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Harris Academy is a secondary school located in the West End of Dundee, Scotland. It is a state school which originally opened its on August 31, 1885. The original building was in Park Place and the school moved to its present building in Perth Road in 1931. The current Rector of the school is Mr James Thewliss.
Prior to its current incarnation as a state school, Harris Academy was a fee-paying private school, and there was a fierce rivalry between Harris and the Dundee High School. Many of the teachers at the school in the late 1970's and 80's were originally employed by the private school and something of this ethos and culture remained at the school for a long time after.
In the late 70's the school experienced something of a boom in numbers, and Harris Academy took over the premises of the Blackness Secondary School on Blackness Road Dundee. The school was split with 1st and 2nd years attending Harris Academy in the Blackness annexe, 3rd to 6th Years continued at the Perth Road building while teachers spent large parts of the day commuting between the two sites
House system
Harris Academy has a house system which allocates each pupil to one of four houses, named Birnam, Cawdor, Forres and Kinloch. The former three come from houses in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth". The latter comes from the name of a former MP of Dundee.
Uniform
The uniform of Harris Academy is a three button, boxed blazer in maroon with the school badge embroidered on the left breast pocket. This blazer also features double slit pockets, dyed polyester lining, and two inner pockets (one with a zip). It is compulsory to wear an all black uniform or the maroon blazer. The Harris tie is a maroon tie striped with yellow and black. All pupils also wear ties. The new blazers, provided by Academy Uniforms and made in South Africa (the previous ones provided by Beau Brummel and made in England), have several flaws including a poorer material, a shade closer to Burgundy than Maroon, and the school's motto reads "SPE EI LABORE" instead of the above mottoe.
Each of the houses has an associated colour, Birnam - Maroon, Cawdor - Yellow, Forres - Green, Kinloch - Blue.
Buildings and grounds
The main building was built in 1931 after the previous Park Place building was deemed too small to hold the school population. The current building houses the Modern Languages department, the Social Subject departments, the Science departments, The Religious Education department, the Technology department, the Mathematics department, and the Classics department along with the Assembly hall, the Guidance base, Year-Heads' offices, and the Rector's office.
A newer section was added in the latter half of the 20th Century. This houses the Computing and Business Studies departments, the Home Economics department, the English department, the Art department, the school library, the careers base, the Dining hall, the school's two gymnasiums, and the school's swimming pool.
In addition to these there is also a Music Block housing the Music department as well as rooms for music tuition; and a substantial Games Hall building with a fitness room.
Not far from the school are the grounds of Elliot Road. These have been commandeered by the Dundee City Council, but remain under the control of Harris Academy. They include a recently-improved pavilion, a rugby pitch and several football or hockey fields. In summer time, it is converted to Athletics tracks.
Famous pupils
Famous former pupils include;