Strathearn School
Encyclopedia
Strathearn is a voluntary, all-girls grammar school
in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
.
It is situated in the east of the city and attended by about 750 girls aged 11–18. The grounds include sports facilities and pitches for hockey
and athletics as well as many mature trees, which surround the front lawn. The sports hall has facilities for many activities such as gymnastics
, badminton
, 5-a-side football and basketball
. Every year, a sports captain and two vice-captains (upper sixth-form
students) are elected. The new built school is due to be completed by 2012. The preparatory department "Penrhyn" is a few hundred yards from the main school and is attended by about 140 girls aged 4–11.
Strathearn has an enviable reputation for academic excellence. On "The Times" 2009 state school league tables, Strathearn was placed as 5th in Northern Ireland, behind only Lumen Christi, Methodist College, Sullivan Upper, and Ballyclare High schools.
girls' school, based in south Belfast, and which opened Strathearn School in 1929 to serve as a junior school, serving the Belmont and Knock areas. The initial enrolment was 63 pupils.
Miss Miskelly, who taught classics at Victoria became the first headmistress. At this time, the school was co-educational. Boys, however, left the school at age eight, with most moving to Cabin Hill
boys' school, while the girls stayed until fourteen, after which they could move to Victoria.
During the Second World War, the school was evacuated to the Argory, near Dungannon
, and then to Portballintrae
. In 1950, a separate Strathearn Committee of Victoria College was established and Strathearn adopted its own distinct uniform of green, fawn and wine. In 1952, Penrhyn House was bought and converted into a preparatory department. By 1980, there were 469 pupils in the secondary school, and this had grown to 759 by 1997. In 1987, the house beside this was also purchased and served as another school building.
In 1988, the control of the school by the founding Victoria College was relinquished and Strathearn School Belfast was established with its own board of governors.
The school is currently undergoing a complete rebuild on the current site, due to be completed by 2014.
Each house was named after a school governor, introduced by Miss Rodden in 1944. Inter-house sports competitions and house plays are held annually.
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...
in Belfast
Belfast
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...
, 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 is situated in the east of the city and attended by about 750 girls aged 11–18. The grounds include sports facilities and pitches for 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 athletics as well as many mature trees, which surround the front lawn. The sports hall has facilities for many activities such as gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, 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...
, 5-a-side football and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Every year, a sports captain and two vice-captains (upper sixth-form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
students) are elected. The new built school is due to be completed by 2012. The preparatory department "Penrhyn" is a few hundred yards from the main school and is attended by about 140 girls aged 4–11.
Strathearn has an enviable reputation for academic excellence. On "The Times" 2009 state school league tables, Strathearn was placed as 5th in Northern Ireland, behind only Lumen Christi, Methodist College, Sullivan Upper, and Ballyclare High schools.
History
In 1864, 17 acres (68,796.6 m²) of land were bought by William Mullan and Robert Mullan, on which Strathearn House was built. In 1904, Mullan sold the house to Alexander Taylor, who died in October 1928. The house was then sold to the Victoria CollegeVictoria College, Belfast
Victoria College, Belfast is a voluntary non-denominational grammar school in Cranmore Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2007, the college had 867 pupils aged 11 – 18 and a Preparatory Department with 175 girls, aged 3 – 11....
girls' school, based in south Belfast, and which opened Strathearn School in 1929 to serve as a junior school, serving the Belmont and Knock areas. The initial enrolment was 63 pupils.
Miss Miskelly, who taught classics at Victoria became the first headmistress. At this time, the school was co-educational. Boys, however, left the school at age eight, with most moving to Cabin Hill
Cabin Hill
Cabin Hill was a private primary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which closed in 2006. Its pupils transferred to the new preparatory department at Campbell College....
boys' school, while the girls stayed until fourteen, after which they could move to Victoria.
During the Second World War, the school was evacuated to the Argory, near Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...
, and then to Portballintrae
Portballintrae
Portballintrae is a small seaside village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is four miles east of Portrush and two miles west of the Giant's Causeway. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 734 people, a decline of 10% compared to 1991...
. In 1950, a separate Strathearn Committee of Victoria College was established and Strathearn adopted its own distinct uniform of green, fawn and wine. In 1952, Penrhyn House was bought and converted into a preparatory department. By 1980, there were 469 pupils in the secondary school, and this had grown to 759 by 1997. In 1987, the house beside this was also purchased and served as another school building.
In 1988, the control of the school by the founding Victoria College was relinquished and Strathearn School Belfast was established with its own board of governors.
The school is currently undergoing a complete rebuild on the current site, due to be completed by 2014.
Headteachers
- 1929-1944 Miss Miskelly
- 1944-1958 Miss Rodden, who built Rodden House
- 1958-1979 Miss Hamilton, who built the science labs
- 1979-1997 Miss Lamb, who built the sixth form centre, music department and sports hall
- 1997-Mr Manning, the current headmaster
School houses
The school is divided into four houses:- Barbour (yellow)
- Boucher (blue)
- McCaughey (green)
- Watts (red)
Each house was named after a school governor, introduced by Miss Rodden in 1944. Inter-house sports competitions and house plays are held annually.
Notable former pupils
- Lucy CaldwellLucy CaldwellLucy Caldwell is a Northern Irish playwright and novelist.Born in Belfast in 1981 in what she later described as into one of the darkest and most turbulent years of the Troubles: the year the hunger strikes began, when within a few months Bobby Sands and nine others died; when things seemed to be...
, playwright and author - Melanie Nocher, Olympic swimmer, who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and broke the Irish record in 200m backstroke heat (2:12.29)
- Sarah Kane, photographer
- Margaret MountfordMargaret MountfordMargaret Mountford is a British lawyer, businesswoman and television personality known for her role in The Apprentice.-Biography:Mountford is originally from Holywood in Northern Ireland...
, businesswoman - Andrea CatherwoodAndrea CatherwoodAndrea Catherine Catherwood is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist.-Early life:Andrea Catherwood was born and raised in Belfast where her mother, 'Adrienne McGuill', was an announcer and newsreader at Ulster Television from 1959 to 1969, and also presented 'The Romper Room', from...
, Newsreader