At the time, all secondary school children in the area had to attend Ayr Academy for further education.

The school went through major expansion to accommodate secondary pupils in the 1960s and more buildings were constructed with primary children being moved into Block 7.

As part of the Scottish Executive's Public-Private Partnership policy, it was announced that Prestwick Academy would be rebuilt.

The new building for Prestwick Academy is a first-generation PPP school and was officially opened in October 2009.

[5] Construction started in 2006 with Block 7 (Geography, Religious Studies, Behaviour Support, and the Dining Hall) being demolished to make room for the new building.

The number of teaching staff on census day in September 2022 was 83.7 (full-time equivalent), and the percentage of young people in receipt of free school meals stood at 13%, which was a slight increase from the previous year.