Regent House Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Regent House Grammar School is a co-ed voluntary grammar school
situated in Newtownards
, County Down
, Northern Ireland
. It comprises two parts: the preparatory department, known as "the Prep" and the main school itself. It has over 1400 pupils from ages 4 to 18.
The school is known for its sporting achievements especially in rugby and athletics and its music department, including the senior choir which often performs in high profile venues.
The school is divided into 4 houses: Castlereagh, Strangford, Scrabo and Clandeboye. Regular inter-house competitions are held.
and Medallion Shield
. Rugby union
continues to be a popular sport in the school, alongside hockey
and athletics
.
Regent House have appeared in 4 Schools' Cup Finals; the first in 1977, where they lost out to Royal School Armagh 12-9. Future Irish International Phillip Matthews and current Ulster Head Coach Brian McLaughlin played in the game however future British Lion Nigel Carr missed the occasion due to injury.
Regent would next reach the final in 1994 where they defeated Wallace HS 8-3 in what has proved to be their only outright victory. Two years later, Regent shared the Schools Cup with Methodist College following a 9-9 draw.
They had a promising 1st XV in the 06/07 campaign, but fell short in the 4th round.
Regent reached only their fourth School's Cup Final in 2008. The team started with a 17-0 home victory against Carrickfergus Grammar. This was followed by a very tense 10-6 victory away to Coleraine AI. Having already caused one upset in the Cup, they defeated RS Armagh 13-7 at "The Beach". Regent reached the final following a 17-8 victory against Ballyclare High at Ravenhill, with tries from Neil Armstrong, Jeff Anderson and Paul Henderson and a conversion from Armstrong proving vital. Regent were defeated 36-0 in the final by Methodist College Belfast at Ravenhill on St Patrick's Day 2008.
The athletics team is one of the best in the country regularly producing Ulster and Irish Schools Champions. The school has produced a long list of international athletes at junior level with many also going on to gain senior international honours.
The cricket team reached the final of the 2006 Ulster Bank Schools Cup, only to disappointingly lose to RBAI by 10 wickets. The team contained many talented players who have a bright future in the game. However, in the shorter McCullough Cup, the 1st X1 recorded an incredible one wicket victory against the same opponents in the semi final, with a four being struck off the very last ball. They duly didn't disappoint in the final, bowling Ballyclare out for 34 and winning by six wickets.
in a concert to raise money for Action Cancer.
.
There are a number of opportunities on offer from the squadron including Gliding/flying training. The Squadron is well located as Newtownards Airfield is nearby, this is the home of 664 VGS.
2006 saw the creation of the squadrons first marksman team, the only other Air cadet marksman team being in Belfast Royal Academy
. Practicing both small-bore .22 Target rifle and full-bore 7.62 Target rifle at Ballykinler Training Camp (Army) and competing at H.M. Pirbright as well as Bisley Camp in Surrey.
2241(R.H.S) Squadron has a very successful record of sporting achievements in Hockey, Cross country and Rugby.
There are a number of RAF camp opportunities throughout the year, Autumn camp, Easter camp as well as Summer camp, held at RAF bases around the U.K. Additional opportunities include Cyprus, Gibraltar and Germany camps as well as the International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE).
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...
situated in Newtownards
Newtownards
Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, 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 comprises two parts: the preparatory department, known as "the Prep" and the main school itself. It has over 1400 pupils from ages 4 to 18.
The school is known for its sporting achievements especially in rugby and athletics and its music department, including the senior choir which often performs in high profile venues.
The school is divided into 4 houses: Castlereagh, Strangford, Scrabo and Clandeboye. Regular inter-house competitions are held.
