   #copyright

Dundee

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain


   This is a featured article. Click here for more information.
                                   Dundee
   Gaelic:              Dùn Dèagh
   Scots:               Dundee
                                  Location
   Dundee's location near the coast of the North Sea on the east side of
   Scotland
   Dundee's location near the coast of the
   North Sea on the east side of Scotland
   OS grid reference:   NO365325
                                 Statistics
   Population:          143,090
                               Administration
   Council area:        City of Dundee
   Constituent country: Scotland
   Sovereign state:     United Kingdom
                                   Other
   Police force:        Tayside Police
   Lieutenancy area:    Dundee
   Former county:       Angus
                         Post office and telephone
   Post town:           DUNDEE
   Postal district:     DD1-DD5
   Dialling code:       01382
                                  Politics
   UK Parliament:       Dundee East
                        Dundee West
   Scottish Parliament: Dundee East
                        Dundee West
                        Angus
                        North East Scotland
   European Parliament: Scotland
        Scotland                            Scotland

   Dundee (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Dèagh) is the fourth-largest city in
   Scotland, with a population of 143,090. It is located on the north bank
   of the River Tay's estuary and so is near the east coast and the North
   Sea. Dundee is known as the City of Discovery, both in honour of
   Dundee's history of scientific activities, and of the RRS Discovery,
   Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in
   Dundee and is now berthed there.

   Its history began with the Picts in the Iron Age and during the
   medieval period was the site of many battles. During the Industrial
   Revolution the local jute industry caused the city to grow rapidly. In
   this period Dundee also gained a reputation for its marmalade industry
   and its journalism, giving Dundee its epithet as the city of "jam, jute
   and journalism". Dundee's population reached a peak of nearly 200,000
   at the start of the 1970s, but it has since declined due to outward
   migration and a falling birth rate.

   The biomedical and technology industries have grown since the 1980s and
   the city now accounts for 10% of Britain’s digital entertainment
   industry. The city is also famous for being the home of William
   McGonagall, who is widely known as the "world's worst poet". The city
   is home to the Scottish Dance Theatre, who are based in the city's
   Dundee Repertory Theatre, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra,
   which regularly plays in the city's Caird Hall. On 5 March 2004 Dundee
   was granted Fairtrade City status.

History

   Dundee first became a settlement when the Picts settled the area 3,500
   years ago. At the time the area was known by the Pictish name of
   Alec-tum. The name "Dundee" was later adopted from the Gaelic Dùn
   Dèagh, meaning "Fort on the Tay". In 1191 CE, the town was awarded a
   charter making it a royal burgh. This charter was later revoked by
   Edward I, though it was replaced by a new charter from Robert the Bruce
   in 1327. Dundee became a walled city in 1545, owing to a period of
   hostilities known as the rough wooing. In July 1547, much of the city
   was destroyed by an English naval bombardment. In 1645, during the
   Scottish civil war, Dundee was again besieged, this time by the
   Royalist Marquess of Montrose. In 1651 during the Third English Civil
   War, it was invaded by General Monck, who was the commander of Oliver
   Cromwell's forces in Scotland. These English Parliamentarians destroyed
   much of the city and killed many of its inhabitants. Dundee was later
   the site of an early Jacobite uprising when John Graham, 1st Viscount
   Dundee raised the Stuart standard on Dundee Law in support of James VII
   (James II of England) following his overthrow, earning him the nickname
   Bonnie Dundee.
   The Wishart Arch is the only surviving part of the city walls
   Enlarge
   The Wishart Arch is the only surviving part of the city walls

   Dundee greatly expanded in size during the Industrial Revolution mainly
   because of the jute industry. By the end of the 19th century, a
   majority of the city's workers were employed in its many jute mills and
   in related industries. Dundee's location on a major estuary allowed for
   the easy importation of jute from the Indian subcontinent and of whale
   oil — needed for the processing of the jute — from the city's large
   whaling industry. The industry began to decline in the 20th century as
   it became cheaper to process the cloth on the Indian subcontinent. The
   city's last jute mill closed in the 1970s.
   The original Tay Bridge (from the south) the day after the disaster.
   The collapsed section can be seen near the northern end
   Enlarge
   The original Tay Bridge (from the south) the day after the disaster.
   The collapsed section can be seen near the northern end

