Newtown School, Waterford
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| Newtown School, Waterford | |
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| The Main Building of Newtown. | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Waterford, County Waterford, Republic of Ireland |
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| Information | |
| Enrollment |
co-educational |
| Type | Boarding and day school |
| Established | 1798 |
| Pupil Numbers | Approximately 350 |
| Age Range | 12 to 18 |
| Denomination | Multidenominational through a Quaker ethos |
| Homepage | www.newtownschool.ie/ |
Newtown School is a multidenominational, coeducational boarding and day secondary school in Waterford, Ireland. It is a voluntary secondary school, run by a Board of Management, but owned by the Religious Society of Friends.
Contents |
[edit] 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 the 1980s 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.
[edit] Curriculum
[edit] 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, but for Art, Craft & Design, which is offered only at Ordinary level. In addition to the compulsory subjects Newtown offers Business Studies, Home Economics, Materials Technology Wood, Music, and Technical Graphics.
[edit] Transition year
Newtown operates a compulsory Transition Year program (also known as 'TY'), which is operated by Andrew Cox, Karen Keogh and Hugh Dobbs. In recent years students have participated taken part in kayaking, Young Social Innovators, surfing, lifesaving courses, tourism awareness courses, along with other courses that vary from year to year.[1]
There are typically a number of trips by pupils including trips to an adventure centre and the Gaeltacht parts of Ireland.
[edit] Senior cycle
The senior cycle begins at the end of transition year when students are asked to choose their possible subjects in order of preference. The subjects offered in addition to compulsory subject vary each year, depending on demand(e.g Applied Mathematics).
[edit] Notable alumni
- Sinead O'Connor - Irish singer
- Ian Gibson - Historian, author and Hispanist
- Erskine Childers (UN) - Writer and United Nations Civil Servant
- R.F. Foster - Noted Historian of the Modern Irish period
- Simon Crowe - Drummer in the Boomtown Rats
- Garry Roberts - Guitarist with the Boomtown Rats
- Ralph Fiennes - Actor
