Bell Baxter High School is a
non-denominational
A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination.
Overview
The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...
comprehensive school for 11 to 18-year-olds in
Cupar
Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...
,
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
, Scotland. Founded in 1889, it educates over 1,500 pupils mainly from the surrounding villages.
The school is one of 18
secondary schools
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
under the authority of
Fife Council
Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members.
Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...
, and is led by
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
Lynn Black with the support of a senior leadership team. Bell Baxter takes its name from donors Dr
Andrew Bell, creator of the
Madras system, and businessman Sir
David Baxter. The school's history can be traced back to institutions dating from around 1635.
School history
Originally Bell-Baxter School, Bell Baxter High School was founded in 1889 when the Rev. Dr
Andrew Bell's Madras Academy combined with Sir
David Baxter's Institute for Young Ladies, taking the name of its joint founders.
The earliest roots of Bell Baxter can be traced back to around 1635, in the form of the Grammar School of Cupar. The school became Cupar Academy in 1727 after some reorganisation, and remained as such until 1831 when an endowment from Dr Bell led to the adoption of the name Madras Academy.
Madras Academy was one of two schools left money by Dr Bell in the North East Fife area which adopted his
Madras system, the other being
Madras College
Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell.
History
Madras ...
in his home town of
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
.
Originally, secondary education was to be delivered at the former Institute for Young Ladies' Westport building, and elementary education from the former Madras Academy's Castlehill site.
The oldest part of the Westport building was first used in 1890, with the rest of the building being built in 1929.
However, the school quickly outgrew these premises, and in 1959 a new building was commissioned on Carslogie Road under a 5-year Fife school-building programme.
During the interim period, a number of wooden huts were utilised as classrooms due to the large amount of pupils. By 1962, the new building had opened to senior pupils, resulting in a three-quarters of a mile commute for some teachers and pupils between the two sites.
As a result of continuous renovation work which drastically extended and transformed the building, the school was able to be consolidated at the Carslogie Road site in 2010.
The Westport Road building has since been demolished, with 30 affordable homes and a business centre constructed on the site. Only the facade of the main building remains along with St Michael's Church adjacent to the school.
Coat of Arms
The school's coat of arms features, at the top of the shield, the Thane of Fife to represent
Fife Council's control of the school. This is accompanied below by the three Myrtle Crowns of Cupar on the left, and a coat representing Bell and Baxter on the right. In a scroll over this, the school's motto - "''Ad Vitam Paror''".
Management
From 2007 to 2018, the
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of the school was Philip Black, who then embarked on a secondment to Fife Council which later became a full time job and led to his retirement. Subsequently, the acting rector became Elizabeth Smart, head of
Waid Academy
The Waid Academy is a public secondary school in Anstruther, Fife. The school's catchment area extends to as far as Elie and Colinsburgh to the west and Crail to the east (the East Neuk boundaries) but accepts pupils from towns such as Leven, Up ...
, who took lead until Carol Ann Penrose - former head of
Lochgelly High School
Lochgelly High School is a non-denominational secondary school located in Lochgelly, Fife. The school's catchment area covers Lochgelly and the surrounding towns and villages of Ballingry, Cardenden, Crosshill, Glencraig and Lochore
Lochore i ...
- was appointed as the new rector of Bell Baxter High School. On 11 November 2021, Penrose unexpectedly resigned and Smart was once again appointed acting rector while also leading Waid Academy until a new permanent rector was found.
A new rector was due to be appointed for the start of 2022, however this was later postponed and it was not until the end of the school year in June before it was announced that
Beeslack High School
Penicuik ( ; sco, Penicuik; gd, Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh a ...
head Lynn Black would take over permanently after an interim period under Craig Parnham, a depute rector at
Woodmill High School
Woodmill High School is a local authority ran high school in Dunfermline, Scotland. It is one of the city's four high schools.
Designs were proposed for the school in 1958 and construction finished in 1960. It was built to serve the expanding ...
.
Rectors
Notable former pupils
* Sir
Alasdair Breckenridge CBE, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians both of London and of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
* The Very Reverend Professor
Robert Craig CBE former Moderator of the Church of Scotland
* The Reverend Professor
Robert Davidson former Moderator of the Church of Scotland
*
Chris Fusaro
Chris Fusaro (born 21 July 1989 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland) is a Scotland international rugby union player. He plays for Glasgow Warriors as a flanker.
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Early in 2007 he was among a group of boys who achieved a ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
rugby international, winner of the 2007 Schools Cup for Bell Baxter
*
William Heggie, first-class cricketer
*
George Horne, Scotland rugby international
*
Peter Horne
Peter Horne is a rugby union coach. He is currently a Skills Coach for Glasgow Warriors. He previously was Head Coach of the Ayrshire Bulls. As a player he was a Scotland international rugby union player; and at club level he previously played ...
, Scotland rugby international, winner of the 2007 Schools Cup for Bell Baxter
*
Stevie May, Scottish football international,
SFWA Young Player of the Year
The Scottish Football Writers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the SFWA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Young Player of the Year) award is given to the footballer in the Scottish football league system, who is se ...
2013/14 and currently at
St Johnstone FC.
*
Rab Noakes
Robert Ogilvie Noakes (13 May 1947 – 11 November 2022) was a Scottish singer-songwriter. Noakes was at the forefront of Scottish folk music for over 50 years and recorded over 19 studio albums. He toured folk clubs and often performed at the G ...
, a Scottish singer-songwriter.
*
Karen Petrie, academic from the University of Dundee and inventor of the
Petrie Multiplier
The Petrie multiplier is a thought experiment
or mathematical model
invented by British computer scientist Karen Petrie, and first described by Ian Gent in 2013.
The multiplier "shows that if the percentage of men and women in the room who make qu ...
.
*
The Proclaimers
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
, Scottish folk-rock musicians
* Sir
Bob Reid, former Chief Executive of
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
and Chairman of the
British Railways Board
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
from 1990 until 1995
*
Dale Reid
Dale Reid (born 20 March 1959) is a Scottish professional golfer from Ladybank, Fife. She is one of the most successful players in the history of the Ladies European Tour, with 21 tournament victories. She topped the Order of Merit in 1984 and ...
OBE, one of the most successful golfers in the history of the
Ladies European Tour
The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal stru ...
.
*
Willie Rennie
William Cowan Rennie (born 27 September 1967), commonly known as Willie Rennie, is a Scottish politician who served as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MS ...
,
MSP and former leader of the
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...
*
Sir Robert Robertson, chemist
*
David Rollo, former Scotland rugby player.
*
Allan Stewart (politician), MP and Scottish Office Minister.
*
Stewart Stevenson
James Alexander Stewart Stevenson (''Gaelic: Seamus Alasdair Stiùbhart MacSteafain''; born 15 October 1946) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and Minister for Env ...
,
SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast and previously
Minister for Environment and Climate Change in the
Scottish Government.
* Sir
Garnet Wilson
Garnet Wilson (1885-1975) was a Scottish businessman and Liberal politician who served as Lord Provost of Dundee. He has been described as 'one of the most prominent figures in public life in Dundee in the mid twentieth century'.
Life and career
...
, politician and
Lord Provost of Dundee
The Lord Provost of Dundee is the chair and civic head of the City of Dundee local authority in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead and Lord Lieutenant for the city. T ...
References
External links
Bell Baxter High School's WebsiteHMIE inspectionBell Baxter's page on Scottish Schools Online
{{Authority control
Educational institutions established in 1889
Secondary schools in Fife
1889 establishments in Scotland