Established 1576 Staff 100 Full-time staff Phone +44 141 889 3484 Number of students 945 | Head Teacher Janice Levens Gender Coeducational Founded 1576 | |
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Location Glasgow RoadPaisleyRenfrewshirePA1 3RPScotland Houses Mull, Skye, Iona and Lewis Similar Castlehead High School, Gleniffer High School, Park Mains High School, St Andrew's Academy, Renfrew High School | ||
Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland's oldest schools with an established history.
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The present school building (which was called the 'Paisley Grammar School and William B. Barbour Academy' due to a bequest by the former Member of Parliament for Paisley, William B. Barbour, and until recently was the school's proper title) was opened in 1898 by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, then Secretary of State for Scotland.
The school was fee paying until the mid-1960s and in 1986, when threatened with imminent closure by Strathclyde Regional Council, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher intervened personally to ensure the survival of the school. The law was changed so that local councils could no longer close schools which were more than 80% full without approval by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
The Head Teacher is Janice Levens, who joined the school in January 2016 as Acting Head Teacher and was formally appointed to the post on 13 May 2016.
Notable former pupils
Notable former pupils include:
Old Grammarians
The Old Grammarians Club is a society formed by and for former pupils and staff of Paisley Grammar School. The club has been running in some form since 1928 and was founded with a need to 'keep in touch' after school years following world war I.
Mrs Faye Carruthers is the current president who was elected to office in 2015.
The Club are committed to organising social gatherings throughout the year including a yearly ball and a gold club with yearly tournament. The Old Grammarians Club also contributes to the school's annual prize-giving; giving the Old Grammarians Prize to one pupil in the sixth year.