Holyrood Secondary School
Holyrood Secondary School is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the south-side of Glasgow, Scotland. It is near Crosshill railway station, Hampden Park, A728 and the new M74 motorway. It is the biggest secondary school in Scotland, with over 2,000 pupils and 150 teaching staff. Holyrood was officially opened in 1936. It has had refurbishment which includes the Holyrood Sports Centre, which was opened in late 2000 and is used by the pupils during school and the community in the evenings and at weekends. In 2019 Holyrood RC Secondary School was ranked the 82nd best performing  school in Scotland by the Scottish Government: 43 percent of pupils attained five or more awards at SCQF Level 6, the equivalent of highers. History. The school was founded in 1936 and originally functioned as a senior secondary with entry dependent on a high mark in the "qualifying examination". In 1971 the exam was abolished and all Scottish state schools became equal in terms of status, curriculum offered and examinations taken. In 2012, the school was the subject of a BBC television documentary series titled "High School". In 2017, former pupil Joe McFadden visited Holyrood during his appearance on the  BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing". The school was featured in an episode, as McFadden and his dance partner Katya Jones showcased a dance in front of the pupils. In 2020 Holyrood, along with all other Scottish schools, closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SQA for the first time in 130 years cancelled all exams. Facilities. The original school building, designed by the firm of John Burnet, Son & Dick, was built in 1936, and is now protected as a category B listed building. Over the years, the school has had renovation and additional blocks purposely built, known as the "new  block" and "I.T. Wing". The new block also features new classrooms for English, religious education and social subjects. The school features over 20 purpose built I.T. rooms and also hosts three drama studios, complete with sound and lighting effects. It has several wood work and metal workshops as well as modern laboratories for physics, chemistry and biology. Nearly all classrooms within the school are fully equipped with smart boards and projectors. In 2001, Glasgow city council commissioned a modern sports centre to be built directly next to Holyrood, known as Holyrood Sports Centre. The school has exclusive access during the  day to all the facilities, with the centre being open at night to the public. The sports centre features a full size synthetic floodlit pitch, three seven-a-side pitches, changing rooms, inside gym hall and shower accommodation. In addition, an open plan gym which can be split into two separate halls, a dance studio and a modern extensive fitness suite. These facilities are used by all pupils for physical education and are an addition to the swimming pool and gymnastics hall. In 2012, the school was selected as the Glasgow base for the Scottish Football Association's Performance Schools , a system devised to support the development of the best young talented footballers across the country (there are seven such schools across Scotland). As of 2018, the dedicated coach for the young players at Holyrood is Joe McBride. Malawi partnership. The school has established a close partnership with Mary's Meals, which saw former deputy head, Tony Begley, resign from his position to take up a new role as the education co-ordinator of this non-profitable charity. The school has also been at the forefront of fundraising for Malawi as well as Mary's Meals which involves under 30  pupils travelling to areas close to Blantyre, Malawi to reconstruct, renovate and build schools. A team of 36 young people was chosen for 2013 after a successful five years of the project and planned to continue the work in Malawi, led by previous head teacher, Thomas McDonald. The school has so far raised in excess of £200,000 for Malawi. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Malawi, and subsequently 2021 Malawi projects had to be cancelled. Admissions. The school has a roll of approximately 2,000 pupils and 150 teachers, making it one of the largest state comprehensive schools in  Europe. Notable former pupils. Arts & media Business & finance Politics Sports Chaplaincy. The school chaplain is John Carroll.