Prestwick Academy, Prestwick
Prestwick Academy is a secondary school for pupils in Prestwick.
- Attendance
- 90%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
Prestwick Academy in detail
School in Scotland
Prestwick Academy is a local authority school in Scotland. Scottish schools are inspected by Education Scotland rather than Ofsted, and Scotland does not publish school-by-school exam league tables.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 1126 pupils and 13.6 pupils per teacher.
11% of pupils are registered for free school meals, 48% of pupils have an additional support need recorded and 2% speak English as an additional language.
8% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 19% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 90% in 2024/25, and 36.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
The 2026 school estate survey rated its buildings' condition as good (A) and their suitability for teaching as good (A); the school was 87% full.
97% of pupils who left in 2022/23 went on to a positive destination - further or higher education, training, work or volunteering, against 96% for its "virtual comparator", a matched group of pupils with similar backgrounds from across Scotland.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Prestwick Academy are Ayr Academy (3 miles), Kyle Academy (3.1 miles), South Ayrshire Council Virtual School (3.2 miles) and Marr College (3.6 miles).
Ayr AcademyKyle AcademySouth Ayrshire Council Virtual SchoolMarr College
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Prestwick Rail Station, about 710 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Merrick Avenue (at), 180 metres away.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Prestwick Academy are Glenburn Primary School (0.4 miles), St Ninian's Primary School (0.4 miles), Monkton Primary School (0.9 miles) and Kingcase Primary School (1.1 miles). In Scotland, secondary places normally follow the catchment area, and each secondary school has associated primary schools; South Ayrshire publishes both.
Glenburn Primary SchoolSt Ninian's Primary SchoolMonkton Primary SchoolKingcase Primary School
Sources: Scottish Government school statistics: pupil census, attendance and absence, school estate, leaver destinations (OGL); NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
Scottish GovernmentInspection
Schools in Scotland are inspected by Education Scotland, not Ofsted. Find Prestwick Academy's reports on the inspectorate's website.
About
Prestwick Academy is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school in the town of Prestwick, South Ayrshire in Scotland. The school is the responsibility of South Ayrshire Council, with its current head teacher Oonagh Browne having overall responsibility for the school's day–to–day running.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Prestwick Academy
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 3 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in South Ayrshire is 2 (the median across 50 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Prestwick Academy
What is the catchment area for Prestwick Academy?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and Prestwick Academy is no exception: children living in its zone are normally given a place there automatically. Families who want a different school make a placing request to South Ayrshire. South Ayrshire publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to Prestwick Academy?
If you live in Prestwick Academy's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and South Ayrshire will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to South Ayrshire - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near Prestwick Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 3 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in South Ayrshire is 2 (the median across 50 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Prestwick Academy?
Prestwick Academy is at 15 Newdykes Road, Prestwick, Prestwick, KA9 2LB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)