Belfast High School
Encyclopedia
Belfast High School is a Voluntary Grammar School
located at Jordanstown
in Newtownabbey
, County Antrim
, Northern Ireland
. It lies within the North Eastern Education and Library Board
area.
In May 2007, Belfast High was awarded Specialist Status in the field of Languages, one of only 13 schools to receive such a status.
, where it remained until 1963, when it moved to the current site in Jordanstown
, Newtownabbey.
Since the school was founded, there have been 7 head teachers:
The houses and their colours are as follows:
, in which Jonnie Joffroy played the part of mobster Fat Sam Stacetto.
, hockey
, and rugby
. Belfast High School's pupils play in 6 main rugby teams: under-12, under-13, under-14, medallion (under-15) and a 1st and 2nd XV. The current captain of the 1st XV is Ryan McGonigle. Rugby teams at the school play in blue and yellow.
Throughout the school, pupils are permitted to play sports on various weekdays for 4 periods each, where these sports are practiced. Some pupils do not choose hockey and are then given another games activity to do, e.g. power-walking, badminton
, netball
, swimming
and circuits. In September 2006 a 6th form football team was founded.
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
located at Jordanstown
Jordanstown
Jordanstown is the name of a townland and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the urban area called Newtownabbey and the wider Newtownabbey Borough....
in Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It lies within the North Eastern Education and Library Board
North Eastern Education and Library Board
The North Eastern Education and Library Board is an organisation providing education and library services for the north-eastern Local Government Districts, Northern Ireland, in County Antrim and eastern County Londonderry...
area.
In May 2007, Belfast High was awarded Specialist Status in the field of Languages, one of only 13 schools to receive such a status.
History
Belfast High School opened in 1854. The school was originally in Glenravel Street in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, where it remained until 1963, when it moved to the current site in Jordanstown
Jordanstown
Jordanstown is the name of a townland and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the urban area called Newtownabbey and the wider Newtownabbey Borough....
, Newtownabbey.
Since the school was founded, there have been 7 head teachers:
- John Pyper (1854–1867), founder of the school
- James Pyper (1867–1917), the school's longest-serving headmaster
- Spring Pyper (1917–1937)
- Dr R H Harte (1938–1966), who bought land around an old house in Jordanstown in 1953 and moved the school there in 1963 (the house is now the administration block, housing the staff room, sick bay, and offices of the principal, her secretary, the bursar and vice-principal)
- S H Dunlop (1966–1987), who saw the building of a new science block (1970), the closure of Somerton House (the school's preparatory department) in 1981 and the enlargement of the school library (1980s)
- S R Hilditch (1987–2006), who saw the Harte Building opened in the 1990s to house Home Economics, Careers, Technology, ICT and a science lab, the refurbishment of the science block (2001–2003) and the refurbishment and enlargement of the Music Department
- L F Gormley (2006–present)
Houses
The school has a house system whereby pupils are split up to represent one of four houses. The tie a pupil wears is blue with a thick yellow band pattern, and a thinner band pattern of an additional colour representing the pupil's house.The houses and their colours are as follows:
- Boyd (green)
- Pyper (blue)
- Storey (red)
- Watson (yellow)
Facilities
Belfast High's on-site facilities include:- 6th Form Centre
- Library
- Playing fields: Pitches for the boys and girls to play hockey, rugby and cricket are on-site along with an athletics track, outdoor netball court and six tennis courts
- A music department with recording studio
- Laboratories
- Animal house with a variety of animals
Extra-Curricular Activities
The school contains a number of extra-curricular clubs and societies including sports teams, International Cuisine Club, Technology Club and an orchestra and wind band. The school participates in the Duke of Edinburgh Award at bronze, silver and gold award level for interested pupils. In 2011 the school also put on a production of Bugsy MaloneBugsy Malone
Bugsy Malone is a 1976 musical film, very loosely based on events in New York City in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema...
, in which Jonnie Joffroy played the part of mobster Fat Sam Stacetto.
Sports
The three main sports at Belfast High are cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, and rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. Belfast High School's pupils play in 6 main rugby teams: under-12, under-13, under-14, medallion (under-15) and a 1st and 2nd XV. The current captain of the 1st XV is Ryan McGonigle. Rugby teams at the school play in blue and yellow.
Throughout the school, pupils are permitted to play sports on various weekdays for 4 periods each, where these sports are practiced. Some pupils do not choose hockey and are then given another games activity to do, e.g. power-walking, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and circuits. In September 2006 a 6th form football team was founded.
Notable former pupils
- Jonny EvansJonny EvansJonathan Grant "Jonny" Evans is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester United and Northern Ireland. Evans was born in Belfast and started his career at Greenisland FC, where he was spotted by Manchester United scouts. He progressed through Manchester United's football...
, Manchester United and Northern Ireland international football player - Sir Ronnie FlanaganRonnie FlanaganSir Ronald Flanagan, GBE, QPM, was the Home Office Chief Inspector of Constabulary for the United Kingdom excluding Scotland...
, retired Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Northern Ireland - Alan McNeillAlan McNeillAlan A. McNeill was a former professional footballer, who played for Crusaders, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Stockport County and Witton Albion.-References:...
, professional football player - Stephen ReaStephen ReaStephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
, film actor - Mark McCreaMark McCreaMark McCrea born 7 September 1987 in Belfast, Northern Ireland is a rugby union player for Connacht in the RaboDirect Pro12 competition.McCrea signed a year and a half professional contract in January 2008 which will keep him at Ravenhill until June 2009...
, UlsterUlster RugbyUlster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
rugby player - Maurice Field, former Ulster and IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
rugby player - Paul StirlingPaul StirlingPaul Robert Stirling is an Irish cricketer. He debuted in first-class cricket in March 2008, playing for Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup. The same year Stirling made his debut in One Day Internationals . Having represented Middlesex's youth sides and Second XI, Stirling signed a contract...
, Ireland cricketer - Sinéad MorrisseySinead MorrisseySinéad Morrissey is a poet from Northern Ireland.-Life:Raised in Belfast, she was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where she took BA and PhD degrees, and won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1990...
, poet