Elmgrove Primary School (Sometimes referred to as simply Elmgrove and originally known as Elmgrove Elementary School) is a large Primary School 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 opened in 1932 as Elmgrove Elementary School. In 2008, Elmgrove celebrated it's 75th anniversary. Special medals made from Mambco, were given to all the pupils. Special balloons were also present and 2 students from each year group got a balloon and released it into the air with a note attached saying that, when found, contact the school, to see how far the balloon travelled. The furtherest known distance was to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

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History

Elmgrove opened in 1932/3 as Elmgrove Elementary. Pupils from near-by schools were all moved into Elmgrove. Several famous/well known people from Belfast attended the school. In 2008 Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson (politician)

Peter David Robinson is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party...

 visited the school and several P7 pupils got to ask him questions about his childhood and career. In 2009 Henry Winkler

Henry Winkler

Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...

 (The Fonz) visited the school to talk about reading books and his new book. During Elections, the school is used as a polling station.

Principals

• John Sullivan 1932-1948
• Arthur Clemitson 1948-1972
• Dr Jim Hunter 1972-1996
• Frazer Thompson 1995-2000
• David Hutchinson 2000-2011 (his death, 11 August 2011)
• Andrea Brown 2011–present (Acting as of 11 August 2011 after the death of David Hutchinson)

Notable Former Pupils

• Billy Bingham
  Billy Bingham
  William Laurence "Billy" Bingham, MBE is a former international footballer and football manager. He is currently a scout for English Football League Championship side Burnley....
  
  
• Wayne Drummond
• Van Morrison
  Van Morrison
  Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
  
  
• Christopher Lynn
• Sammy Wilson
  Sammy Wilson
  Samuel Wilson is a politician from Northern Ireland who is a Member of Parliament and a Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Antrim. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1986 – 1987; and again from June 2000 to June 2001. He was the first person from the Democratic Unionist Party ...
  
  

Out of this world

In 2006 pupils from Elmgrove took part in a new CCEA teaching resource called Out of this World. They were joined with St. Teresa's Primary School for the activity. Pupils made different objects with recycled materials.

Connswater Community Greenway Project

Elmgrove has been involved with the local project to refurbish the local walkway and river next to the school. Over the years, the Conn O'Neill bridge and river near-by has been vandalised. The school has represented the project several times, first on 14 November 2007 and the second on 24 October 2008.

Over the Halfpenny Bridge

In 2009, Elmgrove stated that a new production was in the works with Dance United NI. The show was later named Over the Halfpenny Bridge. It was about the History of Belfast and starred the P7 pupils of that year, and Elderly members from near-by nursing homes, Elmgrove Manor and Greenville Court. 'I am staggered by the range and the quality of what has been produced this evening,' said school principal David Hutchinson. 'The children have acquired so many new skills by working with this terrific company and, through them, all of our minds have been opened.' The children worked with Writer Ruth Carr, Rastafarian poet Levi Tafari

Levi Tafari

Levi Tafari was born and raised in the city of Liverpool by his Jamaican parents. He attended catering college, where he studied classical French cuisine and graduated with distinction. In the early 1980s, while working as a caterer, he started attending the Liverpool 8 Writers Workshop and decided...

, print maker Robin Cordiner, musicians Nikki Such, Patrick and Bronagh Davey and Irish, Greek and Indian dancers. On 2 April 2009, the show was performed live in St George's Market

St George's Market

St George's Market is the last surviving Victorian covered market in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located on May Street, close to the River Lagan and the Waterfront Hall. Belfast Corporation commissioned the building of St George’s Market, which was built in three phases between 1890 and 1896...

, 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...

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Eco-Schools Programme

Since 2009, the school has taken part in an Eco programme to make the school more eco-friendly.

Sesame Tree

In 2010, P2 pupils from the school starred in a T.V series that aired on CBeebies called Sesame Tree, Northern Ireland's version of Sesame Street.