   In addition to jute the city is also known for jam and journalism. The
   "jam" association refers to marmalade, which was purportedly invented
   in the city by Janet Keiller in 1797 (although in reality, recipes for
   marmalade have been found dating back to the 1500s). Keiller's
   marmalade became a famous brand because of its mass production and its
   worldwide export. However, the industry was never a major employer
   compared with the jute trade. Marmalade has since become the preserve
   of larger businesses, but jars of Keiller's marmalade are still widely
   available. "Journalism" refers to the publishing firm DC Thomson & Co.,
   which was founded in the city in 1905 and remains the largest employer
   after the health and leisure industries. The firm publishes a variety
   of newspapers, children's comics and magazines, including The Sunday
   Post, The Courier, Shout and children's publications, The Beano and The
   Dandy.

   Dundee also developed a major maritime and shipbuilding industry in the
   19th Century. 2,000 ships were built in Dundee between 1871 and 1881,
   including the Antarctic research ship used by Robert Falcon Scott, the
   RRS Discovery. This ship is now on display at Discovery Point in the
   city, and the Victorian steel-framed works in which Discovery's engine
   was built is now home to the city's largest bookstore. The need of the
   local jute industry for whale oil also supported a large whaling
   industry. Dundee Island in the Antarctic takes its name from the Dundee
   whaling expedition, which discovered it in 1892. Whaling ceased in 1912
   and shipbuilding ceased in 1981. The estuary was the location of the
   first Tay rail bridge, built by Thomas Bouch and opened in 1879. At the
   time it was the longest railway bridge in the world. The bridge fell
   down in a storm less than a year later under the weight of a train full
   of passengers in what is known as The Tay Bridge Disaster.

Geography

   Dundee Law seen from afar
   Enlarge
   Dundee Law seen from afar

   Dundee is located at 56°27′51″N, 02°58′13″W on the north bank of the
   Firth of Tay and near the North Sea. The city surrounds the basalt plug
   of an extinct volcano, called Dundee Law or simply The Law (174 metres
   (571 ft)). Dundee is Scotland's only south-facing city, giving it a
   contested claim to being the nation's sunniest city.

   Dundee lies close to Perth (20 miles) and the southern Highlands to the
   west. St Andrews (14 miles) and north-east Fife are situated to the
   south, while the Sidlaw Hills, Angus Glens and the Glamis Castle are
   located to the north. Two links golf courses, St Andrews and Carnoustie
   are located nearby. The towns of Invergowrie in Perth and Kinross,
   Newport on Tay in Fife and Monifieth in Angus are outside of local
   government control of Dundee but are de facto suburbs of the city,
   taking its population up to c.170,000.

Demographics

   Natives of Dundee are called Dundonians and are recognisable for their
   distinctive accent, which most noticeably substitutes the monophthong
   /e/ in place of the diphthong /ai/. A significant proportion of the
   population are on low income or receive social security benefits. More
   than half of the city's council wards are among Scotland's most
   deprived and fewer than half of the homes in Dundee are owner-occupied.
   The Whitfield area in particular has the highest rate of child poverty
   in the UK at 96%. Dundee had the highest rate of abortions in Scotland
   in 2004 (24.2 per 1000) and the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in
   Western Europe in 2003-2004 (1 in 16; the national average is 1 in 23).
   Dundee Parish Church, St Mary's is one of two of the city's City
   Churches
   Enlarge
   Dundee Parish Church, St Mary's is one of two of the city's City
   Churches

   Dundee's population increased substantially with the urbanisation of
   the Industrial Revolution as did other British cities. The most
   significant influx occurred in the mid-1800s with the arrival of Irish
   workers fleeing from the Potato Famine and attracted by
   industrialisation. The city also attracted immigrants from Italy and
   Poland in the 19th and 20th Centuries, although Dundee did not
   experience post-World War II immigration on the same scale as other
   cities. Nevertheless, Dundee still has a sizable ethnic minority
   population. The city's declining industrial base has caused the
   population to reduce since the start of the 1970s. A 7.3% drop in
   population occurred between 1991 to 2001 and a decline of further 14.3%
   (20,674) is predicted from 2005 to 2011. The number of deaths has
   exceeded the number of births since 1993, with a drop of 19% in births
   between 1993 and 2003. There has also been an annual net average
   emigration of 1,000 from 1998 to 2002. Dundee attracts a large number
   of students (many Irish), so that students account for 14.2% of the
   population, the highest proportion of the four Scottish Cities.

