Community Involvement - Dollar Academy

Dollar Academy has been an integral part of the local area since its foundation in 1818. The school provides benefit to the wider community by sharing resources and knowledge with local schools and nurseries, and through our involvement in a number of community projects. A number of local and national organisations also use our facilities.The school has effective and constructive dialogue on a regular basis with both Dollar Community Council and Dollar Community Development Trust.

FIDA

Our partnerships with state schools are implemented through the Futures Institute at Dollar Academy (FIDA), an initiative that provides high-quality interdisciplinary learning experiences to young people from a range of partner schools across Scotland. Since it was launched in May 2021, FIDA has directly supported 720 pupils and 80 teachers from across Scotland, plus large numbers of pupils at local authority schools throughout the country who make use of free FIDA resources.

The above figures capture a range of projects, courses and workshops that have been delivered on our campus, on a partner school campus, or via the FIDA online platform. Some of our online resources have been viewed over 75,000 times, and we have also supported around 50 pupils from across Scotland through Higher Politics.

Home Transformers

The FIDA Home Transformers Challenge, a project developed by Futures Institute at Dollar Academy (FIDA) in collaboration with the Sustainability team at Barratt Developments, challenged 34 pupils from four secondary schools across Clackmannanshire and Stirling to survey an 1860s cottage that is currently in a state of disrepair, and develop a plan to transform and make it sustainable.

Evie, an S5 student from Lornshill Academy, confidently led her group’s presentation, which included original ideas such as a grey water harvesting system, backed up by thorough research. Her outstanding contribution to the project across the week has earned her a work experience opportunity with Barratt Developments, supported by a bursary to cover travel and accommodation.

Click here to learn more.

Chalk Talks

We have partnered with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) to produce a series of virtual Higher Geography lessons, aimed at supporting students, parents and teachers with remote learning.

Each video will summarise a topic in the Higher Geography course. Click here to view.

Our Economic Impact

A 2023 economic impact report calculated that the school saves the State around £12 million each year by educating pupils at Dollar Academy, whilst also contributing circa £15.5 million to the GDP of our local community.

The school employs around 240 staff, 55% of whom live in Clackmannanshire with the remaining 45% living in neighbouring areas. This makes Dollar Academy one of the largest employers in Clackmannanshire.

We also work with a number of local businesses who provide a substantial quantity of goods and services to the school each year. In the 22/23 academic year we worked with 120 different suppliers based in Clackmannanshire and a further 439 from Scotland as a whole.

Access to Our Facilities

Approximately 6000 members of the public access our facilities each year.In recent years, our facilities have been used by local and national organisations for a range of activities.

Learn more about our campus

Our facilities have been used for:

Sports camps
Swimming for adults and children(including working with the local Council to enable the P5 swimming programme for all children in Clacks)
Rugby training
Indoor cricket training and games
Tetrathlons and triathlons
A cycle sportif
Football sessions for adults and children
Hockey games
Music rehearsal and concert spaces
Dance recitals and drama productions
Meeting spaces for community groups (including Dollar Community Council, Bridge Club, Gardening Club and the Twinning Association)
Pipe band championships
As a venue for fundraising for local groups and charities

For more information, please contact Kirsty Molnar, Lettings Officer, on lettings@dollaracademy.org.uk.

Supporting Our Community

In today’s rapidly evolving world, education extends beyond the classroom and the importance of volunteering for Dollar Academy pupils cannot be overstated. Beyond its academic benefits, volunteering shapes pupils into compassionate and responsible people.Dollar pupils and staff are involved in several projects supporting people and places in the local and wider community. These include:

Form VI Volunteering

From the start of the 2023 academic year, pupils in Form VI have had a timetabled period each week where they volunteer. Tasks include litter-picking, assisting at the local foodbank, helping out at baby and toddler groups, volunteering at the local museum, tree-planting, burn cleaning, playing a musical instrument during coffee mornings, and visiting and shopping for those people in the village who are housebound.
As well as supporting a number of local organisations, pupils also learn that their actions can make a tangible difference, instilling a sense of purpose and allowing them to connect with the local community on a personal level.
Big Feed Initiative
We support the Thomas Franks Foundation (the charitable arm of our catering partners) with their ‘Big Feed’ initiatives, with pupils volunteering to help with the preparation and distribution of hundreds of meals to local charities.
Language Classes

Each year, our language assistants hold free adult language classes for members of the community. These are conversational classes in either French, German, Italian, Spanish or Mandarin.
Sponsored Walk

This biannual event supports two local charities as well as two national and two international.
Strathdevon Primary School Fundraising
Our Fundraising Manager supports Strathdevon with identifying and accessing funds from grant-giving Foundations and Trusts to improve their outdoor spaces and enabling the development of the arts within the school.
Seamab School
This is a small local residential school for primary aged children with complex needs. Dollar pupils and staff run classes there and Seamab pupils spend time in the Summer Term with our therapet alpacas. In Terms 1 and 2, Seamab pupils are using the swimming pool once per week.
Alloa Food Bank
Our Charities Committee regularly supplies food bags to Alloa Food Bank. Last summer term, over 100 bags were donated on a single day. Each December, our Prep and Junior School also donate Christmas treats to the cause.
Play Alloa
This is a youth club in the community for young adults with additional support needs. Dollar pupils attend the club on Monday evenings to assist with games, chat to members and make friends.
Local Primary Schools

Teachers and senior pupils from Dollar Academy volunteer in local primary schools, specifically delivering science lessons and upskilling teachers.
Dollar Community Development Trust
Our pupils support several DCDT projects, including tree planting, non-invasive plant species removal, manning the local library, Hive (community centre) maintenance, litter picking and befriending elderly residents.

Our Charities Committee

Our Charities Committee, run by a dedicated team of Form VI pupils, fundraise for a wide variety of local, national and international causes. Around £5000 is raised each year via a range of initiatives across the whole school. The Sponsored Walk, which takes place every two years, raises a significant additional amount – usually around £60,000.

Duke of Edinburgh at Dollar

As part of the DofE programme, around 350 pupils per year will complete a volunteering section. Pupils are free to choose their own cause and historically this has included: volunteering with Dollarphins (swimming lessons for local children); supporting the Dollar Community Development Trust, helping out in Charity Shops; football coaching; working in animal shelters and many more. To find out more about DofE at Dollar, click here.