Glenalmond College


Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for pupils aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. The college opened in 1847 as Trinity College, Glenalmond and was renamed in 1983. Originally a boys' school, Glenalmond became co-educational in the 1990s.
WWW glenalmondcollege.co.uk

History

Trinity College, Glenalmond, was founded as a private school by the former Prime Minister, William Gladstone and James Hope-Scott. The land for the school was given by Lord Glenalmond, who for the rest of his life, in company with his wife Margaret, took a keen interest in its development and success. It was established to provide teaching for young men destined for the ministry of the Scottish Episcopal Church and where young men could be brought up in the faith of that Church. It was originally known as The Scottish Episcopal College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Glenalmond. The school opened its doors on 4 May 1847 to fourteen boys. The first Warden was Charles Wordsworth.
The Edinburgh architect John Henderson worked on the project in 1841–51; later the firm were to be re-employed with his son George Henderson in charge on rebuilding work after a fire in 1893. In 1955 Basil Spence was engaged to alter the chapel.
In 1983, the school's name was changed to Glenalmond College. Until 1990 Glenalmond was an all-boys school. Girls were initially admitted into the sixth form only, and the school became fully co-educational in 1995.
There are seven boarding houses split by gender: Goodacre's, Home, and Lothian are for female students, while Matheson's, Patchell's, Reid's and Skrine's are for male students.

Controversy

In 2007, the school received media attention after pupils reportedly created a spoof video that featured them "hunting" "chavs" on horseback and with rifles. The school condemned the video. Later, the school was the subject of a documentary broadcast on BBC 2 in Autumn 2008. Pride and Privilege chronicled a year in the life of Glenalmond and followed a number of pupils and teachers.

Ownership Change

In June 2025, Glenalmond College was acquired by 35 Education, a London-based company backed by Qatari investor Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and academic Prof. Basak Akdemir. The purchase aims to secure the school's financial future and expand its global presence. While some raised concerns over Qatar’s human rights record, school leaders emphasised that the deal had strong internal support and would preserve Glenalmond’s ethos and traditions.

Notable alumni