Places of worship

   The City Churches, Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's) and the Steeple
   Church, are the most prominent Church of Scotland buildings in Dundee.
   The Church of Scotland Presbytery of Dundee currently consists of 45
   congregations, although many now share a minister. Robert Murray
   McCheyne, who was the minister of St Peter's ( Free Church of Scotland)
   from 1838 until his death in 1843, led a significant religious revival
   in Dundee. There are two cathedrals in the city — St. Paul's (Scottish
   Episcopal) and St. Andrew's ( Roman Catholic).

   A Jewish community has existed in the city since the 19th century. The
   present synagogue was built in the 1970s.

   Muslims are served by a large mosque, which opened in 2000.

   The city also has a Hindu mandir and Sikh gurdwara.

Government and politics

   Tayside House, the current home of Dundee City Council
   Enlarge
   Tayside House, the current home of Dundee City Council

   Dundee was first made a royal burgh in 1911 and became a unitary
   council area in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act
   1994, which gave it a single tier of local government control under the
   Dundee City Council. The city has two mottos — Dei Donum (Latin: Gift
   of God) and Prudentia et Candore (With Thought And Purity), although
   usually only the latter is used for civic purposes. Dundee is
   represented in both the British House of Commons and in the Scottish
   Parliament. For elections to the European Parliament, Dundee is within
   the Scotland constituency.

Local government

   Dundee is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, represented by the
   Dundee City Council, a local authority composed of 29 elected
   councillors. Previously the city was a county city and later a district
   of the Tayside region. Council meetings take place in the City
   Chambers, which opened in 1933 and are located in City Square. The
   civic head and chair of the council is known as the Lord Provost, a
   position similar to that of mayor in other cities. The council
   executive is based in Tayside House on the banks of the River Tay, but
   the council recently announced plans to demolish it in favour of new
   premises (Dundee House) on North Lindsay Street. As of 2006 the council
   is controlled by a minority coalition of Labour and Liberal Democrats
   of 12 councillors, with the support of the Conservatives who have five.
   Although the Scottish National Party (SNP) is the largest party on the
   council, with 11 councillors. Elections to the council are on a four
   year cycle, the next due on 3 May 2007. Councillors are elected from
   single-member wards by the first past the post system of election,
   although this will change for the 2007 election, due to the Local
   Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Eight new multi-member wards will be
   introduced, each electing three or four councillors by single
   transferable vote, to produce a form of proportional representation.

Westminster and Holyrood

   Dundee City Square. The building at the back of the square is Caird
   Hall. The building on the right is Dundee City Chambers, where the city
   council meets
   Enlarge
   Dundee City Square. The building at the back of the square is Caird
   Hall. The building on the right is Dundee City Chambers, where the city
   council meets

   For elections to the British House of Commons at Westminster, the city
   area and portions of the Angus council area are divided in two
   constituencies. The constituencies of Dundee East and Dundee West are
   represented by Stewart Hosie ( Scottish National Party (SNP)) and James
   McGovern ( Labour), respectively. For elections to the Scottish
   Parliament at Holyrood, the city area is divided between three
   constituencies. The Dundee East (Holyrood) constituency and the Dundee
   West (Holyrood) constituency are entirely within the city area. The
   Angus (Holyrood) constituency includes north-eastern and north-western
   portions of the city area. All three constituencies are within the
   North East Scotland electoral region. Shona Robison (SNP) is the Member
   of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Dundee East constituency; Kate
   Maclean (Labour) is the current MSP for the Dundee West constituency
   and Andrew Welsh (SNP) is the current MSP for the Angus constituency.

