Larne Grammar School
Encyclopedia
Larne Grammar School is a co-education voluntary grammar school
located in Larne
, County Antrim
, Northern Ireland
. Founded in 1886 by Sir Edward Coey and John Crawford, it has around 760 pupils
and 50 teaching staff.
William Dawson (1891–1900)
William Smyth Johnson (1901–1903)
James MacQuillan (1904–1914, 1918–1935, 1937)
John W. Darbyshire (1937–1943)
Ronald Henry Davies (1944–1950)
Joseph Alan Stewart (1950–1973)
D.J Thompson (1973–1989)
H.M Morrow (1989–2001)
John Wilson (2001–present)
in 1885, at an annual rent of one shilling
per year for ten thousand years. On Tuesday 10 April 1888, with the appointment of the school's first headmaster, Mr R.M. Jones M.A., the school opened its doors to the first pupils. However, for the following fifteen to twenty years the school struggled and was threatened with closure on many occasions.
By 1923 the Preparatory Department had opened and although the Grammar School had become an important aspect of Larne life, the school had made little progress, with few successes. Up to September 1935, Larne Grammar School had always been a boys' fee paying and boarding school. There had originally been two girls' schools in the town, but this was reduced to one and in 1935 Larne Grammar School amalgamated with the girls Larne Intermediate School.
During the 1980s, under the leadership of the Headmaster, Mr. D.J. Thompson, the voluntary grammar school was virtually rebuilt and the remaining old buildings completely refurbished.
. The following strengths were identified:
However, a number of areas requiring improvement were also itemised. At a follow-up inspection in March 2002 it was reported that the school had made satisfactory progress but that areas which still needed further improvement were:
2–1 in the final.
on three occasions in 1981, 1991 and 1992, but unfortunately lost on each occasion.
On 9 March 2007, the 1st XV rugby team
won the Schools Trophy by beating Omagh Academy
11–3 in the final. They won it again on 22 February 2008, beating Dalriada
12–0 in the final.
At junior level, the school Medallion XV were finalists in the Medallion Shield
in 1955. The team won the subsidiary Medallion Plate in 1987 and were runners up in the Plate in 1998 and 1999. The lowest of the subsidiary competitions, the Medallion Trophy, was won in 2008 when Downshire High School were narrowly defeated by 13–12 in the final.
.
In 2009 the team retained the title, making them only the 6th school to ever do so.
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...
located in Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, 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...
. Founded in 1886 by Sir Edward Coey and John Crawford, it has around 760 pupils
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
and 50 teaching staff.
Past Headmasters
R.M Jones (1888–1891)William Dawson (1891–1900)
William Smyth Johnson (1901–1903)
James MacQuillan (1904–1914, 1918–1935, 1937)
John W. Darbyshire (1937–1943)
Ronald Henry Davies (1944–1950)
Joseph Alan Stewart (1950–1973)
D.J Thompson (1973–1989)
H.M Morrow (1989–2001)
John Wilson (2001–present)
History
Larne Grammar School was founded in 1886 by Sir Edward Coey and Mr. John Crawford. The trustees of the school were granted permission to site a school, beside the RectoryRectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
in 1885, at an annual rent of one shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
per year for ten thousand years. On Tuesday 10 April 1888, with the appointment of the school's first headmaster, Mr R.M. Jones M.A., the school opened its doors to the first pupils. However, for the following fifteen to twenty years the school struggled and was threatened with closure on many occasions.
By 1923 the Preparatory Department had opened and although the Grammar School had become an important aspect of Larne life, the school had made little progress, with few successes. Up to September 1935, Larne Grammar School had always been a boys' fee paying and boarding school. There had originally been two girls' schools in the town, but this was reduced to one and in 1935 Larne Grammar School amalgamated with the girls Larne Intermediate School.
During the 1980s, under the leadership of the Headmaster, Mr. D.J. Thompson, the voluntary grammar school was virtually rebuilt and the remaining old buildings completely refurbished.
Academics
The school was inspected in November 2000 by the Department of EducationDepartment of Education (Northern Ireland)
The Department of Education is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
. The following strengths were identified:
- Exemplary behaviour and motivation of the pupils
- Many instances of good teaching
- High standards achieved by many of the pupils
- Good accommodation.
However, a number of areas requiring improvement were also itemised. At a follow-up inspection in March 2002 it was reported that the school had made satisfactory progress but that areas which still needed further improvement were:
- the further development of the monitoring and evaluation of the teaching and learning;
- the need for strong leadership in the careers department to provide a progressive development of the personal career planning process and to develop the cross-curricular aspect of careers education;
- the greater emphasis on the pupils’ oral skills as part of the focus on literacy; the literacy co-ordinator needs to promote this effectively across the school; work on this issue has already begun.
