Ballyclare High School
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| Address | 31 Rashee Road Ballyclare BT39 9HJ |
| Phone | (+ 44 28) 9332 2244 |
| Fax | (+ 44 28) 9332 2244 |
| Headmaster | D. A. Knox |
| School type | Grammar School |
| School Board | NEELB |
| Location | Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, UK |
| Enrollment | 1210 students |
| School colour(s) | Navy & Red |
| Motto | Industria et Probitate |
Ballyclare High School is a co-educational, non-denominational independent English-medium grammar school in Ballyclare, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. There are approximately 1,200 pupils at the school, taught by around 80 teachers. It was opened in the 1890s in the village of Doagh, a few miles south-west of Ballyclare. 1904 saw a move to Ballyclare itself, and in 1930, the school finally moved to its current premises on the Rashee Road in the town. In 2006, the school was awarded formal recognition as an Investor in People.
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[edit] Academic Matters
Ballyclare High prides itself on high academic standards, and indeed normally makes The Times's top 100 UK schools list. In the 2004/2005 academic year, 71% of A Level grades were As or Bs. 83% of A Level students achieved 3+ A - C grades. During the same period, 91% of GCSE pupils achieved 7 or more A* - C grades.
Due to the school's size, it can afford to offer a large range of academic subjects. Alongside traditional academic disciplines, the school also teaches more socially useful subjects such as life skills, European and civic/political awareness, citizenship and health education. In some cases, these subjects are blended in with pertinent traditional classes, but some have their own separate teaching time.
Pupils from Form 1/Year 8 to Form 3/Year 10 obligatorily study English, Mathematics, History, Geography, Science, Technology, IT, Home Economics, French, German (French or German can be substituted for Spanish in Form 3), Physical Education, Religious Education and Art. Drama is also taught in first form. At GCSE, pupils choose 7 - 10 subjects; English and Mathematics, a language, History or Geography and Science (either through single or double award combined science, or all three of Biology, Chemistry and Physics) are compulsory. Subjects not previously offered that can be taken at GCSE include Business Studies and Geology.
Those joining or returning to sixth form at the school take usually four AS Levels in their lower sixth year. Excepting timetable clashes, pupils can choose any four subjects they wish. At the end of the lower sixth year, pupils usually keep on three subjects to A2 Level (see A-level#Curriculum 2000), though many keep on all four. Extra subjects offered only at A Level include Government and Politics and Media Studies. Additionally, for the last hour on Thursday afternoons, the entire sixth form indulges in the school's "Thursday Options" programme, which enables pupils to undertake short, mostly recreational courses in a range of subjects including some languages (Gaelic, Japanese, Russian and sign language), first aid and Young Enterprise.
[edit] Extra-Curricular Activities
The school is proud of, and is well known for, its devotion to music, especially in the form of light opera, choral choirs and a large orchestra. Every year, the school runs two carol services at Christmas which have become so popular that in 2005 the event had to run four times (twice in one day x 2). In April, there is an annual spring concert and every autumn, the school runs its perennial opera (usually productions from Gilbert and Sullivan which have included Iolanthe and The Mikado). The chamber choir frequently performs outside the school walls and has traditionally been very successful. Entry to the chamber choir is limited to elite singers from fourth form upwards, but junior (first to third form) and senior (fourth form upwards) choirs exist for anyone interested in singing and performing in the school's various musical events. Since the Millennium Concert (see below), a past pupils choir ("The Old Ballyclarians Choir") has also existed. This was originally conducted by John Dallas, a long-term music teacher, but upon his retirement, past pupil soprano Sheelagh Greer, who has made her career in music and singing, took over.
The choirs and orchestra have performed three times to date (2006) in Belfast's Waterfront Hall - once for the turn of the Millennium (2000), once for the school's centenary (2003) and once in tribute to the retiring John Dallas (2006).
As well as its musical focus, Ballyclare High boasts a wide range and large number of extra-curricular sports and activities. As well as fairly common activities such as rugby and debating, the school also runs less common clubs such as outdoor pursuits (mostly, but not completely, involving water sports) and jazz and blues.
In rugby, Ballyclare has won the Ulster Schools Cup once, in 1973.
There is a 'house' system in place, which mainly relates to internal sports. Four houses exist: Aiken, Brann, Dixon and Russell. However, the High School tends to attach less importance to this system than some other schools.