International links

   Dundee maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with six twin
   cities:
     * France - Orleans, France (1946)
     * Croatia - Zadar, Croatia (1959)
     * Germany - Würzburg, Germany (1962)
     * United States - Alexandria, Virginia, USA (1974)
     * Palestinian National Authority - Nablus, West Bank (1980)
     * United Arab Emirates - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2004)

   In addition, the Scottish Episcopalian Diocese of Brechin (centred on
   St Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee) is twinned with the diocese of Iowa, USA
   and the diocese of Swaziland.

Economy

   Cox's Stack, A chimney from the former Camperdown works jute mill. The
   chimney takes its name from jute baron James Cox who later became Lord
   Provost of the city
   Enlarge
   Cox's Stack, A chimney from the former Camperdown works jute mill. The
   chimney takes its name from jute baron James Cox who later became Lord
   Provost of the city

   Dundee is a regional employment, education and retail centre, with
   300,000 persons within 30 minutes drive of the city centre and 630,000
   people within one hours drive from the centre. Many people from North
   East Fife, Angus and Perth and Kinross commute to the city. In
   2004-2005 the city itself had an economically active population of
   77.4% of the working age population, about 17% of the working age
   population are full time students. The city sustains about 90,000 jobs
   in around 4,000 companies. The number of jobs in the city has grown by
   around 10% since 1996. recent and current investment levels in the city
   are at a record level. Since 1997 Dundee has been the focus of
   investment approaching an estimated £1 billion.

   Despite this economic growth the proportion of Dundee’s population
   whose lives are affected by poverty and who can be described as
   socially excluded is second only to Glasgow in Scotland. Median weekly
   earnings were £409 in February 2006, an increase of £33% since 1998, on
   a par with the Scottish median. Unemployment in 2004 was around 4.3%,
   higher than the Scottish average of 3%, although the city has “closed
   the gap” since the 1996 when unemployment was 8.6% with the Scottish
   average at 6.1%. In 2000 the number of unemployed in the city had
   fallen to below 5,000 for the first time in over 25 years. Average
   house prices in Dundee have more than doubled since 1990 from an
   average of £42,475, to £102,025 in 2006. Total house sales in the city
   have more than trebled since 1990 from £115,915,391 to £376,999,716 in
   2004. House prices rose by over 15% between 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 and
   between 2005 and 2006 prices rose by 16.6%.

History

   The period following World War II was notable for the transformation of
   the city's economy. While jute still employed one-fifth of the working
   population, new industries were attracted and encouraged. NCR
   Corporation selected Dundee as the base of operations for the UK in
   late 1945, primarily because of the lack of damage the city had
   sustained in the war, good transport links and high productivity from
   long hours of sunshine. Production started in the year before the
   official opening of the plant on June 11, 1947. A fortnight after the
   10th anniversary of the plant, the 250,000^th cash machine was
   produced. By the 1960s, NCR had become the principal employer of the
   city and produced ATMs at several of its Dundee plants. Magnetic-strip
   readers for cash registers and computers were also built in Dundee.
   Astral, a Dundee-based firm that manufactured and sold refrigerators
   and spin dryers was merged into Morphy Richards and rapidly expanded to
   employ over 1,000 people. The development in Dundee of a Michelin
   tyre-production facility helped to absorb the unemployment caused by
   the decline of the jute industry, particularly with the abolition of
   the jute control by the Board of Trade on April 30, 1969.

   Employment in Dundee changed dramatically during the 1980s with the
   loss of nearly 10,000 manufacturing jobs due to closure of the
   shipyards, cessation of carpet manufacturing and the disappearance of
   the jute trade. In 1983, the first Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computers
   were produced in Dundee by Timex. In the same year the company broke
   production records, despite a sit-in by workers protesting job cuts and
   plans to demolish one of the factory buildings to make way for a
   supermarket. Timex closed their Dundee plant in 1993 following an
   acrimonious six month industrial dispute. To combat growing
   unemployment and vulnerable economic conditions, Dundee was declared an
   Enterprise Zone in January 1984.

