Wallace High School (Northern Ireland)
Encyclopedia
The Wallace High School is a co-educational voluntary grammar school
situated in Lisburn
, Northern Ireland
.
It was founded in 1880 by a bequest from the estate of Sir Richard Wallace, local landowner and Unionist MP
, as the Lisburn Intermediate and University School on a site fronting the Antrim Road. A board of trustees took charge in 1900 to oversee the development of the growing school and, when they renamed it in 1942 in memory of its founder, they adopted the word Esperance as the school's motto from the Wallace coat of arms.
The post-war years witnessed rapid growth in pupil numbers and consequent accommodation provision. Land was purchased at Clonevin Park, initially for playing fields, and when the Antrim Road site proved inadequate, the decision was taken to build a new school in these extensive grounds.
Pupils and staff moved to the new building in 1976, and a programme of continuing development has ensured that the school still provides well resourced teaching areas and excellent sports facilities for some 1160 pupils in the grammar school and 200 in the preparatory
department.
In Year 8 all pupils study art, drama, English, French, games, geography, history, home economics, information technology, mathematics, music, physical education, religious education, science, technology and tutorial. In Year 9, a choice is made between German and Spanish as a second foreign language.
GCSE
In addition to mathematics, English, English literature, Double Award Science and ICT, pupils must choose four more subjects from additional mathematics, art, business studies, French, geography, German, history, home economics, journalism, music, physical education, religious education, Spanish and technology.
A level
Pupils generally study 4 subjects during their AS year and 3 for A2, although each year a small number of pupils continue with 4 subjects in their Upper Sixth year.
Subjects that can be studied for A level include art, biology, business studies, chemistry, English literature, further mathematics, French, geography, German, history, home economics, information technology, mathematics, moving image arts, music, physical education, physics, politics, Spanish and technology.
A teacher is in charge of each house and is assisted by a team of pupils. House prefects are selected from Upper Sixth pupils including a Captain, Vice Captain and a prefect for each year group. In addition, a representative from each year from Year 8 - 13 is selected to assist with the running of house competitions.
Boys' houses
Barbour (Red)
Conway (Green)
Hamilton (Yellow)
Girls' houses
Hanna (Red)
Gracey (Green)
Seymour (Yellow)
with wins in the Burney Cup
, McCullough Cup
and a single win in the All Ireland Championship
in 1987-88. In 2011 the hockey girls created history by reaching the final of the Ulster Senior Schoolgirls' Cup for the first time, only to lose on penalties.
It has recently enjoyed strong performances in the Ulster Rugby Schools Cup
, reaching the final in 1989, 1994, 2003, and 2007. Also in rugby, they won the second's Cup in 2007, defeating Campbell College
9-5 in the final, they also won the third's cup, beating Methodist College Belfast
in the final and shared the Medallion Sheild with Campbell College in 2010.
Wallace rank as a top team in both boys and girls cricket. The boys have won the schools cup twice since 2000. Wallace also has regular sporting success in badminton
and netball
.
Politics
Sports
The Comenius (Active Tourist) Project acknowledges that young people use a vast range of mobile devices from mobile phones through to music players and PDA's, but instead of banning them from school, the project exploits the enormous educational and communicational potential of these devices. Using a variety of GPS, Google Earth, WIFI and VLE's, each school will make local audio and visual tourist guides, covering a range of topics from history through to shopping to be included in a handheld PDA for tourists in the local area to use.
Throughout the duration of the project pupils from Wallace, Norway and Germany will collaborate with their European counterparts through occasional video conferences and on a regular bases via email and telephone. Wallace High School pupils wil also have the opporunity to travel to the partner schools, with some pupils traveling to Norway in October 2009, and Germany in 2010.
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 Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, 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 was founded in 1880 by a bequest from the estate of Sir Richard Wallace, local landowner and Unionist MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, as the Lisburn Intermediate and University School on a site fronting the Antrim Road. A board of trustees took charge in 1900 to oversee the development of the growing school and, when they renamed it in 1942 in memory of its founder, they adopted the word Esperance as the school's motto from the Wallace coat of arms.
The post-war years witnessed rapid growth in pupil numbers and consequent accommodation provision. Land was purchased at Clonevin Park, initially for playing fields, and when the Antrim Road site proved inadequate, the decision was taken to build a new school in these extensive grounds.
Pupils and staff moved to the new building in 1976, and a programme of continuing development has ensured that the school still provides well resourced teaching areas and excellent sports facilities for some 1160 pupils in the grammar school and 200 in the preparatory
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
department.
Subjects
Junior SchoolIn Year 8 all pupils study art, drama, English, French, games, geography, history, home economics, information technology, mathematics, music, physical education, religious education, science, technology and tutorial. In Year 9, a choice is made between German and Spanish as a second foreign language.
GCSE
In addition to mathematics, English, English literature, Double Award Science and ICT, pupils must choose four more subjects from additional mathematics, art, business studies, French, geography, German, history, home economics, journalism, music, physical education, religious education, Spanish and technology.
A level
Pupils generally study 4 subjects during their AS year and 3 for A2, although each year a small number of pupils continue with 4 subjects in their Upper Sixth year.
Subjects that can be studied for A level include art, biology, business studies, chemistry, English literature, further mathematics, French, geography, German, history, home economics, information technology, mathematics, moving image arts, music, physical education, physics, politics, Spanish and technology.
