New Park School

New Park School

Established	1933
Closed	2005
Type	Preparatory School
Founder	Cuthbert Dixon
Location	Hepburn Gardens St Andrews Fife KY16 9LR Scotland
Gender	Mixed
Houses	Dixon, Hunter, Macleod, Scott

Coordinates: 56°20′01″N 2°48′57″W / 56.333487°N 2.815966°W / 56.333487; -2.815966

Founding and Development

New Park School was an independent preparatory school in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The school was founded in 1933 by Cuthbert Dixon,^[1][2] a teacher at Merchiston Castle School.

The school was situated at Hepburn Gardens, a residential area of St Andrews. In addition, the school owned playing fields at Priory Acres off the Canongate, on the other side of the Kinness Burn. In 1986, part of the playing fields were put on the market for residential development^[3]. The school continued to use the remaining playing fields until it closed in 2005.

Initially the school had 13 boys, all of whom were day pupils. Within a few years the school had expanded, and by 1938 there were 20 pupils including 10 boarders. Numbers continued to increase, particularly in the post-war period.

In the 1970s, New Park admitted its first girls. By the time the school closed in 2005, there were roughly equal numbers of boys and girls. As times changed, boarding became less popular, and by the mid-1990s boarding at New Park had ceased. The school continued to adapt to changing circumstances, and opened a nursery for pre-school aged children.

Merger with St Leonards

When the other preparatory school in St Andrews, the previously girls-only St Leonards Junior School began accepting boys, New Park struggled to recruit new pupils. St Leonards also suffered from a decline in pupil numbers, and talks between the schools continued for several years.^[4] Eventually, in March 2005 it was announced^[5] that New Park would merge with St Leonards Junior School, to form St Leonards-New Park. The merged school would use the St Leonards campus. The announcement was met with a mixed reaction from New Park parents.^[6]

St Leonards have announced^[7] a major redevelopment of their Junior School, which will change its name from St Leonards-New Park to St Leonards Junior School. The project, commencing in June 2011, will cost £2.5m, and is being funded by the New Park Educational Trust. The New Park name will be used for the redeveloped area of the St Leonards site.

New Park Educational Trust

New Park School, March 2011

The original New Park site (excluding the original house, which formed part of the main school building) was sold for development. The money raised is managed by the New Park Educational Trust,^[8] which supports local educational projects. The Trust still owns the original house, which will be converted into flats for rental to families involved in education in St Andrews.^[9]

Headmasters ^[1]

• 1933-1949 Cuthbert Dixon
• 1949-1969 Roderick Macleod
• 1969-1976 Adrian Blocksidge
• 1976-1984 Alan Elliott
• 1984-1995 Michael Wareham
• 1995-2005 Andrew Donald ^[10] (now Head of St Leonards-New Park ^[5])

Further Information

There is a Facebook Group^[11] and New Park can also be found in Friends Reunited.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The New Park Register 1933-1983
2. ^ ‘Old Boy’ At New Park – Fife Today, 26 September 2003
3. ^ Advertisement in The Glasgow Herald, 5 February 1986
4. ^ Schools Merger Plan Falls Through – Fife Today, 31 May 2002
5. ^ ^{a b} Aiming For The Top With Schools Merger – Fife Today, 10 March 2005
6. ^ Mixed Views On School Merger – Fife Today, 18 March 2005
7. ^ St Leonards Junior School Redevelopment
8. ^ New Park Educational Trust Limited
9. ^ Planning Application 09/02799/FULL from Fife Council Planning Dept.
10. ^ People - TES Magazine, 10 March 1995
11. ^ http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_11935074094