St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Aberdeen

St. Peter's RC Primary School
Established 1833
Type Primary
Religion Roman Catholic
Head Teacher Jo Martin
Location 74 Dunbar Street
Aberdeen
AB24 3UJ
Scotland
Local authority Aberdeen City Council
Students 242
Gender Co-educational
Ages 4–12
SEED number 5242126
Website Official site

St Peter's RC Primary School is a Catholic primary school in Aberdeen, Scotland that was established in 1833. Its Head Teacher is Mrs Jo Martin and the school educates around 250 pupils in ten classes.[1] Half the pupils are taught English as a foreign language.[2]

History

St Peter's RC Primary School was founded on 10 April 1833, on Aberdeen's Constitution Street, by Father Charles Gordon who was the parish priest of the local St Peter's Church.[3] A statue in his honour is in the school's front garden. The statue was created in 1859 by the sculptor Alexander Brodie (1829-1867).[3] The school was linked to St Mary's Cathedral when it was opened in 1860.[4]

A few years after the First World War the school moved to a new building on Nelson Street, which was a suitable location due to the high number of Catholics living in the area at the time.[5] The school moved to its present premises at Dunbar Street in 1983.[6]

The council decided, during the 70's, that St Peter's pupils could obtain religious education at Linksfield Academy, when they decided to close the secondary school, and leave it primary school only.[7]

The school has been part of the Eco-Schools project since September 2004.[8]

In 2006 a controversial proposal to move the school to the site of St Machar Primary school was rejected after a campaign that included public meetings and a Freedom of Information request to establish the reason for the move.[9][10][11]

Academic standards

The school was last inspected, by HM Inspectorate of Education, on 17 March 2009. The school was rated 'good' on three of the key indicators and 'satisfactory' on the other two.[2]

Community contributions

Pupils from St Peter's and two other local schools produced books and artwork celebrating the history of Old Aberdeen. An exhibition of the work, undertaken in conjunction with regional writers and artists, was displayed in May 2009 at the University of Aberdeen.[12] The pupils created their own mini-museum, in April 2010, being the first school to make use of a special cabinet commissioned by Aberdeen University.[13][14]

Extracurricular activities

In July 2002 a pupil delegation from the school, led by Archbishop Mario Conti, formerly Bishop of Aberdeen, represented Scotland at the World Youth Day festival in Toronto. During the event, which included a visit by Pope John Paul II, the pupils wore a distinctive Celtic cross design devised by Alastair Thompson, an inmate of Porterfield Prison, Inverness. Thompson was jailed for life for murdering his grandmother in 1968; while out on licence for that murder, he killed a 52-year-old man and dismembered the body in a bathtub. He became a Christian while in prison and was asked by Aberdeen Diocese to design a logo for the trip.[15]

As part of the Careers Scotland Space School, in June 2006 the school was visited by cosmonaut Aleksandr Lazutkin and NASA scientist Pete Hasbrook. A spokesman for Careers Scotland said: "The NASA visits are an extraordinary experience for the pupils, their schools and their community. Rarely do young people have the chance to meet individuals who have achieved their dreams. The NASA scientists are truly motivational and on a practical level they help the pupils to understand the important role of science, technology and enterprise in the world today."[16]

In August 2006 the school was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen's "Harry Duncan Trophy" for the best exhibit of junior floral art at the society's annual flower show.[17]

The school came first in Scotland in the 'Active Kids Get Cooking' competition, representing their country in the UK finals, held in London, in June 2008.[18]

On 14 May 2012 a team of four pupils from the school took part in the annual national Euroquiz finals, held in the Scottish Parliament's Debating Chamber at Holyrood, Edinburgh. The quiz tests pupils on subjects including European languages, history, culture and sport.[19]

Multicultural

The school is multicultural with 28 pupils' native tongues being Arabic, Basque, Bengali, Cantonese, Chichewa, Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Dutch, English, Finnish, Persian, French, Hungarian (Magyar), Konkani language, Malay (Bahasa Malaysia), Malayalam, Nepali, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Setswana, Shona, Swahili, Tamil, Telugu, Twi, Urdu and Yoruba.[6] As of March 2009, 97 pupils out of 198 were taught English as a foreign language.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "St Peter's RC School - Aberdeen City". Education Scotland. September 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "St Peter's RC School" (PDF). Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Father Charles Gordon, 1858". Aberdeen Art Gallery. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Francis H. Groome (1882–1885). "Aberdeen". Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "St Peter's Church, Aberdeen 1804-1979". Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Welcome to St Peter's RC School Web Page". St. Peter's RC Primary School. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Smith, Graeme (28 August 2001). "Mother takes religion row to court; Woman mounts challenge for school place in bid to get a Catholic education for daughter". The Herald. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Pupils to run circles round worn-out tyres", Europe Intelligence Wire, 8 December 2006
  9. ↑ "Reasons for relocation of school are rejected", Europe Intelligence Wire, 11 November 2005
  10. ↑ "Parents celebrate after plans to merge schools are set to be ditched", Europe Intelligence Wire, 22 December 2005
  11. ↑ "Future of city schools and nurseries in the melting pot", Europe Intelligence Wire, 13 January 2006
  12. ↑ Davidson, Ross (2 May 2009). "School pupils make history at university". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Cabinet showcases world history". BBC news. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  14. ↑ Barbour, Ashleigh (29 April 2010). "Pupils are class act with museum show". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  15. ↑ McKenzie, Steve (28 July 2002). "Killer designs cross T-shirt for kids' trip to meet Pope". Sunday Mail. Glasgow. p. 35. ProQuest document ID 328486982.
  16. ↑ Brodie, Caroline (17 June 2006). "NASA man tells pupils to reach for the stars". The Press and Journal. p. 4. ProQuest document ID 333929759.
  17. ↑ "Interest in horticultural event is blooming". The Press and Journal. 28 August 2006. p. 6. ProQuest document ID 333931571.
  18. ↑ Christie, Stephen (28 June 2008). "Young chefs get a taste of success". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  19. ↑ "Schoolchildren gather at Scottish Parliament for annual Euroquiz competition". Scottish Parliament. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-14.

Coordinates: 57°10′4.2″N 2°5′49.7″W / 57.167833°N 2.097139°W / 57.167833; -2.097139

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