[edit] Uniform
A uniform is compulsory at the High School, and what one wears depends mostly on what stage they are at in their school life. All pupils wear a blazer - black for boys and navy for girls - with the school logo emblazoned on a pocket on the left. There are exceptions to this rule; those who have excelled in sport can be awarded a specific emblem for their blazer pocket (an "honours pocket"), and those who are especially outstanding in sport (or, in rare cases, debating) may be awarded an "honours blazer" - this is a red blazer with an honours pocket and is gender-neutral. Such awards are rare below sixth form, but it is possible to see them on pupils as young as 15 (fourth form).
These exceptions aside, girls in the junior school (first to third year) wear a navy a-line skirt. In winter, navy v-neck sweaters are permitted as are tights - ankle-high white socks must be worn at other times. In the case of junior boys, black trousers must be worn and during winter black v-neck sweaters are permitted.
Girls in the senior school must wear grey pleated skirts and senior boys can wear dark grey trousers (though black ones are still permitted).
Ties must be worn for all pupils: in first to fifth year, ties are diagonal stripes of the school's colours, red and navy. In lower sixth, pupils wear a tie that is mostly navy with intermittent and thin red stripes as well as a representation of the Ballyclare mill that can be seen in the High School's emblem. In upper sixth, the tie is different again - it is similar to the first to fifth form tie except the red is brighter and the mill from school emblem is emblazoned on it in the same manner as the lower sixth tie.
There are rules governing shoes, coats, jewellery and other accessories. Red and navy striped school scarfs are, in theory, the only scarfs permitted, though lower and upper sixths who have been involved in the School Aid Romania programme are allowed to wear their red, blue, green and yellow SAR scarves.
[edit] Facilities
For decades, the school got by with too few classrooms. The construction phases of the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s added new facilities but did not keep up with the growth in the numbers of students. Temporary buildings ("The Huts"), borrowed premises, and repurposed gymnasiums (with multiple classes in the same hall) were used for classroom instruction for many years.
However, since the 1980s, major construction and renovation have taken place, greatly expanding the available space and upgrading the infrastructure.
In the last number of years, the school has gone through a number of technological and architectural changes. A new sixth form resource centre has recently been opened, as has a completely revamped version of the school's Williams Library. Ballyclare High has a number of extensive computer suites, that can either be booked by teachers for classes or used - at break, lunch, or during sixth formers' free periods - for private, independent learning and recreation. The High School also piloted Northern Ireland's paperless exams, demonstrating its commitment to technological development. In March 2006, its application for funding to be a specialist school in information technology was accepted by the Department for Employment and Learning.
[edit] Past Pupils
Ballyclare High has a reasonably active community on Friends Reunited, though they tend to be alumni from many years ago. Famous ex-pupils include Andy Cairns, lead vocalist and guitarist in heavy metal band Therapy?, and biographies of the Hollywood actor, Stephen Boyd, say that he attended the school in the 1940s (presumably under his real name, Billy Millar). Gary Longwell, Second row Ulster player, was born in Ballymena and went to Ballyclare High school, Gary is the first - and so far only - player to chalk up 100 Ulster appearances. Oxford historian Michael Broers, a specialist in France and Italy in the Napoleonic period, attended the upper school from 1969 to 1973. Dick Strawbridge, the TV presenter, inventor, retired Army officer, and owner of one of the world's most distinctive moustaches, attended in the early to mid-70s. Also in that period, Colin Fleming, principal flautist with the Ulster Orchestra and conductor of the Ballyclare Victoria Flute Band, was a Ballyclare High pupil.
[edit] School Leadership
Principals:
- 1902-1923 Catherine Aiken
- 1923-1939 Arthur Fowweather
- 1939-1966 Mr Russell
- 1966-1970 Joseph Williams
- 1970-1971 Herbert Mudd (acting)
- 1971-1990 Mr G C G Millar
- 1990-2000 Robert FitzPatrick
- 2000-pres. David Knox
The current (2007) principal is David Knox, who has had a long and respected career as an English teacher, including a tenure at Ballymena's Cambridge House Grammar School. Knox took up his post as Headmaster of Ballyclare High in 2000. Vice principals are Maureen Stewart (who teaches History and provides careers advice) and Wilbert Hollinger (who is a Biology teacher, involved with the school's branch of the Boy Scouts and Young Enterprise). Both of these individuals have taught at the school for many years.
Richard Wallace, another Vice Principal who taught IT and who has positions in industry and examining boards, has recently retired.
The school has a high standard of excellence