School building
The final phase of the school's building work has recently completed, concluding the six year renovations. The school buildings are among the most extensive in Northern Ireland and feature a specialised Technology department with 3 workshops, state of the art Music department with performance hall and recording studio, a dozen modern science labs, a completely refurbished library and languages block, drama studio, new staff room, "B" block containing new English and Maths departments, sports facilities including gym with full range of modern equipment and a new canteen and sixth form centre.Sport
Regent has won the Ulster Schools CupUlster Schools Cup
The Ulster Schools' Challenge Cup is an annual competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The Schools' Cup has the distinction of being the world's second-oldest rugby competition, having been competed for every year since 1876...
and Medallion Shield
Medallion Shield
The Medallion Shield is an annual rugby union competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The competition is open to all schools within Ulster, but only schools from within Northern Ireland currently enter, with no entries from schools situated...
. Rugby union
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...
continues to be a popular sport in the school, alongside hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
.
Regent House have appeared in 4 Schools' Cup Finals; the first in 1977, where they lost out to Royal School Armagh 12-9. Future Irish International Phillip Matthews and current Ulster Head Coach Brian McLaughlin played in the game however future British Lion Nigel Carr missed the occasion due to injury.
Regent would next reach the final in 1994 where they defeated Wallace HS 8-3 in what has proved to be their only outright victory. Two years later, Regent shared the Schools Cup with Methodist College following a 9-9 draw.
They had a promising 1st XV in the 06/07 campaign, but fell short in the 4th round.
Regent reached only their fourth School's Cup Final in 2008. The team started with a 17-0 home victory against Carrickfergus Grammar. This was followed by a very tense 10-6 victory away to Coleraine AI. Having already caused one upset in the Cup, they defeated RS Armagh 13-7 at "The Beach". Regent reached the final following a 17-8 victory against Ballyclare High at Ravenhill, with tries from Neil Armstrong, Jeff Anderson and Paul Henderson and a conversion from Armstrong proving vital. Regent were defeated 36-0 in the final by Methodist College Belfast at Ravenhill on St Patrick's Day 2008.
The athletics team is one of the best in the country regularly producing Ulster and Irish Schools Champions. The school has produced a long list of international athletes at junior level with many also going on to gain senior international honours.
The cricket team reached the final of the 2006 Ulster Bank Schools Cup, only to disappointingly lose to RBAI by 10 wickets. The team contained many talented players who have a bright future in the game. However, in the shorter McCullough Cup, the 1st X1 recorded an incredible one wicket victory against the same opponents in the semi final, with a four being struck off the very last ball. They duly didn't disappoint in the final, bowling Ballyclare out for 34 and winning by six wickets.
Music
The School's Choir is well known as being one of the better school music groups in Northern Ireland. The School Choir has won the Bangor International Choral festival and in 2005 performed in the Waterfront hall with Amici ForeverAmici Forever
Amici Forever is a band of four classically trained singers who mix opera with pop music . The band's first album, The Opera Band , reached number one on the Australian classical charts, number two on the United States classical charts and the top 5 in the United Kingdom classical...
in a concert to raise money for Action Cancer.
Air Training Corps
Regent also boast an Air Cadet squadron, 2241 sqn, a school squadron. The squadron was created out of an army cadet unit after the Second World War by Mr. Duff, a teacher and the squadron's first Commanding OfficerCommanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
.
There are a number of opportunities on offer from the squadron including Gliding/flying training. The Squadron is well located as Newtownards Airfield is nearby, this is the home of 664 VGS.
2006 saw the creation of the squadrons first marksman team, the only other Air cadet marksman team being in Belfast Royal Academy
Belfast Royal Academy
The Belfast Royal Academy is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school situated in north Belfast. The Academy is one of eight Northern Irish schools whose Headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and...
. Practicing both small-bore .22 Target rifle and full-bore 7.62 Target rifle at Ballykinler Training Camp (Army) and competing at H.M. Pirbright as well as Bisley Camp in Surrey.
2241(R.H.S) Squadron has a very successful record of sporting achievements in Hockey, Cross country and Rugby.
There are a number of RAF camp opportunities throughout the year, Autumn camp, Easter camp as well as Summer camp, held at RAF bases around the U.K. Additional opportunities include Cyprus, Gibraltar and Germany camps as well as the International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE).
Notable
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, Unionist politician and MEP for Northern Ireland - Colin MurrayColin MurrayColin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...
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