Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar School
Encyclopedia
The Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School is a voluntary day school
for boys aged 11 – 18 years in Newry
, County Down
, Northern Ireland
. A new £18million site opened on the outskirts of Newry moving the school from Courtenay Hill where it had been based since 1966, the school gives its name to many streets surrounding the former site such as Abbey Yard and Abbey Heights. In its history, the school had been located at several sites around Newry, including Chapel Street, Kilmorey Street, the Carstands at Margaret Street and the Mall, then on to Abbey Yard and Courtenay Hill.http://www.newryreporter.com/news/viewdetails.asp?ID=1291
during the last week in August. Details of first term, second term, mid-term, Christmas and Easter holidays are forwarded to all parents in an Annual Parents' Booklet.
Key Stage 3 is followed in junior school where pupils are unstreamed and follow a curriculum which includes Religious Education
, English
, Mathematics
, Science
, History
, Geography
,
French
, Spanish
, Irish
, Art
, Music
, Information Technology
, Technology & Design,
Physical Education
, Drama
, Learning for Life and Work. Pupils are expected to take a variety of these subjects.
During Key Stage 23, pupils follow the prescribed Northern Ireland Common Curriculum.
All Year 12 pupils sit GCSE examinations while some Year 11 pupils complete
GCSE courses in a single year. The range of subjects on offer at this level
enables all students to keep their career options open until they embark upon
advanced level courses. Choices include all subjects at Key Stage 3 with the
attraction of Chemistry
, Physics
, Biology
, Physical Education
, English Literature
, Construction, Financial Services
, Business Studies
, Information Systems
and Additional Mathematics.
At A-Level all the boys who have performed well in the GCSE examination, or
those who have received a minimum of 7 passes with at least 3 at grade B level,
are invited to do GCE
(previously known as A-Level) in the three or four subjects of their choice. As at GCSE,
there is an extensive range of subjects offered, including all those at Key Stages
3 and 4 with the addition of Politics
, Further Mathematics
, Theatre Studies
,
Construction
, Applied ICT, Psychology
and Sociology
. Students sit Oxford and
Cambridge (Oxbridge) entrance examinations annually. The examination
boards used by the school at the moment include A.Q.A., C.C.E.A., Edexcel and O.C.R.
All senior students take part in an extensive personal development programme
called Social Spirituality. This programme includes modules in Human Rights
, Interview Skills, Information Technology Application, Health and
Fitness, Cookery, Financial Management, and Spiritual Reflection. Students also
participate in lower 6th in a programme of extension courses (VEP) with Newry
Institute.
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
for boys aged 11 – 18 years in Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, Northern Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. A new £18million site opened on the outskirts of Newry moving the school from Courtenay Hill where it had been based since 1966, the school gives its name to many streets surrounding the former site such as Abbey Yard and Abbey Heights. In its history, the school had been located at several sites around Newry, including Chapel Street, Kilmorey Street, the Carstands at Margaret Street and the Mall, then on to Abbey Yard and Courtenay Hill.http://www.newryreporter.com/news/viewdetails.asp?ID=1291
School Year
The school year commences with individual year admissions and registrationsduring the last week in August. Details of first term, second term, mid-term, Christmas and Easter holidays are forwarded to all parents in an Annual Parents' Booklet.
School Uniform
The school uniform consists of a black blazer, black trousers and school tie. White shirts are worn by all students, a grey v-necked jumper is optional. Students above Year 12 wear a black sweatshirt in place of the blazer and jumper.Curriculum
The curriculum in the Abbey is based on the UK National Curriculum. The school academia is divided into three sections.Key Stage 3 is followed in junior school where pupils are unstreamed and follow a curriculum which includes Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
,
French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, Technology & Design,
Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, Learning for Life and Work. Pupils are expected to take a variety of these subjects.
During Key Stage 23, pupils follow the prescribed Northern Ireland Common Curriculum.
All Year 12 pupils sit GCSE examinations while some Year 11 pupils complete
GCSE courses in a single year. The range of subjects on offer at this level
enables all students to keep their career options open until they embark upon
advanced level courses. Choices include all subjects at Key Stage 3 with the
attraction of Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, Construction, Financial Services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, Business Studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
, Information Systems
Information systems
Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
and Additional Mathematics.
At A-Level all the boys who have performed well in the GCSE examination, or
those who have received a minimum of 7 passes with at least 3 at grade B level,
are invited to do GCE
General Certificate of Education
The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level...
