Ayr Academy's catchment area covers Newton-on-Ayr, Whitletts and the outlying villages of Coylton, Annbank, and Mossblown.

Ayr Academy's coat of arms was awarded in 1912 and bears the school motto Respice Prospice which means look backwards, look forward.

[7] The Shared Headship programme was scheduled to run until June 2018, with South Ayrshire Council publishing reports in September 2018 to assess its success.

[8] This resulted in South Ayrshire Council making the decision to advertise for both Head Teacher posts at both Ayr and Kyle Academies, despite the Shared Headship trial not yet being completed.

This was highlighted with the release of the SQA national examination results in 2015, with Ayr Academy's performance being the worst in South Ayrshire.

The Director of Education for South Ayrshire Council, Douglas Hutchison, stated that "research shows that young people who are less economically advantaged achieve less well across Scotland.

In comparison, pupils attending nearby Kyle Academy reside in more affluent areas of Ayr such Park Circus and Bellevue Crescent.