House System
The house system plays an important role in school life. Each pupil is assigned to a school house when they enter Year 8 and their school tie will bear the stripe corresponding to the colour of their house. A pupil will be assigned to the same house as an older sibling who has attended the school. The house system fosters a sense of community within the school, achieved through house assemblies and inter-house competitions in sport and other extra-curricular activities including art, technology, photography and the annual House Quiz. The House Cups are presented to the male and female house which has accumulated the most points through these competitions at the end of each academic year.A teacher is in charge of each house and is assisted by a team of pupils. House prefects are selected from Upper Sixth pupils including a Captain, Vice Captain and a prefect for each year group. In addition, a representative from each year from Year 8 - 13 is selected to assist with the running of house competitions.
Boys' houses
Barbour (Red)
Conway (Green)
Hamilton (Yellow)
Girls' houses
Hanna (Red)
Gracey (Green)
Seymour (Yellow)
Sport
Wallace High School is noted for men's hockeyHockey
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:...
with wins in the Burney Cup
Burney Cup
The Burney Cup is an annual competition involving the strongest schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association...
, McCullough Cup
McCullough Cup
The McCullough Cup is a hockey competition. It is an annual tournament played for by schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association...
and a single win in the All Ireland Championship
All Ireland Schools (Boys) Hockey Championship
The All Ireland Schools Hockey Championship is an annual competition involving the strongest schools affiliated to the Irish Hockey Association. The competition is held in the Autumn term of each school year...
in 1987-88. In 2011 the hockey girls created history by reaching the final of the Ulster Senior Schoolgirls' Cup for the first time, only to lose on penalties.
It has recently enjoyed strong performances in the Ulster Rugby Schools Cup
Ulster 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...
, reaching the final in 1989, 1994, 2003, and 2007. Also in rugby, they won the second's Cup in 2007, defeating Campbell College
Campbell College
Campbell College is a Voluntary Grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The College educates boys from ages 11–18. It is one of the eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and is a member of the Independent Schools Council.The school occupies...
9-5 in the final, they also won the third's cup, beating Methodist College Belfast
Methodist College Belfast
Methodist College Belfast , styled locally as Methody, is a voluntary grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and is a member of the Independent Schools Council...
in the final and shared the Medallion Sheild with Campbell College in 2010.
Wallace rank as a top team in both boys and girls cricket. The boys have won the schools cup twice since 2000. Wallace also has regular sporting success in 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...
and 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 ...
.
Notable former pupils
TV- Shauna LowryShauna LowryShauna Lowry is a television presenter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is probably most famous for being the reporter on the popular BBC series, Animal Hospital and ITV 1's Style Challenge. She also presented the National Lottery and presented coverage of Northern Ireland's celebrations on...
, TV Personality - Gordon Burns, Krypton Factor Quiz host
Politics
- The Rt. Hon. Brian MaginessBrian MaginessWilliam Brian Maginess, QC was a member of the Government of Northern Ireland, who was widely seen as a possible successor to Lord Brookeborough as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland....
(1901–1967), Government minister in the Stormont ParliamentParliament of Northern IrelandThe Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
. - Edwin PootsEdwin PootsAlderman Edwin Poots MLA is a Northern Irish politician and a Democratic Unionist Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley. He is one of three DUP MLAs for Lagan Valley.-Biography:...
, Current minister in the Northern Ireland ExecutiveNorthern Ireland ExecutiveThe Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
.
Sports
- Neil DoakNeil DoakNeil George Doak is an Irish former cricketer and rugby union player.-Cricket:...
Irish cricketer and Irish rugby squad member - Chris HenryChris Henry (rugby player)Chris Henry in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is an Irish rugby union footballer. He plays for Ulster and Ballymena Rugby Club.He was educated at the Wallace High School in Lisburn before going to Queen's University Belfast....
Professional rugby player for Irish Province Ulster. - Ian WhittenIan WhittenIan Whitten is an Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the RaboDirect Pro12. He was capped by Ireland on their 2009 tour to North America when he lined out against Canada on 23 May 2009.He plays as a centre....
Professional rugby player for Irish Province Ulster. - Nevin SpenceNevin SpenceNevin Spence is an Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the RaboDirect Pro12.He plays as a centre but can also play wing....
Professional rugby player for Irish Province Ulster.
Preparatory Department
The Wallace High School Preparatory Department operates on the same grounds as the Grammar School. There are seven classes running from primary 1 to primary 7. Religious Studies, Music, Art, Journalism, Athletics and Technology are taught as well as core subjects. The current head of department is Mrs N Watson who took over from Mr R Hall in January 2008.The Comenius Project
The Wallace High School was proudly awarded funding this year by the European Union and British Council to partake in the multinational Comenius Partnerships Project, alongside Ole Vig School, Norway and Johannes-Kepler, Germany.The Comenius (Active Tourist) Project acknowledges that young people use a vast range of mobile devices from mobile phones through to music players and PDA's, but instead of banning them from school, the project exploits the enormous educational and communicational potential of these devices. Using a variety of GPS, Google Earth, WIFI and VLE's, each school will make local audio and visual tourist guides, covering a range of topics from history through to shopping to be included in a handheld PDA for tourists in the local area to use.
Throughout the duration of the project pupils from Wallace, Norway and Germany will collaborate with their European counterparts through occasional video conferences and on a regular bases via email and telephone. Wallace High School pupils wil also have the opporunity to travel to the partner schools, with some pupils traveling to Norway in October 2009, and Germany in 2010.