Primary School, Thurso, Academies
Primary School
A primary school (from French école primaire) is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In some countries, and especially in North America, the term elementary school is preferred. Children generally attend primary school from around the age of four or five until the age of eleven or twelve.
n the UK schools providing primary education in the state sector are known as primary schools. They generally cater for children aged from four to eleven (Reception to Year Six). Primary schools are often subdivided into infant schools for children from four to seven (Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1) and junior schools for ages seven to 11 (Key Stage 2). (Excluding Scotland, where all from age 5-12 are catered for in the one institution.)
In the private sector fee-paying schools which provide primary education are known as preparatory schools, and they often cater for children up to the age of thirteen. As their name suggests, preparatory schools are designed to prepare pupils for entrance examinations for fee-paying independent schools.
Thurso
Thurso's history stretches back to at least the era of Norse Orcadian rule in Caithness, which ended conclusively in 1266. The town was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. In 1330 Scotland's standard unit of weight was brought in line with that of Thurso at the decree of King David II, a measure of the town's economic importance. Old St Peter's Kirk is said to date from circa. 1220 and the time of Caithness Bishop Gilbert Murray, who died in 1245. Much of the town is, however, a planned 19th-century development, and a major expansion occurred in the mid-20th century when the Dounreay nuclear power plant was established at Dounreay, 9 miles (14.5 km) to the west of the town. Within a period of about five years, Thurso's population expanded rapidly from around 2,500 to about 12,000 between 1955-58, as the nuclear plant attracted skilled migrants from all parts of the United Kingdom, although it dropped back to around 9,000 by 1960 after a lot of the initial Dounreay construction crew left the area.
Thurso is also the name of the viscountcy held by the Sinclair family in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The present Viscount Thurso is also the local MP.
Academies
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, north of Athens, Greece.
Because of the tradition of intellectual brilliance associated with this institution, many groups have chosen to use the word "Academy" in their name. In the early 19th century "academy" took the connotations that "gymnasium" was acquiring in German-speaking lands, of school that was less advanced than a college (for which it might prepare students) but considerably more than elementary. Early examples are the prestigious preparatory schools of Phillips Andover Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy and Deerfield Academy. Amherst Academy expanded with time to form Amherst College.
Other national academies include the Académie Française; the Royal Academy and Royal Academy of Music of the United Kingdom; the International Academy of Science; the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York; the United States Naval Academy; United States Air Force Academy; and the Australian Defence Force Academy. In emulation of the military academies, police in the United States are trained in police academies. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents the annual Academy awards.