Hockey
In 2000, the School won the Ulster Senior Schoolgirls' Hockey Cup, an annual competition competed for by schools affiliated to the Ulster Women's Hockey Union, by beating Ballymena AcademyBallymena Academy
Ballymena Academy is a mixed grammar school located in the market town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was founded in the early nineteenth century as a small provincial school for children in the town and surrounding agricultural hinterland.-Admissions:The school currently has...
2–1 in the final.
Rugby
The 1st XV have reached the final of the Subsidiary Shield competition of 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...
on three occasions in 1981, 1991 and 1992, but unfortunately lost on each occasion.
On 9 March 2007, the 1st XV rugby team
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...
won the Schools Trophy by beating Omagh Academy
Omagh Academy
Omagh Academy is a grammar school in Omagh, County Tyrone, located at 21-23 Dublin Road. The school currently has approximately 700 pupils and over 40 teaching staff. The school is one of the top performing grammar schools in County Tyrone and Northern Ireland with excellent GCSE and 'A'-level...
11–3 in the final. They won it again on 22 February 2008, beating Dalriada
Dalriada School
Dalriada School is a mixed voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. The school draws its pupils from a wide geographical area and a range of social, religious and cultural backgrounds. In 2008 the school won the Northern Ireland State Secondary School of the Year award from The...
12–0 in the final.
At junior level, the school Medallion XV were finalists in the 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...
in 1955. The team won the subsidiary Medallion Plate in 1987 and were runners up in the Plate in 1998 and 1999. The lowest of the subsidiary competitions, the Medallion Trophy, was won in 2008 when Downshire High School were narrowly defeated by 13–12 in the final.
Athletics
In the summer of 2008, the school senior boys 4 x 100m team qualified from the Ulster heats to reach the All Ireland School Athletics Finals. The team won the title in a time of 43.67 seconds, less than a tenth ahead of second place Castleknock CollegeCastleknock College
Castleknock College is a private , secondary school for boys aged between 13 and 18, which is situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, 8 km west of the city centre in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
.
In 2009 the team retained the title, making them only the 6th school to ever do so.
Notable former pupils
- Dave ClementsDave ClementsDave Clements in Larne in County Antrim, was a football player and manager from Northern Ireland. He started his career as a left winger but also played as a defensive midfielder and left full back throughout a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976 in which time he played for Coventry City,...
, footballer and football manager. - William Craig, politician
- Frederick Girvan, Justice of the High Court of Northern Ireland and member of the Privy Council
- Mark HagganMark HagganMark Haggan is a UK-based businessman and charity activist, particularly in the fields of student volunteering, education and international development...
, Charity activist and businessman - Gareth MaybinGareth MaybinGareth Maybin is a Northern Irish professional golfer.Born in Belfast, Maybin turned professional in 2005 after completing a scholarship at the University of South Alabama. He remained in the United States and competed on the NGA Hooters Tour, where he finished fourth on the money list in his...
, professional golfer - James McIlroy, British Olympian
- Jonathan ReaJonathan ReaJonathan 'Johnny' Rea is a motorcycle racer, currently competing in the Superbike World Championship for Castrol Honda. He was runner-up in the Supersport World Championship for the Ten Kate Honda team in 2008, and runner-up in the British Superbike Championship in 2007 for the HM Plant Honda team...
, motorcycle racer - Trevor RinglandTrevor RinglandTrevor Maxwell Ringland, MBE is a solicitor, former rugby union winger and Unionist politician. After attending Larne Grammar School Ringland studied law at Queen's University Belfast.-Rugby career:...
, Irish rugby unionRugby unionRugby 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...
player, Unionist politician and Trustee of the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation - Raymond SnoddyRaymond SnoddyRaymond Snoddy OBE is a British journalist, television presenter, author and media commentator. He is currently best known for presenting the BBC News Channel's weekly viewer right to reply programme NewsWatch, but also writes for a number of publications on issues relating to the news...
, journalist and media commentator - Phillip Magee, X FactorThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
series 2 finalist - Stafford CarsonStafford CarsonJohn Stafford Carson is a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland from 2009 to 2010, when he was replaced by his successor Dr. Norman Hamilton. He is also minister at the First Presbyterian Church, in Portadown, Northern Ireland...
, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in IrelandModerator of the Presbyterian Church in IrelandThe Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the most senior office-bearer within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which is Northern Ireland's largest Protestant denomination.... - Stephen Hilditch, former Headmaster of Belfast High SchoolBelfast High SchoolBelfast High School is a Voluntary Grammar School located at Jordanstown in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies within the North Eastern Education and Library Board area....
and former International rugby unionRugby unionRugby 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...
referee from 1984-95. - Dr Norman Apsley, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Science ParkNorthern Ireland Science ParkNorthern Ireland Science Park Foundation Limited was established in March 1999 to create a self sustaining, internationally recognised, knowledge-based science park in Northern Ireland offering a commercial and research driven centre for knowledge-based industries...