Ellon Academy is a secondary comprehensive school in the Aberdeenshire town of Ellon.HistoryFounded as Ellon Public School, the building was opened on 22 May 1876. It was responsible for the education of both primary and secondary students; in 1962 the two were split into separate sites. Ellon Public School was overseen by headmaster William Cooper. It had 6 classrooms, male and female. During the early years, the overcrowding problem, that has haunted the school for years, started to become clear, and it was decided that a second storey would be built. During the 24-year wait for the construction to begin, Ellon Public School became Ellon Secondary School. The second floor was completed in 1911.It turned out to be only a temporary cure for the growing problem of congestion. With more pupils coming in every year, the school was facing a crisis. In the late 1930s, the famous bell tower, and headmaster's office, were destroyed to make room for a second extension. In 1979, a second building was constructed.In 2015, the school was relocated to the new purpose built Ellon Academy Community Campus on Kelly Pearl Way to the north of the town.TodayThe school has an estimated 1,150 local pupils and 100 teachers and is headed by Rector Tim McKay, who succeeded Dr Brian Wilkins at the beginning of the 2007-2008 session.In 2005, the Education and Recreation department of Aberdeenshire Council began investigating the consolidation of the school at a single site.Ellon Academy won the Scottish Executive Education Award in 2002 in the category "Schools for All".Ellon Academy was made a case point during a First Minister's Questions, where it was criticized for its split campus layout and general disrepair. This prompted a visitation from Labour MSPs, and later from STV and BBC television crews.