'A Great Educational Tradition': A History of Hutchesons' Grammar School

This is the story of Hutchesons' Grammar School from the time of its foundation in 1641 until recent days when it has become one of the largest and most successful academic schools in the country. Brothers George and Thomas Hutcheson were the joint founders of the Hospital or Endowment for Pensioners, but the School, which was to co-exist with the Hospital, owed its existence to the benevolence of Thomas Hutcheson. The original Hospital School was built in the Trongate in the centre of Glasgow and housed twelve 'indigent orphanes' in a basement in the wing of a home for 'aigett and decreppit' men. It moved location and changed status several times in its history: it began as a charity school for primary-age boys, then became an elementary and secondary school for boys. In 1876, Hutchesons' Girls' School opened, finally amalgamating with the Boys' Grammar School in 1976 at Beaton Road (Crossmyloof), its present site. The School has produced many well-known alumni, a number of whom are highlighted in biographical profiles in this book. They include John Buchan and R.D. Laing, and among many honours the School has achieved it was named Scottish Independent School of the Year in 2011.