Ayr Academy

Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir) is a non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children of ages 11–18 from Ayr. Ayr Academy's catchment area covers Newton-on-Ayr, Whitletts and the outlying villages of Coylton, Annbank, and Mossblown. In 2007, the closure of Mainholm Academy resulted in the addition of approximately 100 pupils attending Ayr Academy. As of November 2020, 572 pupils attended Ayr Academy which is the smallest pupil intake numbers in the whole of South Ayrshire. Overview Catchment area In economical terms, Ayr Academy is one of the schools within South Ayrshire with high levels of economic deprivation and disadvantage, with more pupils attending Ayr Academy from deprived backgrounds than most within South Ayrshire. This was highlighted nationally in 2015 upon the release of national examination results across Scotland, with Ayr Academy's performance in the national examinations being the worst in South Ayrshire – Director of Education for South Ayrshire Council, Douglas Hutchinson, claiming that "Research shows that young people who are less economically advantaged achieve less well across Scotland. Therefore, to compare schools that may experience greater levels of deprivation does not reflect the hard work by staff and young people".