Queen Margaret Academy

Queen Margaret Academy (Scottish Gaelic: banrigh Maighread àrd-sgoil) is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the south of Ayr in southwest Scotland. Queen Margaret is state-run by South Ayrshire Council and takes children aged 11 to 18 from the whole of South Ayrshire and parts of East Ayrshire.

The original St Margaret's school was founded in 1856 in the building which is now St Margaret's Church Hall in Elba Street, Ayr. In 1893 the school moved to Whitletts Road where over seventy-three years it developed from a purely primary to a combined primary and secondary school. In August 1966, the secondary department moved to a new building in Mainholm Road, adjacent to Mainholm Academy, and was renamed Queen Margaret Academy; the primary department remained at Whitletts Road and was renamed St John's Primary School.

When the lower school leaving age rose to 16, both Queen Margaret and Mainholm Academies outgrew their accommodation. Consequently it was decided that Mainholm Academy should also occupy the entire site on Mainholm Road, and a new building be constructed to house the pupils of Queen Margaret Academy. Initially the site of the current Kyle Academy was considered, but felt to be too small. The current buildings in Dalmellington Road were officially opened in 1977. Based on an experimental design, the teaching areas are located in one building with large open plan areas across for study and learning. The PE facilities, dinner hall and wing are in a separate building linked by a covered walkway. Attached to the school is the South Ayrshire Supported Learning Centre, which caters for pupils with specific educational needs.

Queen Margaret Academy is currently (as of 2011) in the top 50 (out of an approx total of 376) performing schools in Scotland.