(previously known as A-Level) in the three or four subjects of their choice. As at GCSE,
there is an extensive range of subjects offered, including all those at Key Stages
3 and 4 with the addition of Politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics is the title given to a number of advanced secondary mathematics courses. Higher and Further Mathematics may also refer to any of several advanced mathematics courses at many institutions....
, Theatre Studies
Theatre studies
Theatre studies is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psycho-biological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also encompasses the study of theatrical aesthetics and semiotics...
,
Construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, Applied ICT, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Students sit Oxford and
Cambridge (Oxbridge) entrance examinations annually. The examination
boards used by the school at the moment include A.Q.A., C.C.E.A., Edexcel and O.C.R.
All senior students take part in an extensive personal development programme
called Social Spirituality. This programme includes modules in Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, Interview Skills, Information Technology Application, Health and
Fitness, Cookery, Financial Management, and Spiritual Reflection. Students also
participate in lower 6th in a programme of extension courses (VEP) with Newry
Institute.
Gaelic Football
The school's gaelic football team has produced many outstanding footballers over the years. Many players on the Down and Armagh panels that won All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in 1960, 1961, 1968, 1991 and 1994 and 2002 respectively came from the school. The School has won Ulster Schools' premier competition, the MacRory Cup, on five occasions; 1954, 1959, 1964, 1987 and in 2006 when they also won the All-Ireland series and brought the Hogan Cup to Courtenay Hill for the first time.Notable former pupils
- Séamus MallonSeamus MallonSeamus Frederick Mallon born 17 August 1936, in Markethill, County Armagh, is an Irish politician and former Deputy Leader of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland...
, Social Democratic and Labour PartySocial Democratic and Labour PartyThe Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP) politician and former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland - Frank AikenFrank AikenFrank Aiken was a commander of the Irish Republican Army and later an Irish politician. A founding-member of Fianna Fáil, Aiken was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1923 and at each subsequent election until 1973...
TDTeachta DálaA Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
, Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
commander, TánaisteTánaisteThe Tánaiste is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. The current Tánaiste is Eamon Gilmore, TD who was appointed on 9 March 2011.- Origins and etymology :...
and served as Minister for DefenceMinister for Defence (Ireland)The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....
(1932–1939), Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures (1939–1945), Minister for FinanceMinister for Finance (Ireland)The Minister for Finance is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters. The office-holder controls the Department of Finance and is considered one of the most important members of the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Finance is...
(1945–1948) and Minister for External AffairsMinister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland)The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Government of Ireland. Its headquarters are at Iveagh House, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh House" is often used as a metonym for the department as a whole.The current...
(1951–1954 & 1957–1969) - Denis DonoghueDenis DonoghueDenis Donoghue is an Irish literary critic. He is currently the Henry James Chair of English and American Letters at New York University....
, Irish writer - Ronan RaffertyRonan RaffertyRonan P. Rafferty is an Northern Irish professional golfer, who formerly played on the European Tour.Rafferty was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. He won the Boys Amateur Championship aged fifteen and played in the Walker Cup aged seventeen...
, Irish golfer - Joe Kernan, Gaelic footballGaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
manager - Sean O'NeillSean O'NeillSean O'Neill may refer to:*Sean O'Neill *Sean O'Neill *Seán O'Neill, player of Gaelic football*Sean O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone*Sean O'Neill , association footballer...
, Gaelic footballGaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
er - Art CosgroveArt CosgroveArt Cosgrove, in Newry, County Down was President of University College Dublin between 1994 and 2003.-Education:He was educated at the Christian Brothers, Abbey Grammar School in Newry. He graduated from Queen's University Belfast in 1961 with a first class honours BA in History, and attended the...
, Irish historian, writer and University College DublinUniversity College DublinUniversity College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
Chancellor - Eunan O'NeillEunan O'NeillEunan O'Neill is an Irish Television Presenter.-Early life:O'Neill graduated in Communication, Advertising and Marketing at the University of Ulster...
, Television Presenter for Russia TodayRussia TodayRussia Today may refer to:* Russia Today, an English language 24-hour television news channel from Russia. It was launched in 2005 and is not related to an online news service of the similar name operated by EIN News... - Lord Justice Turlough O'Donnell, SC; Privy CouncilPrivy councilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page76.asp - Bishop John Crawford (of WarrenpointWarrenpointWarrenpoint is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northern shore of Carlingford Lough and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town sprang up within the townland of Ringmackilroy...
, County DownCounty Down-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
)