King David School, Melbourne

The King David School is an independent, co-educational, progressive Jewish day school located in Armadale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school currently caters for approximately 800 students from Pre-School to Year 12, and is affiliated with the Victorian Union of Progressive Judaism.The HistoryThe King David School was first envisioned in the 1970s, by several progressive Jews in Melbourne, and rabbis from Temple Beth Israel. The school was first purchased in 1977, on Kooyong Road, a property still occupied today, the Joyce and Mark Southwick Campus, named after two key influential figures in the school's opening.In 1978, the school first opened for business as a primary school, and it was the first ever Progressive Jewish Day School in Australia. Its principal at that time was Norman Rothman. Whilst there were initially 45 students, the school grew up until in 1984, its biggest current campus (now the Middle School) was purchased in Orrong Road, known as the Isador Magid Campus, after another key figure in the school's establishment. The school later opened its first pre-school on Alma Road, adjacent to Temple Beth Israel, the Joyce and Mark Southwick Pre-school.The school rapidly rose in student numbers, and celebrated the centennial year of 2000 by extending to Year 12 for the first time in its history. In 2002, the school opened a third campus, the Levi Centre, which was a middle school for years 3-6. This campus was later converted to an administration building, and its lease expired in 2008.