Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland's oldest schools with an established history. The present school building (which was called the 'Paisley Grammar School and William B. Barbour Academy' due to a bequest by the former Member of Parliament for Paisley, William B. Barbour, and until recently was the school's proper title) was opened in 1898 by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, then Secretary of State for Scotland. The school was fee paying until the mid-1960s and in 1986, when threatened with imminent closure by Strathclyde Regional Council, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher intervened personally to ensure the survival of the school. The law was changed so that local councils could no longer close schools which were more than 80% full without approval by the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following a consultation, in January 2021, Renfrewshire Council approved plans for the school to be moved to a new site, approving construction of a Paisley Grammar School Community Campus at the old site of the Chivas Brothers Whiskey Distillery. The new community campus will move pupils and staff to a modern facility with outdoor areas, state-of-the-art technology, and high-quality media, drama and sports facilities not possible on the current site. The new school will neighbour West College Scotland’s Paisley Campus on Renfrew Road. Notable former pupils Notable former pupils include: John Amabile – interior designer and TV presenter. Agnes Barr Auchencloss – medical officer Michael Barratt – television presenter and announcer. Colin Campbell – former Member of the Scottish Parliament (SNP). James Carlile (1795–1841) – Irish Commissioner of National Education. Sir William Cockburn (1891–1957) – banker and cricketer. Thomas Gibson (1915–1993) – plastic surgeon and bioengineer. Fred Goodwin – former CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland. Peter Howitt (1970) – actor and film writer/director. Omer Hussain – Scottish cricket internationalist. Kenny Ireland (1945–2014) – theatre director & actor, notable for his role as "Donald" in ITV's Benidorm. John Jackson (1887–1958) – astronomer. Jacqui Lait (née Harkness) – former Member of Parliament (Conservative) and first ever female Conservative Party Whip. Matthew Leishman – Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1858. Alexander Munro MacRobert (1873–1930) – former Lord Advocate and Member of Parliament (Conservative).