St Joseph's RC Academy

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Academy
Established 1955
Type State comprehensive
Religion Roman Catholic
Headteacher Mr. Alan Ward
Location Grassyards Road
Kilmarnock
KA3 7SL
Scotland, UK
Students ~750 pupils
Gender Mixed
Ages 11–18 years
Houses Andrew & Margaret
Colours Black & Red
Secondary S1-S6
Website St Joseph's Academy

St. Joseph's Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school in New Farm Loch, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.

History

St Joseph's Academy was originally founded in 1955 in its present location. Initially built on what was the outskirts of Kilmarnock at the time, the adjacent New Farm Loch estate eventually grew and enveloped the school. The school comprised an extended single building, housing most of the subjects taught within. Due to a lack of space, an additional building, commonly referred to as 'A' Block was erected in the 1970s.

As the school was constructed on what was essentially fields, the St Joseph's campus included a large playingfield, comprising a red blaze hockey pitch, running tracks, and space for 4 grass football pitches.

St. Conval's High School was later annexed with St. Joseph's in October 1998 and became known as St. Joseph's Cumnock Campus. In 2004 however St. Joseph's Cumnock Campus was shut down due to falling attendance figures, and the town's Catholic children now attend the new St. Joseph's Academy campus in Kilmarnock, which now serves the entire Secondary Catholic population of East Ayrshire.

In the early 21st century, a programme was initiated by central government to upgrade secondary schools throughout the country using a mixture of public and private money. St Joseph's was one of the schools selected for demolition and reconstruction, along with nearby Grange Academy.

In 2008, the rebuilt St Joseph's was opened, including the new St Andrew's Primary - an amalgamation of the former feeder St Columba's and St Matthew's Primaries.

External links