Comely Park School
Established | 1879 |
---|---|
Type | Primary School |
Headmistress | Mrs Janice Collins |
Location |
Falkirk Stirlingshire Scotland Coordinates: 55°59′43″N 3°47′08″W / 55.9954°N 3.7855°W |
Local authority | Stirlingshire |
Students | 500 (approx) |
Ages | 4/5–11/12 |
Colours | Maroon |
Website | Comely Park School |
Comely Park School is a primary school in Woodlands, Falkirk, Scotland. It was founded in 1879 as a replacement for the local Charity School. In its early days it was also known as "Cochrane's Academy" after its first headmaster. The original Victorian school buildings (which housed over 1,000 pupils in 1909) were demolished in 1996, and Comely Park was the first school in Falkirk to be rebuilt, along with a Games Hall and a large astro turf pitch. It currently accommodates around 500 pupils.
It has a reputation of being the best school in the area, though this may be down to the relatively high socio-economic class of those in its catchment area — only 2.5% of its pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 17.6% nationally — and there is significant competition for places. Classes are of average size (about 30) and many pupils go on to private education at Dollar Academy, Beaconhurst School or a variety of Edinburgh public schools.
The school colours are maroon and white, which is reflected in the full uniform. A maroon blazer with white piping, grey trousers or shorts, a grey shirt with a maroon/silver striped tie and maroon jumper is the official uniform, though most pupils now simply wear a white polo shirt and maroon jumper with dark trousers.
Notable former pupils include William St. Clair, a former senior civil servant, author and Research Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, former Formula 1 BAR team boss Craig Pollock, St Mirren football player Jack Ross and professional basketball player Keith Bunyan who played 6 years with the British Basketball Leagues Scottish Rocks and in the commonwealth games in Australia with Scotland senior men.