Inverness High School

 

Inverness High School – A Brief History  

The School derives originally from the Free Church Institution which was founded after the Disruption of 1843. After incorporating Raining’s School, it moved to the premises now occupied by Crown Primary School.

The Technical School in Church Street became a department of the High School, and in 1937 the entire school moved to its present site. Renamed the Technical High School, it specialised in providing Technical, Domestic and Commercial Courses, in addition to a full range of academic subjects. In 1959, the name reverted to Inverness High School.

On the introduction of Comprehensive Education, this specialisation ended and the High School became an area comprehensive school, providing a full range of courses The High School drew its pupils from the area of the town lying west of the River Ness, as far as Beauly and Cannich; and catering for a small number of pupils from the far west of Inverness-shire, who spent the week in a hostel in town and returned home at week-ends.

At its maximum, the school roll was over 1,600 pupils, with over 100 staff. Since the opening of Charleston Academy, there has been a general reduction of numbers. From session 1991-92 the roll has started to rise again, with a slight increase in numbers arriving from Primary. Our associated primary schools have also been greatly reduced in number. We now take pupils from Central, Dalneigh and Merkinch Primaries, and a proportion of the pupils from St. Joseph’s R.C. School and Bishop Eden’s School.

As a result, Inverness High School has become very much a “town school”, with only a few country pupils and no fleet of buses arriving daily at the school.

Inverness High School
Montague Row
Inverness
IV3 5DZ
Telephone 01463 233586

Roll for session 2021-22: 547
Rector: Mr John Rutter

Note: the above history is included in the School Handbook.

School of Ambition status

Inverness High School qualified in 2005 as one of the first 20 secondary schools in Scotland to pilot the Schools of Ambition Programme, which aims to raise the ambitions of schools, instil belief and ambition in pupils, extend their opportunities and transform their life chances.

Funding of £100,000 per year over three years was awarded to  allow the 487-pupil school to extend its growing links with the local community and improve provision of training in information technology and staff development at the school.

Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell visited the school on 16 September 2005 to launch the programme.