- Newtown School, Waterford
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Newtown School, Waterford 
The Main Building of Newtown. Education for lifeLocation Waterford, County Waterford, Republic of Ireland Information Type Independent School; Boarding and day school Established 1798 Principal Mr. Keith Lemon Enrollment Co-educational Pupil Numbers Approximately 350 Age Range 12 to 18 Denomination Multidenominational through a Quaker ethos Website newtownschool.ie Newtown School is a multidenominational, coeducational independent school with both boarding and day pupils in Waterford, Ireland. It is run by a Board of Management, but owned by the Religious Society of Friends.
Contents
History
Newtown School was founded in 1798 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), on the estates of the former home of Sir Thomas Wyse. Its original purpose was the education of Quakers in the south of Ireland, and until 1858 no non-Quakers were admitted.
At its setup both boys and girls entered Newtown, though they did not participate in the same classes and activities. From the 1850s up to the late 1890s it became a boys only school. At this time Mountmellick became an all-girls school, so all boys from Mountmellick moved to Newtown. Eventually in the late 1890s girls were gradually let back into Newtown as day students, until female boarding was eventually reintroduced in 1907.
In 1924 Newtown adopted a fully coeducational policy which it has maintained to the present day.
In January 1966 a fire broke out in the boys dormitories, and after the Arnold Marsh dormitories (also known as Yardblock) were built, the remains of the old dormitories were made into a common room for the pupils, commonly known as 'Legoland' due to the lego brick style interior dividers. Since this time it has also reconstructed its swimming pool, and added a further extension to the Arnold Marsh dormitories.
Curriculum
Junior cycle
For the Junior Cycle, Newtown follows the curriculum for the Junior Certificate. All offered subjects offered are available in Higher and Ordinary levels. First Year Scholars have access to twenty-one subjects. In Second and Third Year, all Junior Certificate candidates study Art, Craft & Design and Science, all have access to French and/or German and all take a practical subject, either Materials Technology (woodwork) or Home Economics.
Transition year
Newtown operates a compulsory Transition Year program. In recent years students have participated in kayaking, outdoor pursuits, Young Social Innovators, surfing, lifesaving courses, drama, media, personal development, nutrition, enterprise, crafts and fashion design. The programme also includes week-long work experience placements, courses in the Gaeltacht and a European studies tour on themes pertinent to the programme, along with other courses that vary from year to year.[1]
Senior cycle
The senior cycle begins at the end of Transition Year when students are asked to choose the subjects in which they would like to be examined at Leaving Certificate, in order of preference. The subjects offered in addition to the three compulsory subjects (English, Maths and Irish) vary each year, depending on demand(e.g. Applied Mathematics). At present there are over 20 Leaving Certificate subjects offered, all of which are available for study at any level.[1]
Sports Facilities
Newtown has a 25m indoor swimming pool (with diving platforms and a diving board), a gym, a weights-room, an astroturf hockey pitch, an athletics track, two hockey training pitches, two rugby pitches, a cricket lawn and tennis courts. A cross-country track also runs along the perimeter of the 17-acre (69,000 m2) grounds.
Notable alumni
- Erskine Childers (UN) - Writer and United Nations Civil Servant, and son of Irish President Erskine Hamilton Childers
- Simon Crowe - Drummer in the Boomtown Rats
- Ralph Fiennes - Actor
- R.F. Foster - Noted Historian of the Modern Irish period
- Ian Gibson - Historian, author and Hispanist
- Sinéad O'Connor - Singer
- Nick Popplewell - Professional Rugby player
- Garry Roberts - Guitarist with the Boomtown Rats
- Philip Boucher-Hayes - Journalist
- Samuel Jacob - Film maker
References
External links
Categories:- Education in Waterford (city)
- Quaker schools
- Secondary schools in County Waterford
- Educational institutions established in the 1790s
- Boarding schools in Ireland
- Private schools in the Republic of Ireland
- Christian schools in the Republic of Ireland
- Co-educational boarding schools
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