Cookstown High School
Encyclopedia
Cookstown High School is a combined High School
and Grammar School
in Northern Ireland
. It is one of the largest in the area, falling within the Southern Education and Library Board
area.
. This site is one of the largest in Northern Ireland
and contains the two artificial turf pitch of Cookstown Hockey Club and Cookstown High .
It is the only school in Northern Ireland to have two full sized hockey pitches one Sand based, One water based
The school has 5 main buildings:
Block 1: The 'Upper' Building, housing the Technology, ICT, Art, English, History, RE, PE, Home Economics, Geography, Business Studies and Health and Social Care Departments.
Block 2: The Morrison (Middle) Building - General Office, Principal's and Vice-Principals' offices, 2 school restaurants, the Music Department and the Sixth Form Centre, comprising a common room
and study areas.
Block 3: The 'Lower' Building - Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish), Maths, and Science departments.
Block 4: The Learning Support Unit and changing rooms for the pitches
Block 5: New Science Building (Chemistry Block)
Cookstown High also has its own School Anthem. It is as follows:
"Lead me Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness,
Make Thy way plain before my face;
For it is Thou, Lord; Thou, Lord, only,
That makest me dwell in safety."
The Editorial Team is led by Miss Nicola Parker, who is assisted by a number of pupils.
Traditionally, the Principal of the school writes an introduction to the magazine, however this year an article was included acknowledging the installation of the new Principal, Mrs Adele Sloan. Reports and pictures are included of the Year 8 pupils, Year 13+14 pupils and of all pupils' academic, social and sporting achievements in the school, including the concert band and choirs.
For the school year 2006-2007, the style of the magazine was reverted back to its original A4 size, which had been abandoned in 2003.
, netball
, hockey
, rugby union
, cross-country running and athletics.
The school is known for its success in Hockey
. In the current season (2008–09), the 1st XI have won the McCullough Cup and Burney Cup, both for the second year running, beating Sullivan Upper and Banbridge Academy in the finals respectively. However the boys lost their Irish Schools crown after losing 3-2 to St. Andrews College, Dublin. They were to avenge this defeat at the end of season inaugural John Waring All Ireland Schoolboys Championships, when they defeated St. Andrews College in the final by 2 goals to nil.
In 2007-08, the boy's first team won the All Ireland Schoolboys Hockey Championship
when they defeated the holders Banbridge Academy
by four goals to two in the final. This was followed six weeks later by a penalty shoot-out victory over the same opponents in the Final of the McCullough Cup
. The boys capped a terrific season by completing the treble by winning the Burney Cup against Royal & Prior. This marked the first season the school had achieved this feat.
In the 2006-2007 season, the boys first team reached the semi-final of both the McCullough Cup
and the All Ireland Schoolboys Hockey Championship
, and the final of the Burney Cup
.
Typically held in the third or fourth week of the new school year, it celebrates those who have excelled in their Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, GCSE, AS
and A-Level studies, along with those who have surpassed themselves when it comes to sporting achievements and contributions to school life.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and Grammar School
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 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 one of the largest in the area, falling within the Southern Education and Library Board
Southern Education and Library Board
The Southern Education and Library Board is a board providing education and library services in the southern districts of Northern Ireland: namely the district councils of Armagh, Banbridge, Cookstown, Craigavon, Dungannon and South Tyrone, and Newry and Mourne...
area.
Site
The school is situated on the Coolnafranky site on the outskirts of CookstownCookstown
Cookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
. This site is one of the largest in 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...
and contains the two artificial turf pitch of Cookstown Hockey Club and Cookstown High .
It is the only school in Northern Ireland to have two full sized hockey pitches one Sand based, One water based
The school has 5 main buildings:
Block 1: The 'Upper' Building, housing the Technology, ICT, Art, English, History, RE, PE, Home Economics, Geography, Business Studies and Health and Social Care Departments.
Block 2: The Morrison (Middle) Building - General Office, Principal's and Vice-Principals' offices, 2 school restaurants, the Music Department and the Sixth Form Centre, comprising a common room
Common room
The phrase common room is used especially in British and Canadian English to describe a type of shared lounge, most often found in dormitories, at universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. It is generally connected to several...
and study areas.
Block 3: The 'Lower' Building - Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish), Maths, and Science departments.
Block 4: The Learning Support Unit and changing rooms for the pitches
Block 5: New Science Building (Chemistry Block)
Motto
Cookstown High School's motto is 'Virtus Cum Scientia' which means 'Character through knowledge'.Cookstown High also has its own School Anthem. It is as follows:
"Lead me Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness,
Make Thy way plain before my face;
For it is Thou, Lord; Thou, Lord, only,
That makest me dwell in safety."