Modern day

   As in the rest of Scotland manufacturing industries are being gradually
   replaced by a modern mixed economy, supported by public and private
   investment and a skilled or semi-skilled workforce, although 13.5% of
   the workforce still work in the manufacturing sector, higher than the
   Scottish and UK average, and more than double that of Edinburgh,
   Glasgow and Aberdeen. The main new growth sectors have been software
   development and biotechnology along with retail. The city has a small
   financial, banking and insurance sector, with 11% of the workforce,
   smaller than the three larger Scottish cities, for example Edinburgh’s
   banking and finance sector accounts for 33.3% of it’s workforce.

   In 2005 32 companies employed 250 or more staff these include limited
   and private companies NCR Corporation, Michelin, Tesco (although it was
   announced in March 2003 that they would be closing their distribution
   centre in the city with the loss of 450 jobs), D. C. Thomson & Co, BT,
   Client Logic Ltd, Norwich Union, Royal Bank of Scotland, Asda,
   Strathtay Scottish, Tayside Contracts, Tokheim, Scottish Citylink, W H
   Brown Construction, C J Lang & Son, Joinery and Timber Creations, HBOS,
   Debenhams, Travel Dundee, WL Gore and Associates, Visual Sciences, In
   Practice Systems, Cyclacel, VIS Entertainment, Pro2Kem, The Wood Group,
   Simclar, Upstate Life Sciences, Alchemy, Cypex, Real Time Worlds. Major
   employers in the public sector and non profit sector are NHS Tayside,
   the University of Dundee, Tayside Police, Dundee College, Tayside Fire
   Brigade, HM Revenue and Customs, University of Abertay Dundee and
   Wellcome Trust.

   The largest employers in Dundee are the city council and the National
   Health Service, which make up over 10% of the city's workforce. The
   biomedical and biotechnology sectors, including start-up biomedical
   companies arising from university research, employ 1,000 people
   directly and nearly 2,000 indirectly. Information technology and
   software for computer games have been important industries in the city
   for more than twenty years. Rockstar North, developer of Lemmings and
   the Grand Theft Auto series was founded in Dundee as DMA Design by
   David Jones; an undergraduate of the University of Abertay. Dundee is
   responsible for 10% of Britain’s digital entertainment industry, with
   an annual turnover of £100 million. Outside of specialised fields of
   medicine, science and technology, the proportion of Dundonians employed
   in the manufacturing sector is higher than that found in the larger
   Scottish cities; nearly 12% of 82,000 workers. Manufacturing income per
   head in Dundee was £19,700 in 1999, compared to £16,700 in Glasgow. The
   insolvency rate for businesses in Dundee is lower than other Scottish
   cities, accounting for only 2.3% of all liquidations in Scotland,
   compared to 22% and 61.4% for Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.

Tourism

   The Dundee Tourist information centre has about 115,000 visitors per
   year, of this about 100,000 are from the rest of the UK and around
   15,000 from outside the UK. The number of visitors has been steadily
   rising over the last ten years, while visitors from outside the UK has
   more than doubled in that time. Dundee’s hotels also serve as a base
   for tourism in the popular surrounding rural areas of Angus and Perth
   and Kinross.

Transport

   Dundee viewed across the Tay estuary from the southern side. The hill
   in the background is Dundee law which is situated in approximately the
   centre of the city. The bridge on the left is the Tay Road Bridge
   Enlarge
   Dundee viewed across the Tay estuary from the southern side. The hill
   in the background is Dundee law which is situated in approximately the
   centre of the city. The bridge on the left is the Tay Road Bridge

   Dundee is served by the A90 road which connects the city to Perth in
   the west, and Forfar and Aberdeen in the north. The part of the road
   that is in the city is a dual carriageway and forms the city's main
   bypass on its north side, known as the Kingsway. To the east, the A92
   connects the city to Monifieth and Arbroath. The A92 also connects the
   city to the county of Fife on the south side of the Tay estuary via a
   toll bridge, although tolls are only charged for southbound traffic
   heading into Fife. The main southern route around the city is Riverside
   Drive and Riverside Avenue (the A991), that runs alongside the Tay from
   a junction with the A90 in the west, to the city centre where it joins
   the A92 at the bridge.

