host, debating competitions from around the country. Having won the Glasgow Bar Association competition in 2009 (and coming a close second in 2010), participating at Oxford University Competition, narrowly missing out on sending pupils to Cambridge University Competition, participating in EYP (European Youth Parliament - both in Scotland and on a national scale) and competing in the Law Society Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament twice, all in recent years the debating team is on top form and looks set to stay this way for many years to come.
External links
- http://www.ea.e-renfrew.sch.uk/mearnscastle/aboutUs/welcome.asp (Mearns Castle High School Website)
- Mearns Castle High School's page on Scottish Schools Online
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/parentpower/schools_of_the_year.php?p=scottish_state_secondary