The Gordon Schools is a non-denominational, comprehensive secondary school, providing education for pupils aged 11 to 18 years old. The school has an established educational tradition, stretching back over 175 years to its origins where the Duchess of Gordon founded the school and the famous architect, Archibald Simpson, designed the original buildings which provide a striking and distinctive image of the school. We draw from an area of up to sixteen miles around the town of Huntly in the north east of Scotland. Our current school roll stands at around 750 pupils.
Visitors to our school will be struck by the impressive view which opens out at the top of the town, featuring an area of mature trees in which The Gordon Schools’ buildings are set. We are often asked, “Why The Gordon Schools and not just School?” In 1839 the last Duchess of Gordon, known as the ‘Good Duchess’, erected a building in the town of Huntly as a memorial to her late husband. She invited the four major local schools to occupy it, and thus The Gordon Schools was born. This building still stands today as part of our present accommodation. It was renovated a number of years ago and is now a striking home for our Music, Drama and Home Economics departments.
The school has steadily grown over the years in a succession of stages, with buildings linked by a network of corridors. We have a large assembly hall, gymnasium, and games hall, together with well-equipped and pleasant classrooms in all subjects. We are fortunate in having our playing fields and all-weather sporting facilities on the same site as the school and doubly fortunate in having access to the grounds of the local Cricket and Rugby Clubs adjacent to the school. We also have the local Authority’s modern swimming pool on-site and use this as part of our Physical Education curriculum. All of these facilities feature strongly in our extra-curricular programmes.
The school has very strong links with the local community, where we play a key and distinctive role in Huntly and the surrounding areas. Involvement with local groups, businesses and organisations are encouraged to provide a rich educational tapestry for our young people and we value the input of parents and guardians who are very much involved in the life of The Gordon Schools.
To celebrate the schools recent 175th anniversary (2014) a specially arranged book celebrating the schools rich history was published.