   Dundee has an extensive public bus transport system, with the Seagate
   Bus Station serving as the city's main terminus. Travel Dundee operates
   most of the intra-city services, with other more rural services
   operated by Strathtay Scottish. The city's two main railway stations
   are the Dundee (Tay Bridge) Station, which is situated near the
   waterfront and the Broughty Ferry Station, which is further east in
   Broughty Ferry. Both are on the same railway line, which serves the
   east coast of Scotland. Passenger services at Dundee are provided by
   First Scotrail, Virgin Cross Country and GNER. There are no freight
   services that serve the city since Dundee lost its Freightliner
   terminal in the 1980s. A regional airport offers commercial flights to
   London City Airport 5 times a day. The airport has a 1,400-metre runway
   capable of serving small aircraft and is located 3 kilometres west of
   the city centre, adjacent to the Tay river. The nearest major
   international airports are in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Culture

   McManus Galleries houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of
   fine and decorative art as well as a natural history collection
   Enlarge
   McManus Galleries houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of
   fine and decorative art as well as a natural history collection

   Dundee is home to Scotland's only full-time repertory ensemble,
   established in the 1930s — one of its most famous alumni, Hollywood
   actor Brian Cox is a native of the city. The Dundee Repertory Theatre,
   built in 1982 is the base for Scottish Dance Theatre. Dundee's
   principal concert auditorium, the Caird Hall (named after its
   benefactor, the jute baron James Key Caird) regularly hosts the Royal
   Scottish National Orchestra. Various smaller venues host local and
   international musicians during Dundee's annual Jazz, Guitar and Blues
   Festivals. An art gallery and an art house cinema are located in Dundee
   Contemporary Arts, which opened in 1999 in the city's cultural quarter.
   McManus Galleries is a Gothic Revival-style building, located in Albert
   Square. It houses a museum and art gallery that exhibits a collection
   of fine and decorative art and a natural history collection.

   Dundee has a strong literary heritage, with several authors either
   having been born, having lived in or studied in the city. These include
   A. L. Kennedy, Rosamunde Pilcher, Kate Atkinson, Thomas Dick, Mary
   Shelley and John Burnside. The Dundee International Book Prize is a
   biennial competition open to new authors, offering a prize of £10,000
   and publication by Polygon Books. Past winners have included Andrew
   Murray Scott, Claire-Marie Watson and Malcolm Archibald. William
   McGonagall, regularly cited as the "worlds worst poet", worked and
   wrote in the city, often giving performances of his work in pubs and
   bars. Many of his poems are about the city and events therein, such as
   his work The Tay Bridge Disaster.

Music

   Popular music groups such as the 1970s soul-funk outfit Average White
   Band, the Associates, the band Spare Snare, Danny Wilson and the Indie
   rock band The View hail from Dundee. Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue and
   singer-songwriter KT Tunstall are former pupils of the High School of
   Dundee, although Tunstall is not a native of the city. The Irish indie
   rock band Snow Patrol was formed by students at the University of
   Dundee, and Brian Molko; lead singer of Placebo, grew up in the city.
   In the autumn, Dundee hosts an annual blues festival known as the
   Dundee Blues Bonanza. In May 2006 BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend music
   festival was held in the city's Camperdown park. The city has two radio
   stations — Wave 102 and Tay FM — which broadcast on 102.0 and 102.8 FM
   respectively. Tay FM also has a sister AM station, Tay AM. Between 2001
   and 2002, the city had its own RSL television channel, the Channel Six
   Dundee, which played music videos and cult children's cartoons.

Sports

   Dundee has two professional football teams — ( Dundee and Dundee
   United). Their stadia ( Dens Park and Tannadice Park) are closer
   together than any senior pair in world football. Dundee is one of only
   three British cities to have produced two European Cup semi-finalists
   (the others being Glasgow and London). Dundee FC was relegated to the
   First Division in the 2004-05 season, leaving Dundee United as the
   city's only Scottish Premier League (SPL) team. Dundee and surrounding
   towns are home to a number of junior football teams. In May 2005, two
   local teams — Tayport and Lochee United — qualified for the final of
   the Scottish Junior Cup at Tannadice Park, which was won by Tayport.
   Dundee is home to the Dundee Texol Stars ice hockey team which plays at
   Dundee Ice Arena. The team participates in the Scottish National League
   (SNL) with the Dundee Tigers and the Northern League (NL) and in cup
   competitions. Dundee is home to Dundee High School Former Pupils rugby
   club which plays in the First Division of the BT Premier League rugby
   club. Menzieshill Hockey Club are one of Scotland's premier field
   hockey teams and regularly represent Scotland in European competitions.
   The team plays in the European Indoor Cup A Division and has won the
   Scottish Indoor National League seven times in the last decade. An
   outdoor concrete skate park was constructed in Dudhope Park with money
   from the Scottish Executive’s Quality of Life Fund. Opened in 2006, the
   park was nominated for the Nancy Ovens Award.

