Pictou Academy (PA), founded in 1815 by Dr. Thomas McCulloch, is a secondary school in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Prior to the twentieth century, it was a grammar school; a liberal, nonsectarian degree-granting college; and then a secondary school. Pictou Academy's current principal is James Ryan. provides additional funds to the school. The original site of the academy was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1937, as it symbolized the introduction of nonsectarian education to The Maritimes in the early 19th century.