Principals
- Canon Wilfred Young O.B.E. (1971–1991)
- Dr Samuel McGuinness (1991–1997)
- Mr Keith Hamilton (Acting Principal) (1997–1998)
- Mr Barry Freestone (1998–2006)
- Mrs Adele Sloan (2007-).
Magazine
Every year Cookstown High releases a publication chronicling the successes of the school, changes within the teaching staff and any significant achievements by the school's pupils.The Editorial Team is led by Miss Nicola Parker, who is assisted by a number of pupils.
Traditionally, the Principal of the school writes an introduction to the magazine, however this year an article was included acknowledging the installation of the new Principal, Mrs Adele Sloan. Reports and pictures are included of the Year 8 pupils, Year 13+14 pupils and of all pupils' academic, social and sporting achievements in the school, including the concert band and choirs.
For the school year 2006-2007, the style of the magazine was reverted back to its original A4 size, which had been abandoned in 2003.
Sport
Sports offered at the school include footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, 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 ...
, 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...
, 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...
, cross-country running and athletics.
The school is known for its success in 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...
. In the current season (2008–09), the 1st XI have won the McCullough Cup and Burney Cup, both for the second year running, beating Sullivan Upper and Banbridge Academy in the finals respectively. However the boys lost their Irish Schools crown after losing 3-2 to St. Andrews College, Dublin. They were to avenge this defeat at the end of season inaugural John Waring All Ireland Schoolboys Championships, when they defeated St. Andrews College in the final by 2 goals to nil.
In 2007-08, the boy's first team won the All Ireland Schoolboys Hockey 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...
when they defeated the holders Banbridge Academy
Banbridge Academy
Banbridge Academy is a grammar school located in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. The school was founded in 1786.The current Principal is Mr Raymond Pollock OBE, who was previously a Vice Principal at Friends' School, Lisburn. Mr. Pollock was preceded by Mr. Charles Winston Breen , a graduate of...
by four goals to two in the final. This was followed six weeks later by a penalty shoot-out victory over the same opponents in the Final of the 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...
. The boys capped a terrific season by completing the treble by winning the Burney Cup against Royal & Prior. This marked the first season the school had achieved this feat.
In the 2006-2007 season, the boys first team reached the semi-final of both the 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 the All Ireland Schoolboys Hockey 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...
, and the final of 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...
.
Prize Day
Prize Day is a tradition within the school, where those pupils who have excelled in their studies, are formally congratulated and rewarded on their successes.Typically held in the third or fourth week of the new school year, it celebrates those who have excelled in their Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, GCSE, AS
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
and A-Level studies, along with those who have surpassed themselves when it comes to sporting achievements and contributions to school life.
Notable former pupils
- Fulham FC and Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern 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...
central defender and captain Aaron HughesAaron HughesAaron William Hughes is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Fulham. Hughes is able to play centre back, right back or left back, as well as anywhere in midfield. He is usually deployed in a centre half position for his club and country, and is the current Northern Ireland captain...
. - The Rev. William McCreaWilliam McCrea (politician)Robert Thomas William McCrea is a politician from Northern Ireland, and a member of the Democratic Unionist Party.-Career:...
Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA 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,...
, Democratic Unionist PartyDemocratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
politician. - Martin Sloan, Director of Northern Health Board and former most-capped Irish hockey international (149 caps).
- Alan Turkington, RADARadaRada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
trained actor, specialising in theatreTheatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. - William McKeown, painter, who exhibited at the 51st Venice BiennaleVenice BiennaleThe Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
) in 2005. - Nick LairdNick LairdNicholas 'Nick' Laird is a novelist and poet who was born, and grew up, in Cookstown, County Tyrone. He studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he attained a first in English. He went on to work at the global law firm Allen & Overy in London for six years, before leaving to concentrate...
, novelist. - Ernest WaltonErnest WaltonErnest Thomas Sinton Walton was an Irish physicist and Nobel laureate for his work with John Cockcroft with "atom-smashing" experiments done at Cambridge University in the early 1930s, and so became the first person in history to artificially split the atom, thus ushering the nuclear age...
(1903–1995); Nobel Prize in Physics (1951); known for his part in "splitting the atom" - Jimmy KennedyJimmy KennedyJimmy Kennedy OBE was an Irish songwriter, predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer", or co-writing with the composers Michael Carr, Wilhelm Grosz and Nat Simon amongst others.-Biography:Kennedy was born near Omagh...
, OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1902–1984); songwriter & lyricist; - Oliver A Harkness, Modern Art and Antique dealer New York City