Education

Schools

   Schools in Dundee have a pupil enrollment of over 20,300. There are
   forty-one primary schools and ten secondary schools in the city. Of
   these, twelve primary and three secondary schools serve the city's
   Roman Catholic population; the remainder are non-denominational. Dundee
   is also home to a school for Muslim girls — the only one of its kind in
   Scotland. Standards in Dundee's primary schools have shown continuous
   improvement since 2001, with most meeting or exceeding the national
   average for rates of improvement. Educational performance at standard
   and higher grade in secondary schools had been well below the national
   average in 1997 to 1999, although subsequent figures have shown a
   significant improvement. Between 2003 to 2005, 85% of pupils achieved
   access 3 or standard grade, 5–6 in English or Maths and 12% achieving
   at least 5 higher awards at A–C grades. The average number of graduates
   who continued on to further or higher education was 56% in the school
   year 2004/5, 4% higher than the national average of 52%. This was an
   increase from the period of 1997 to 1999 when the rate had had been
   well below the national average. The rate of truancy in Dundee schools
   has improved to 0.2% from previous rates, which had exceeded the
   national average of 0.8%.

   Dundee is home to one independent ( private) grammar school, the High
   School of Dundee, which founded in the 13th century by the Abbot and
   Monks of Lindores. Early students included William Wallace, Hector
   Boece and James, John and Robert Wedderburn, the authors of The Gude
   and Godlie Ballatis, one of the most important literary works of the
   Scottish Reformation. It was the earliest Reformed school in Scotland,
   having adopted the new religion in 1554.

   The most prominent of Dundee's state secondary schools are the Harris
   Academy and the Morgan Academy. The Harris Academy was founded in 1885
   and is the largest state school in the city. Former pupils include MP
   George Galloway, professional footballer Christian Dailly and the
   former vice-chairman of Rangers Football Club, Donald Findlay. The
   Morgan Academy dates back to 1888 when the Dundee Burgh School Board
   bought Morgan hospital and reopened it as a school. The school and the
   prior hospital take their names from John Morgan, who bequeathed much
   of his fortune to establish a residential institution.

Colleges and universities

   Dundee University
   Enlarge
   Dundee University

   Dundee is home to two universities and a student population of
   approximately 17,000. The University of Dundee was established in 1967,
   after 70 years as a college of the University of St Andrews.
   Significant research in biomedical fields and oncology is carried out
   in the "College of Life Sciences". The university also incorporates the
   Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and Design. In October 2005, the
   university became the first UNESCO centre in the UK; the centre will be
   involved in research regarding the management of the world's water
   resources on behalf of the United Nations.

   The University of Abertay Dundee is a new university; created in 1994
   under legislation granting the status of university to the Dundee
   Institute of Technology, which had been founded in 1888. The university
   has a computer games technology and design department that holds an
   annual computer game production competition called Dare to Be Digital.
   The university is also home to the Dundee Business School. In May 2002,
   University of Abertay was ranked number one in the United Kingdom for
   its investment in IT facilities by the Financial Times. In The Times
   University Ranking tables, the University of Dundee and the University
   of Abertay are 44th and 57th in a list of 109 British universities
   respectively. The University of Dundee was ranked third for social
   work, seventh for architecture and eighth for biological sciences.

   Dundee College is the city's only further education college, which was
   established in 1985 as an institution of higher education and
   vocational training. The college is noted for its New Media centre and
   the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance. In a 2005 HMIE inspection,
   the college's teaching and learning process were rated "very good" in
   six of the seven subject areas and overall evaluations.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dundee"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
