Harris Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school in the West End of Dundee, Scotland. Harris Academy was founded in 1885 and is the oldest state school in Dundee. Harris Academy is also one of the largest state run schools in Dundee in terms of number of pupils and the school campus building and is known for being one of the most successful schools in Dundee and Scotland by record of attainment and exam result successes which are considered 'well above average'. Over the course of its history, Harris Academy has been housed at three locations across the city in Park Place, Perth Road and Lawton Road temporally, with its permanent campus based on Perth Road. Admissions The school is situated in the west of Dundee, north of the railway line, the A85 and Dundee Airport. The University of Dundee Botanic Garden is nearby to the west. List of rectors Houses Harris Academy has a house system which allocates each pupil to one of four houses, named Birnam, Cawdor, Forres and Kinloch. The former three come from houses in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth". The latter comes from the name of George Kinloch, former MP and reformer in Dundee and from the village of Kinloch. Each of the houses has an associated colour, Birnam - Red, Cawdor - Yellow, Forres - Green, Kinloch - Blue. Each house competes against each other in Interhouse competitions; both sporting and academic. They receive points for their success, and at the end of the year, the points are totalled to declare the winner of the house championship. No house was awarded in the 2020-21 session as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. History Harris Academy was established on 31 August 1885 through a bequest from corn-merchant and mill owner William Harris. The original building was in Park Place designed by Dundee architect James Ireland. William Harris had died in March 1883, two years before the opening of the new school. The school's first rector was James Brebner and on the first day of the new school, approximately 1,035 pupils were enroll. By 1888, the school population increased to 1,500 and continued to grow which breached the original building's capacity. With Morgan Academy opening in 1888, pressure on the school population eased. A fire broke out in the school in 1912 and damaged several classrooms and questions were raised on whether the school was suitable enough to continue