Dollar Academy   Dollar Academy Dollar Academy

Captain John McNabb died in 1802. Born to a poor family, he went to sea as a young boy and eventually made his fortune as a ship owner. In his will he specified that the interest on half his estate (some £60,000, worth several millions today) was to provide "a Charity or School for the parish of Dollar and shire of Clackmannan wheir I was born".There were disputes and long legal delays until Rev. Andrew Mylne was appointed Minister of the Parish in 1815. He had his predecessor's plan for a hospital school for 40 poor boys and girls overthrown in the Court of Chancery. Instead, he and his fellow Trustees conceived of a great academy to educate the boys and girls of Dollar parish, and also pupils from outside Dollar, who would board with teachers. Full fees would be charged to ‘non-residenters', while parish pupils would pay fees on a sliding scale, with some receiving free education. To attract pupils from outside the parish, excellent teachers would be appointed.Dollar has an outstanding academic reputation and is firmly rooted in the great strengths of the Scottish educational system, which has always been admired for its breadth and excellence. Pupils from Dollar are highly successful in winning places at top universities, not only in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom, but around the world. A truly excellent education, however, is about far more than that. We believe in developing the whole person, aiming to ensure that our pupils leave here with the confidence, enthusiasm, independence, skills and understanding needed to meet successfully the challenges of university and beyond.Dollar boarders play a particularly important role in the life of the school and come from all parts of Britain, as well as overseas. Many former pupils choose to send their children here. The three boarding houses are all beautiful buildings, with excellent modern facilities and committed Houseparents who view the boarders as an extended family. Day pupils travel from a wide range of areas, using an extensive coach network.