| Administrative History | Fordyce School dates back to 1590, when it was founded as a grammar school. Its pupils benefited from the Ogilvie or Redhythe bursaries (named for Walter Ogilvie of Reidhyth who endowed the school in 1678) . It appears to have been located on the west side of the village near the church (from the first edition six inch Ordnance Survey map, this is now known as Academy House). A new school house was built in c. 1846. The Fordyce Public School relocated to the site of the existing Female School in 1882, which was expanded. It thereafter appears to have been referred to as Fordyce Academy (after the closure of Smith's Academy, see below) or Fordyce Public School. An additional building was added in 1924 (the latter is now Fordyce Primary School).
The closure of the school's secondary department was first mooted in June 1961, due to the challenge of providing diversity of courses on site without extending the school. The Education Committee instead resolved to extend Banff Academy and Buckie High School, and the closure of Fordyce's secondary department was approved by the SED in Dec. 1962. In 1963/64 the secondary department of the school closed to new admissions, and the 2nd year classes were transferred to Banff Academy and Buckie High School. At the end of the 1964 school year the secondary department of the Academy closed and the junior department became known as Fordyce Primary School.
A second school, known as Smith's Academy or Fordyce Academy, was founded in 1790 with an endowment from George Smith of Bombay. This was on the site of the present Academy House. Smith's Academy closed on the retirement of its final rector the Rev. James Largue in 1883 and various discussions ensued about the bursars under the Smith Bounty.
Rectors
Alexander Emslie - 1907
G. Anderson Simpson 1907-1923
George Milne 1924-1927
David McKenzie 1927-1930
Alexander McHardy 1930-1934
Andrew W. Thomson 1934-1955
D.C. Cruickshank 1955-1964 |