Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational private school for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from nursery through to S6.

History

Background

Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century Poland trading from the Baltic port of Danzig, (Gdansk). Upon his death in 1731, he left his entire estate in a <nowiki/>'Deed of Mortification, dated 13 December 1729, for the foundation of Robert Gordon's Hospital, a residential school for poor boys. The building, designed by William Adam, was completed by 1732, but lay empty until the Governors had sufficient funds to complete the interior. A statue of the Founder was added in 1753 in a niche above the door. During the Jacobite Rising in 1746, the building was requisitioned by Hanoverian troops under the command of the Duke of Cumberland and was known as Fort Cumberland.

The hospital opened its doors to its first 14 pupils in July 1750. East and West wings with classical colonnades, designed by the architect John Smith, were added in 1830–33, partly funded by the generous bequest of Alexander Simpson of Collyhill.

Establishment

Robert Gordon's intention was to found: <blockquote>"an Hospital for the maintenance, aliment, entertainment and education of young boys, whose parents are poor and indigent and not able to maintain them at schools and put them to trades and employment,”</blockquote> Pupils received their education, board and lodging and a uniform free of charge until 1881 when it became a fee-paying day school. It merged with the Collyhill Trust and was renamed to Robert Gordon's College on 1 August 1881. The charitable aspect continued, with Foundations and Bursaries being available for boys whose parents could not afford to send them to be educated there. The original seal of the hospital contained the motto "Imperat hoc natura potens", translating as "by nature's sovereign command", which was taken from the Satires of Horace.

House system

The school has four houses, to one of which each student is allocated upon entering the school. The houses compete in various activities (such as netball, football, mathematics, cross country, poetry, and various other events) throughout the year and gain points which contribute to the annual John Reid Trophy award. The house system was introduced at Christmas 1928 to encourage competition in various sports.

The four houses are:

  • Blackfriars – named for the Dominican friars (or black friars due to their garb), that once had a convent adjacent to the school grounds.
  • Collyhill – named for Alexander Simpson of Collyhill who bequeathed a large sum of money to the school, which allowed for more boys to join the school.
  • Sillerton – The origin of the Sillerton house name is not clear, but it is believed that, in Robert Gordon's lifetime, he was known as Gordon of Silverton (siller being Scots for silver), and on a 1746 map, the school is identified as Sillerton Hospital.
  • Straloch – named for Robert Gordon of Straloch, one of the first graduates of Marischal College, studying humanities, mathematics and philosophy.

Notable alumni

  • Michael Benton FRS, vertebrate palaeontologist
  • Ian Black was a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1958 at the age of only seventeen. He later returned to RGC as Headmaster of the Junior School.
  • Kirsty Blackman, MP for Aberdeen North (2015–present), Deputy Leader of the SNP Group in the House of Commons (2017–2020)
  • Martin Buchan, former footballer and captain with Manchester United, Aberdeen and Scotland
  • David Carry, Commonwealth gold medal winner
  • John Macqueen Cowan FRSE, botanist
  • Ernest Cruickshank and his twin brother Martin Melvin Cruickshank, surgeons
  • Chris Cusiter, Ruaridh Jackson, Stuart Grimes and Gregor Brown, Scottish rugby players
  • John Shaw Dawson, Scottish-born Kansas Attorney General and Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court
  • Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East (2017–present), Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2020–2021), and Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (2021–2024), Minister of State for Development and Minister of State for Women and Equalities (2024 - 2025)
  • Francis Findlay, cricketer
  • Tom Findlay, cricketer
  • Dave Flett, guitarist with Manfred Mann and Thin Lizzy
  • Ian Frazer, developer of the HPV vaccine
  • Michael Gove, politician
  • Arthur Keith, anatomist, anthropologist and co-discoverer of the sinoatrial node
  • J. Michael Kosterlitz, awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics
  • William Dickie Niven, theologian
  • Alan Pattillo, film editor, director and producer
  • Robbie Shepherd, BBC Radio Scotland presenter
  • Captain Archibald Bisset Smith, VC
  • Nicol Stephen, politician
  • Alastair Storey, chairman and CEO of Westbury Street Holdings
  • Stewart Sutherland, Baron Sutherland of Houndwood, academic and public servant
  • John Alexander Third, mathematician
  • Robert A. Thom, steam locomotive engineer
  • Sandi Thom, singer
  • Professor Andrew Topping CMG FRSE public health expert and major figure in the revival of European hospitals after the Second World War
  • John West, Depute Provost of Aberdeen (elected at the age of 18).
  • Sir Ian Wood, Scottish businessman and former chancellor of Robert Gordon University

References

  • Homepage of Robert Gordon's College
  • HMIE Inspection Reports
  • Profile of Robert Gordon's College