About us

Our history

Ascot Park Primary School opened on 29 October 1926, after local families pushed for a school closer to home. It began as two classrooms on a muddy floodplain in what was then semi-rural country.

The big gum tree by the pedestrian crossing on Marion Road was part of the original grounds. The first school bell hung from its branches, and the school band practised in its shade.

A library and museum opened in 1944. Asphalt was laid in 1948 to deal with the mud, and as post-war families filled the area, enrolments grew and more land had to be bought. Almond trees and grapevines grew on the grounds, and the fruit was harvested and sold to raise funds.

By 1960 more than 1,300 children were enrolled, with a separate Junior Primary section. A swimming pool was built in 1967 for $10,000. Work began in 1972 on the red brick building we still use, and when it opened in 1974 its open-space classrooms were a flagship design — educators came from around Australia and overseas to see them working.

The school was amalgamated into its present form in 1984. The multicultural mural you can see from Marion Road was first painted in 1986, and has been updated with new flags since, following a community that keeps changing. In 1989 we became a Gymnastics Focus School, with a class of elite gymnasts enrolled from Years 2 to 7.

Partitions went in during 1997 to divide the large open units into more practical teaching areas. The pool was filled in during the early 2000s, when the SA School for Vision Impaired and Kilparrin Teaching and Assessment School were built on site.

Today we still have the space, a diverse multicultural community, and the link to sports education that has run through most of our history.

Grounds and facilities

We sit on spacious landscaped grounds, with large classrooms, a well-resourced library and interactive televisions in every classroom.

• Modern sports centre
• Gymnastics hall, fitted out for the purpose
• Canteen
• Nature play space, oval, playground, netball and basketball courts
• Community garden, shared with SASVI and Kilparrin
• Performing Arts hall

Our facilities are hired by sporting clubs and organisations most weeknights and weekends. Contact the school for availability and hire costs.

Schools we share the campus with

We share our grounds and facilities with four other schools and a children's centre.

• SA School for Vision Impaired (SASVI)
• Kilparrin Teaching and Assessment School
• Warradale Community Children's Centre
• Adelaide Nepali Vidhalaya — an ethnic school held on Saturday mornings in term time

Marion Inland Partnership

We are part of the Marion Inland Partnership, a group of local sites working together for better outcomes and better use of shared resources.

• Ascot Park Kindergarten
• Forbes Children's Centre
• Mitchell Park Kindergarten
• Plympton South Kindergarten
• Clovelly Park Primary School
• Forbes Primary School
• Kilparrin Teaching and Assessment School
• SA School for Vision Impaired (SASVI)
• Australian Science and Mathematics School (ASMS)
• Hamilton Secondary College