St Catherine's College Armagh
Encyclopedia
Saint Catherine's College Armagh is a maintained Catholic all-ability school catering for the 11-18 age group and is associated with the international group of schools served by the Society of the Sacred Heart.
An Sruth Gaeilge, which is an integral part of Saint Catherine's College, provides quality Irish Medium education for those who wish to build on the Irish Language competences acquired in the Bunscoileanna.
It was formed in 1973 when the existing Convent of the Sacred Heart
Grammar and Secondary Schools were re-organised on a comprehensive basis to provide secondary education for all the Catholic girls of the greater Armagh area.
Saint Catherine's College is situated on a 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) site off the Convent Road in Armagh and the existing school buildings have been refurbished and upgraded to ensure the provision of the most modern technological and sporting facilities. A £1.5million building programme has recently been completed with the construction of a new five classroom Information and Communication Technology building. New facilities have also been added to the Irish Medium Unit.
The school caters for the full range of ability and comprises: Key Stage 3 (Years 8, 9 and 10) - located in the main school building, Key Stage 4 (Years 11 and 12) - located in the Barat Building (off Nursery Road) and Sixth Form (Years 13 and 14).
The Principal is Mrs Deirdre McDonald.
Saint Catherines College was a boarding school in the earlier 1900s and was formed by the Sacred Heart trust to provide education for young girls of all backgrounds. As a comprehensive secondary school it takes pride in the knowledge that it has surpassed most grammars in becoming the North of Irelands most well maintained and educated school with the pupils achieving records year after year for great results. Saint Catherines College places great emphasis on intellect and takes particular interest in the smart pupils, furthering and encouraging their talents while neglecting the dumb children.
In 1924, part of the school main building perished in a damaging fire. As it was a boarding school at the time, the girls were placed in bunk beds in the right side of the main building and in the Barat Building. There were no casualties. Legend has it that one girl, by the name of Mary Rose O'Neill woke to the sound of a wailing. As she stirred from her bed, she spotted what was described as a glowing yellow ball of light. She got out of bed to follow it down the corridor where she first smelt the pungent smell of smoke and saw the flickering flames of a fire. She rushed back to the dormitory and woke all remaining girls and they escaped, following the ball of light, down a flight of stairs which were free from flames and into the cold nights air. There are two corridors in the school named after her, the Rose corridor, and the Red Rose corridor, which is out of bounds as it is seemingly haunted.
The school, which was once a convent, is home to 'the nuns graveyard' which is basically what it says on the tin; a graveyard full of dead nuns. This is an out of bounds area and if a pupil is found roaming these grounds, Professor Snape, ehm I mean McDonald, will authorise a week long suspension. That is if the womping willow doesnt get the pupil first...
Rumour has it that the school is haunted by many of these dead nuns who, for some reason, have always died in horrible and tragic circumstances. The one and only elevator in the school, which is out of bounds and not to be used, contains the spirit of a deceased nun. On the 7th of November at 2.17p.m, legend has it that if you are in the vicinity of the elevator at this time you will hear a piercing wail and a river of blood will pour from underneath the lift doors. One girl lived to tell the tale of how the lift doors opened as she silently walked past and discovered a semi transparent headless body of a nun. Around this date in 1967 two girls went missing, never to be seen again...
An Sruth Gaeilge, which is an integral part of Saint Catherine's College, provides quality Irish Medium education for those who wish to build on the Irish Language competences acquired in the Bunscoileanna.
It was formed in 1973 when the existing Convent of the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
Grammar and Secondary Schools were re-organised on a comprehensive basis to provide secondary education for all the Catholic girls of the greater Armagh area.
Saint Catherine's College is situated on a 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) site off the Convent Road in Armagh and the existing school buildings have been refurbished and upgraded to ensure the provision of the most modern technological and sporting facilities. A £1.5million building programme has recently been completed with the construction of a new five classroom Information and Communication Technology building. New facilities have also been added to the Irish Medium Unit.
The school caters for the full range of ability and comprises: Key Stage 3 (Years 8, 9 and 10) - located in the main school building, Key Stage 4 (Years 11 and 12) - located in the Barat Building (off Nursery Road) and Sixth Form (Years 13 and 14).
The Principal is Mrs Deirdre McDonald.
Saint Catherines College was a boarding school in the earlier 1900s and was formed by the Sacred Heart trust to provide education for young girls of all backgrounds. As a comprehensive secondary school it takes pride in the knowledge that it has surpassed most grammars in becoming the North of Irelands most well maintained and educated school with the pupils achieving records year after year for great results. Saint Catherines College places great emphasis on intellect and takes particular interest in the smart pupils, furthering and encouraging their talents while neglecting the dumb children.
In 1924, part of the school main building perished in a damaging fire. As it was a boarding school at the time, the girls were placed in bunk beds in the right side of the main building and in the Barat Building. There were no casualties. Legend has it that one girl, by the name of Mary Rose O'Neill woke to the sound of a wailing. As she stirred from her bed, she spotted what was described as a glowing yellow ball of light. She got out of bed to follow it down the corridor where she first smelt the pungent smell of smoke and saw the flickering flames of a fire. She rushed back to the dormitory and woke all remaining girls and they escaped, following the ball of light, down a flight of stairs which were free from flames and into the cold nights air. There are two corridors in the school named after her, the Rose corridor, and the Red Rose corridor, which is out of bounds as it is seemingly haunted.
The school, which was once a convent, is home to 'the nuns graveyard' which is basically what it says on the tin; a graveyard full of dead nuns. This is an out of bounds area and if a pupil is found roaming these grounds, Professor Snape, ehm I mean McDonald, will authorise a week long suspension. That is if the womping willow doesnt get the pupil first...
Rumour has it that the school is haunted by many of these dead nuns who, for some reason, have always died in horrible and tragic circumstances. The one and only elevator in the school, which is out of bounds and not to be used, contains the spirit of a deceased nun. On the 7th of November at 2.17p.m, legend has it that if you are in the vicinity of the elevator at this time you will hear a piercing wail and a river of blood will pour from underneath the lift doors. One girl lived to tell the tale of how the lift doors opened as she silently walked past and discovered a semi transparent headless body of a nun. Around this date in 1967 two girls went missing, never to be seen again...