| Administrative History | New Byth School Board covered New Byth quoad sacra parish, an area in northern Aberdeenshire between New Pitsligo and Turriff. New Byth School Board first met on 24 April, 1873. There were at least four schools already existing in the parish: New Byth (thereafter to be called Byth Public School); Crudie (thereafter to be called Crudie Public School); Upperbrae (thereafter to be called Upperbrae Female School), and New Byth Female School, which in 1876 was amalgamated with Byth Public School. Upperbrae Public School was opened in the same year.
There were also four ‘side’ schools, two in New Byth, one in Mains of Byth, and one at Hill of Clachforbie. In the 1881 census the number of children of school age in the parish was 465. The Board was keen on change and advancement: in 1891 they abolished fees for all pupils at the public schools, and in 1893 both New Byth and Crudie Schools were selected to give secondary education in the parish, with a total of 16 pupils. Evening continuation classes and mutual improvement societies were encouraged and used school buildings. By 1896 the Census of Children of School Age showed a fall to 408 children, of whom thirty were attending schools outside the parish.
The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict., c.62) created school boards in Scotland with a statutory duty to provide education for all children between the ages of 5 and 13. The boards had an elected membership made up of owners and occupiers of property of the value of £4 or over. They were responsible for the building and maintenance of schools, staffing and attendance of pupils. They were overseen by the Scotch Board of Education.
The Education (Scotland) Act 1901 (64 Vict. and 1 Edw. VII, c.9) raised the school leaving age to 14. School boards were abolished by the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V, c.48) and replaced by education authorities and school management committees. |