Albyn School

Albyn School is an independent, coeducational day school. The Headmaster is a member of HMC, the Heads’ Conference. With almost 800 pupils and 170 staff, Albyn comprises three sections: a Nursery for around 120 children aged 2-5; a Lower School for around 260 pupils aged 5-12 and an Upper School of just over 400 pupils aged 12-18. Since 2018 Albyn has also incorporated the Total French School which currently has four members of staff and almost 50 pupils who follow a hybrid curriculum attending some Albyn School lessons as well as dedicated classes which follow the French national curriculum. The latter enables French School pupils, if they move on (as many do every two to three years), to continue their education either back in France or in other French medium schools around the world.

Situation

Located in the heart of Aberdeen’s West End with its playing fields at Milltimber, the School is fortunate to be situated in a city and region that offers a very high quality of life to families moving into the area. The economy and environment present a range of opportunities to enhance and enrich pupils’ education. 

Famous for its striking granite architecture, Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city and the regional centre of the wider North East region. Dominated by energy-related industries, Aberdeen is a city with a wide diversity of other professional jobs and services such as a large teaching hospital, two world-renowned universities as well as many other legal, financial and technical organisations. The city has a diverse musical and cultural heritage centred on its theatres, cinemas, and the newly renovated Art Gallery and Music Hall. The city also has over 800 shops and restaurants, including many familiar high street names. 

To the west of Aberdeen, the Cairngorms National Park is an area of outstanding natural beauty that draws in walkers, climbers and skiers. Within a short distance of the city and stretching many miles both north and south are empty beaches, miles of sand dunes, picturesque fishing villages and dramatic cliff top scenery.

History, Buildings and Facilities

Founded as a girls’ school in 1867, Albyn School has changed its name, location and structure a number of times over its 155-year history. On its current site since the mid-1920s, the then Albyn School for Girls first occupied two Victorian villas fronting onto Queen’s Road. Since that time, the School has grown, added to its buildings and grounds, and now occupies four listed Victorian villas with a host of more recent additions. In 2005, Albyn began its move to full coeducation, a journey that concluded when the first boys left S6 in 2014. Albyn School is now both a company limited by guarantee and a charity governed by its trustees who also act as the School’s Board of Governors.

The School has continually built and redeveloped its teaching facilities since its inception, creating specialist departmental areas, ICT suites, business education facilities, music practice rooms, art and design studios and numerous classrooms. In August 2007, Albyn School opened a dedicated Lower School building. Built over three floors it comprises 16 bright classrooms many of them with spectacular views across Aberdeen and the North Sea. In 2011, the Nursery was further extended and three additional science laboratories were built to meet the needs of increasing numbers seeking careers in science, engineering and medicine.

In August 2012, HRH The Duke of Gloucester opened 10 new, modern and spacious classrooms for the teaching of Mathematics, English and Computing, while in November 2014 a new Lower School Library and a studio theatre were opened. In 2017 the Wood Foundation Engineering Centre was completed. The School now has an excellent environment for the teaching of its pupils that marries together contemporary and traditional architecture.

The School also has excellent sports facilities located at Milltimber, 6 miles southwest of the city. There we have a pavilion, three pitches used principally for football, four tennis courts and a running track. The School also draws upon facilities at the Aberdeen Sports Village and RGU (Robert Gordon University) to train our teams. The PE programme is also taught on our Queen’s Road site within the School gymnasium and Former Pupil Centenary Hall and on a recently created floodlit netball and tennis court.