North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. The local authority is North Ayrshire Council, formed in 1996 with the same boundaries as the district of Cunninghame which existed from 1975 to 1996.
South Ayrshire is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,450, making it the 19th–largest subdivision in Scotland by population. With an area of 472 sq mi, South Ayrshire ranks as the 15th largest subdivision in Scotland.
Brodick is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is halfway along the east coast of the island, in Brodick Bay below Goat Fell, the tallest mountain on Arran. The name is derived from the Norse "breda-vick" meaning "Broad Bay".
Lamlash is a village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It lies three miles south of the island's main settlement and ferry port Brodick, in a sheltered bay on the island's east coast, facing the Holy Isle. Lamlash is the seat of Arran's local government offices, and is also the location of the island's police station, secondary school and hospital. In common with the rest of the island, the village's main industry is tourism and the public sector is also an important employer. Lamlash has an RNLI Lifeboat station with a B class Atlantic 75 lifeboat, covering the inshore waters around the coast of Arran, and in summer, there is a regular ferry service from Lamlash harbour to Holy Isle. The village has several buildings of historical interest, including Hamilton Terrace, which consists of two rows of single storey-and-attic cottages on the Lamlash seafront, arranged in pairs.
Whiting Bay is a village located on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland four miles south of Lamlash and eight miles south of Brodick. With more than 600 inhabitants it’s the third largest village on the island of Arran, behind Lamlash and Brodick.
Education in Scotland is provided in state schools, private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. Mandatory education in Scotland begins for children in Primary 1 (P1) at primary school and ends in Fourth Year (S4) at secondary school. Overall accountability and control of state–education in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government, and is overseen by its executive agency, Education Scotland, with additional responsibility for nursery schools being the joint responsibility of both Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. Scotland's private schools are overseen by the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Children in Scotland sit mandatory National Standardised Assessments in Primary 1 (P1), Primary 4 (P4), Primary 7 (P7) at the end of primary school, and Third Year (S3) in secondary school, which assist in monitoring children's progress and providing diagnostic data information to support teachers' professional judgement.
The County of Bute, also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Now replaced by Argyll and Bute for the Isle of Bute, with the Argyll and Bute Council. The Isle of Arran and the The Cumbraes are now in North Ayrshire Council area. Since the implimentation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, on the 1 April 1996.
Troon is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight services, and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O operated a seasonal ferry service to Larne. In May 2006, a ferry service to Campbeltown was added, although this was withdrawn the following year. Since March 2024, Caledonian MacBrayne have operated a ferry service to Brodick on the Isle of Arran.
Grange Academy is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school based in Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It serves the Bonnyton and town centre areas of the town, with the associated primaries being Crosshouse Primary, Annanhill Primary, Hillhead Primary, Gargieston Primary and Shortlees Primary.
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 Elaine Harrigan having overall responsibility for the schools day–to–day running. With a pupil roll of 1,201 in 2023–2024, it is the second largest secondary school in South Ayrshire by pupil intake. The motto of Prestwick Academy is Per Vias Rectas, Latin for By Straight Paths.
Kyle Academy is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school in Ayr, serving the south east of Ayr in South Ayrshire. Kyle Academy is the fourth largest secondary school in South Ayrshire, with 824 pupils enrolled at the school in 2023–2024. The school is the responsibility of South Ayrshire Council, with current head teacher Mary Byrne taking over from Lyndsay McRoberts, who was also joint head teacher of nearby Ayr Academy, in 2018. As head teacher, Byrne assumes the daily responsibility of the schools affairs and direction.
Marr College is a co-educational secondary school in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Marr College is the third largest secondary school in South Ayrshire, with 1,127 pupils enrolled at the school in 2023–2024. The building itself is owned by the Marr Trust and the running, maintenance and operations of the school is managed by South Ayrshire Council. The school was gifted to the town of Troon by Charles Kerr Marr.
Saint Josephs' Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school in New Farm Loch, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. Whilst the school is located in Kilmarnock, it serves the entire Catholic secondary school aged population in East Ayrshire, with the school being the only Roman Catholic secondary school within the local authority area. This means for families in all areas of East Ayrshire, St. Joseph's Academy is a catchment Secondary school. A long-standing inter-authority arrangement sees a small number of primary seven pupils attending St. Xavier’s Primary School in Patna, transition to Queen Margaret Academy located in Ayr, South Ayrshire instead of Saint Josephs' Academy at the start of S1.
Ayr Academy is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is the sixth largest secondary school in South Ayrshire, with a pupil roll of 607 in 2023–2024. Established during the thirteenth century in 1233, Ayr Academy is one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom and Scotland.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 2004.
Greenwood Academy is an 11–18 state secondary school in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Between 2019–2020, the pupil roll was 1,263 with an average attendance rate of 88.47%. By 2022–2023, the enrolment at the school increased to 1,367 pupils. The current Head Teacher, Katy Hegarty, is supported by four Depute Head Teachers and a staffing complement of 101.6 full time equivalent (FTE) teaching and non–teaching staff.
The Isle of Arran or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at 432 square kilometres (167 sq mi). Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Often referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the Island is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and has been described as a "geologist's paradise".
The Arran War Memorial Hospital is a healthcare facility located in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. It has seventeen staffed beds for in-patient medical care, x-ray facilities, and is the base for a community maternity unit. It is managed by NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
Arran is one of the nine electoral wards of North Ayrshire Council. Re-established in 2022, the ward elects one councillor using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 4,649 people.
