Carrickfergus Grammar School is a controlled grammar school situated in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.[3] Since opening in 1962 with 60 pupils and 4 teachers, its pupil numbers have increased to just over 800 pupils from ages 11 to 18 in Years 8 to 14.[1]
The school is situated on the former site of Thornfield Manor, overlooking the town of Carrickfergus, and has a proud view of Carrickfergus Castle and Belfast Lough.
The school is known for its sporting achievements, especially in rugby, hockey, and football and its music department, including the senior choir, which often performs in high-profile venues, such as The National Concert Hall in Dublin, and has made numerous television appearances.
The school motto Præstantia roughly translates as 'Excellence' and the school's mission statement reads "Further Excellence from Present Strengths".
The school was founded in 1962 with just 60 pupils, but now accommodates approximately 800 students and 70 staff. In 2018, the school was the second top Controlled Grammar in Northern Ireland for GCSE Results.
The school was expanded to deal with an increase in numbers when an extension was built in 1983.The motto changed to Præstantia, the school crest was replaced with a new logo and the school colours changed to reflect better the diversity of the school community. The school continued to grow, and in 1999 was the first grammar school in Northern Ireland to achieve the Investors in People award.[citation needed] It was also later awarded the Goldmark by the Northern Ireland Sports Council for the quality of its physical education.[citation needed] In 2008, the school achieved specialist school status, specialising in science, and was awarded the International School Award in recognition of its work encouraging global awareness in school.[4]
In 2009, the school achieved its first major school sports trophy for rugby in recent years, winning the Ulster Schools Trophy. In 2012, the school had more success, winning the Northern Bank Medallion Bowl.
The school's first principal was J McK Grainger, founding the school with 60 pupils. Grainger was at the school until his retirement in 1977, when he was succeeded by H Jamison, who was principal until 1989. K Irwin succeeded Jamison in 1990, and stayed in the position until his retirement in 2009. K Mulvenna took over the principalship in 2009 and retired in April 2019. Past principals have facilities within the school named after them, such as the Grainger Centre, the Jamison Room, and Irwin Park. The current principal is J A Maxwell.
Houses
There are four school houses, Castle, Fergus, Knockagh and Thornfield, and new students are assigned to one of these houses when they arrive.[5] A Boys' and Girls' House Captain and Vice-Captain are elected each year by members of Year 13.
^ ab. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
^ (Press release). Department of Education. 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
^"Institution Details – Carrickfergus Grammar School". Schools+ Database. Department of Education. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
^. Carrickfergusgrammar.com. 8 October 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
External links
Official Site
August 22, 2023
carrickfergus, grammar, school, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Carrickfergus Grammar School news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Carrickfergus Grammar School news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Carrickfergus Grammar School is a controlled grammar school situated in Carrickfergus County Antrim Northern Ireland 3 Since opening in 1962 with 60 pupils and 4 teachers its pupil numbers have increased to just over 800 pupils from ages 11 to 18 in Years 8 to 14 1 Carrickfergus Grammar SchoolAddressNorth RoadCarrickfergus Antrim BT38 7RANorthern IrelandCoordinates54 43 45 N 5 49 00 W 54 729242 N 5 816703 W 54 729242 5 816703InformationTypeControlled GrammarMottoPraestantiaEstablished1962 1 Local authorityEducation AuthoritySpecialistScience 2 Chairman of the Board of GovernorsMaurice SmithHeadmasterJames A MaxwellStaff70GenderCoeducationalAge11 to 18Enrolmentc 800HousesCastle Fergus Knockagh and ThornfieldColour s Maroon Navy blue amp White Websitehttp www carrickfergusgrammar com The school is situated on the former site of Thornfield Manor overlooking the town of Carrickfergus and has a proud view of Carrickfergus Castle and Belfast Lough The school is known for its sporting achievements especially in rugby hockey and football and its music department including the senior choir which often performs in high profile venues such as The National Concert Hall in Dublin and has made numerous television appearances The school motto Praestantia roughly translates as Excellence and the school s mission statement reads Further Excellence from Present Strengths Contents 1 History 2 Houses 3 Notable former pupils 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditThe school was founded in 1962 with just 60 pupils but now accommodates approximately 800 students and 70 staff In 2018 the school was the second top Controlled Grammar in Northern Ireland for GCSE Results The school was expanded to deal with an increase in numbers when an extension was built in 1983 The motto changed to Praestantia the school crest was replaced with a new logo and the school colours changed to reflect better the diversity of the school community The school continued to grow and in 1999 was the first grammar school in Northern Ireland to achieve the Investors in People award citation needed It was also later awarded the Goldmark by the Northern Ireland Sports Council for the quality of its physical education citation needed In 2008 the school achieved specialist school status specialising in science and was awarded the International School Award in recognition of its work encouraging global awareness in school 4 In 2009 the school achieved its first major school sports trophy for rugby in recent years winning the Ulster Schools Trophy In 2012 the school had more success winning the Northern Bank Medallion Bowl The school s first principal was J McK Grainger founding the school with 60 pupils Grainger was at the school until his retirement in 1977 when he was succeeded by H Jamison who was principal until 1989 K Irwin succeeded Jamison in 1990 and stayed in the position until his retirement in 2009 K Mulvenna took over the principalship in 2009 and retired in April 2019 Past principals have facilities within the school named after them such as the Grainger Centre the Jamison Room and Irwin Park The current principal is J A Maxwell Houses EditThere are four school houses Castle Fergus Knockagh and Thornfield and new students are assigned to one of these houses when they arrive 5 A Boys and Girls House Captain and Vice Captain are elected each year by members of Year 13 Notable former pupils EditJohn Stewart Ulster Unionist Party politician MLA and War hero citation needed References Edit a b Carrickfergus Grammar School History Archived from the original on 8 July 2011 Retrieved 9 August 2010 Education Minister Announces Nine New Specialist Schools Press release Department of Education 4 June 2008 Archived from the original on 8 September 2008 Retrieved 29 January 2012 Institution Details Carrickfergus Grammar School Schools Database Department of Education Retrieved 29 January 2012 Carrickfergus Grammar School International Excellence Award for CGS Carrickfergusgrammar com 8 October 2008 Archived from the original on 8 July 2011 Retrieved 18 June 2011 Carrickfergus Grammar School School House System Archived from the original on 8 July 2011 Retrieved 9 August 2010 External links EditOfficial Site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Carrickfergus Grammar School amp oldid 1165992710, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
