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Nicolson Institute

Field	Value
name	Nicolson Institute
native_name	Àrd-sgoil MhicNeacail
image	Matheson Hall, Nicolson Institute, 1.jpg
established
type	Secondary
rector	Jennifer Cairns
founder	Alexander Morrison Nicolson
address	Springfield Road, Stornoway
city	Isle of Lewis
postcode	HS1 2PZ
country	Scotland
coordinates
enrolment	1,200
website

The Nicolson Institute (Gaelic: Àrd-sgoil MhicNeacail) in Stornoway, is the largest school in the Western Isles, Scotland.

The Nicolson is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis. With the Sir E. Scott School in Harris, they provide education up to Advanced Higher level.

The student population is around 1000. The school has Gaelic-speaking pupils, although these are in the minority. There are five houses, named after five significant former rectors: Addison, Forbes, Gibson, Macrae and Sutherland. Addison contains only pupils who claim to be fluent in Gaelic.

The former rector, Dr. Frances Murray is an alumnus of the school and also a former dux of the school. She is the first former pupil to be appointed to the post in the school's history.

The Nicolson was re-built on the site of the original Stornoway Primary next to where the old Nicolson was. The old school comprised several different buildings, all built between 1904 (Matheson Hall) and the Main Building (1957) as well as a few other building that were demolished in the 1980s. The Main building was extended many times and a canteen was built in a second neighbouring building in the 1980s.

New school

In June 2010, the first part of the new school project started with the Springfield South (maths & geography) was demolished, (these subjects were housed in temporary portacabins at the back of the school). The project took 2 years and the new school opened on 16 August 2012 to staff and pupils. The old main building was then demolished to become the new bus park. The technical (Springfield North) and former Religious studies department (Matheson Hall) were retained, (technical is joint to the new building by a tunnel and Matheson hall is now used by the council.

Controversies

In 2006 the school was the site of an international custody battle after first year pupil Misbah Rana (also known as Molly Campbell) absconded to Pakistan.

In 2010, a cage/enclosure intended as a play area for a severely autistic pupil was removed, with the local authority claiming that the supplier had not understood the requirements.

The school has been at the centre of multiple bullying controversies. In 1997 two pupils were convicted after their bullying victim took her own life. In 2006 a pupil spoke out about anti-English bullying she had experienced at the school. In 2018 video of another bullying incident went viral.

In 2017 a student at the school committed suicide on school premises; his parents sued the health board for providing what they say is an inaccurate diagnosis from unsuitable tests. Eight months later another pupil committed suicide amid what was described as an 'epidemic' of mental health issues within the school.

In September 2019, a teacher at the school was charged with sexual offences.

In january 2026, a teacher at the school was arrested and charged with sexual offences. There was hidden cameras found in the girls toilets linked to him, this took place on January 18th his house then got searched on January 19th where there was indecent images found.

Notable Pupils

Linda Norgrove, kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and killed in rescue effort.
Angus MacNeil (born 1970), Independent, Member of Parliament (MP) for Na h-Eileanan an Iar since 2005{{cite web |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150526154241/http://www.snp.org/people/angus-macneil |archive-date = 26 May 2015
Anne MacKenzie (journalist) (born 1960), BBC political and current affairs presenter

Notes

References

(13 January 2011). "First female head for Nicolson Institute on Lewis". BBC News.
[http://www.take2theweb.com/pub/westernisles/nicolsoninstitute/c.html "The Nicolson Institute:- The on-going story"] {{Webarchive. link. (5 September 2010 . The Nicolson Institute/''Sgoil MhicNeacail''. Retrieved 23 Jan 2011.)
"Molly Campbell Lewis Stornoway runaway".
(1 November 2010). "'Cage' for autistic pupil removed". BBC News.
"Victim of the school bullies Nicolson Institute scene of another alleged beating as calls grow for rector to resign".
(13 October 2006). "English girl sues over 'racist bullying'".
"Scots teen attacked and tormented by twisted bullies for months while school 'did nothing' - Daily Record".
(2019-07-26). "Parents of suicide teenager sue health board". BBC News.
"Parents of kids at Scots island school on red alert after two pupils commit suicide in a year - Daily Record".
(2019-09-18). "Teacher charged with sexual offences". BBC News.
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11507517 "Island community mourns kidnapped aid worker"]. (9 October 2010) BBC News. Retrieved 23 Jan 2011.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

stornoway secondary-schools-in-the-outer-hebrides scottish-gaelic-language-secondary-schools buildings-and-structures-in-the-isle-of-lewis 1873-establishments-in-scotland educational-institutions-established-in-1873

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