Built in 1980 and opened in 1982, Kemnay Academy was initially created in response to a growing need for a secondary school to accommodate the growing number of pupils in Kintore and Kemnay who previously went to Inverurie Academy.

At the turn of the century, Kemnay Academy began accepting pupils from the neighbouring Kinellar Primary School in Blackburn.

In June 2015, Former Provost of Aberdeenshire Jill Webster officially opened the school's new £14.3 million extension.

It included a new gym, a music room, biomass heating plant, additional support for learning facilities and extra classroom space.

[4] At the end of July 2024, a new bus park was built to ease road congestion in the area [5]