Lisnagarvey High School

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Lisnagarvey High School is a secondary school located in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the South Eastern Education and Library Board area.

[http://www.lisnagarvey.org.uk link title]

• Address: Warren Gardens, Lisburn, BT28 1HN 02892662636

This school have recently moved from being old and not very motivating to be a great school. This is because of the current headmaster Mr J Sheerin. He recently came to this school after Mr McClelland retired.

The Lisnagarvey High School Mission Statement: Lisnagarvey High School will help pupils cope better with everyday life by empowering them to acquire positive attitudes, useful knowledge and relevant skills.

Lisnagarvey was originally as Boys School. Mr S Semple was the Principal prior to Mr McClelland and during his time the school was well regarded.Lisnagarvey High School began life in September 1957 as Lisnagarvey Boys Secondary Intermediate School, the first school of its kind in the Antrim County Education area. It was built at a cost of £190,000, a sum, which at the time was considered to be an extraordinary amount of money to spend on education.

When the school was officially opened on September 11th by Mr A N Stevenson OBE, JP, Chairman of the Lisburn Urban Council, 750 boys took up residence in four year groups with 21 classes.

The boys were housed in a building which contained 14 general classroom, four woodwork rooms, two general craft rooms, three science laboratories and one room each for metalwork, art, light crafts and music. The gymnasium and assembly hall remain unchanged but the original library and staff room have since been replaced with the larger and more modern facilities which exist today.

Life in Lisburn during that week in September was far removed from that which our present community experiences. Dave Glover and his Showband were appearing in the British Legion Hall where the entrance fee was 4 shillings (20p) and no Teddy Boys were admitted. If you wanted to travel to the 'big city' a second class return ticket to Belfast would have set you back one shilling and ten pence (8p).

The local Picture House had a programme of three films showing for two nights each and twice nightly. "Kelly and Me" starred Van Johnson and Piper Laurie; "Ill Met by Moonlight" had Dirk Bogarde and Marius Goring and at the week end Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida brought the crowds in to see "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". The balcony would have cost you half a crown (12.5p) or you could slum it in the stalls for one and six (7.5p). If you were feeling peckish a Wagon Wheel or a Milky Way would set you back 3d (1.25p).

The opening of the school was reported in the Belfast Telegraph with the front page news of the night being "Tommy Steele mobbed again". The sports news would have pleased at least one member of the current staff but not too many of the boys as both Linfield and Rangers were beaten by Distillery (still playing at Grosvenor Park) and Kilmarnock respectively.

Two hundred guests attended the Opening Ceremony at which Mr Stevenson hoped that the boys would not take too literally the meaning of Lisnagarvey - "The fort of the gamesters". To those critical of the high cost of the school he had this to say:

"It is easy for people to talk about the enormous cost of education but look back at the years when education was neglected and teachers were paid a mere pittance. We have to march with the times and we cannot have our cake and eat it. If we are to have the best schools we must pay for them."

Mr Stevenson was sure that the scholastic attainment of the future pupils of Lisnagarvey would be manifold and worth all the great amount of money and time put into the provision of such facilities.

The schools first mention in the local press was not an auspicious one. In February of the following year after only one term of teaching the Lisburn Court's column reported that the father of a Lisnagarvey pupil had been fined £2 for failing to ensure that his son attended school regularly. The boy in question had missed 52 out of a possible 92 days.

Thankfully subsequent reports in the local and national press were on a happier and more positive note. The school rapidly made an impact on the community. On Sunday 22nd June 1958 the pupils held a praise service in 1st Lisburn Presbyterian Church, the first of its kind to be held in the town. Albert McCartney, the Head of Music, conducted the choir and several pupils contributed to the success of the service. Ivor Perry sang "Count Your Blessings" while Duncan McClean, Michael Rooney and Alan Hayward formed a trio to sing "Just as I Am". The Scripture lessons were read by Clyde Anderson and Alan McNeill.

In March 1960 the Minister for Education in the Stormont Parliament Mr W M May M.P. presided over the school's first Prize Day. The Headmaster, Mr W J Morrison, reported on the development of the school since its opening saying that the pupils enjoyed the extra-curricular opportunities offered by thirteen societies and had taken part in two concerts and a pantomime. The choir, under Mr McCartney's baton had achieved considerable success at Portadown and Belfast Musical Festivals and teh Air Training Corps has attended its first camp at Wattisham near Ipswich. Wattisham was the home of the 'Black Aces' the top RAF aerobatic squadron.

In the following month 41 boys and three teachers, including Mr Jack Beattie, were to make the first continental trip by Lisnagarvey. The party travelled to Ostende to visit the Battlefields of Northern France a tradition which continues to this day. The currency rate of exchange at the time was 140 French Francs to the Pound. The rate of exchange this year was 1.40 Euro to the pound (about 11 francs).....Oh for the good old days!

Some boys were more keen than others to get into Lisnagarvey. In May 1960 two boys aged 14 and 15 paid an uninvited visit to the school outside of office hours and left with eight magnifying glasses, 36 envelopes, 15 tubes of paint, 12 brushes, two tins of selotape, 43 rubbers, 28 pencils, a film projector, a football and 5 old pence. The tot al value of the haul was £6 17s 11d (£6.90). This extra curricular activity did not go down well with the local magistrate who imposed twelve months probation on the unidentified intruders.

Extra-curricular activity of a more constructive kind saw the ATC achieve great success at the NI Wing weekend at RAF Aldergrove with the small bore rifle team of John Birney, Ivan Anderson and Lawrence Smyth winning the trophy and Cadet Maurice Dickey setting a new Shot Putt record of 44' 10". The school Sports Day brought the year to a close with McCormnac House winning the McCarter Cup and C Marsden winning both the 440 yards and the open Half Mile.

The school's first real hero was Joseph Webb who, while on an Easter holiday in Bangor in 1964 made front page news by saving the life of two children who got into difficulties while boating in Bangor Bay. Joseph was later to receive the Royal Humane Society testimonial for his bravery.

Life at Lisnagarvey throughout the Swinging Sixties continued to be exciting and full of variety for many of the boys. The Ulster Star had appeared on the scene and it reported trips to Scotland, Belgium, CID Headquarters, Botanic Gardens and a journey down the Foyle Estuary on HMS Blackwood. The choir continued to win trophies and pantomimes like Snow White and Humpty Dumpty had audiences rolling in the aisles while giving a first taste of the footlights to boys like BJ Hogg currently a star of both the big and small screens . Sports Day brought summer terms to their happy conclusion and threw up stars like Kenneth Totten, Clifford Cullen, Richard Smith, Raymond Moffett, David McDowell and John McClure.

As the school celebrated its tenth year a new hero added his name to the Roll of Honour. Sadly on this occasion the story had an unhappy ending. The British Army was involved in Aden (now Yeman) and among the serving soldiers in the Irish Guards were three Lisnagarvey boys Trevor Bell, Edward Camlin and Thomas Knox. In April 1967 a troop of soldiers, including Trevor Bell, was mbushed. Trevor, realising the situation, drew the enemy fire away from his comrades thus saving their lives. Sadly in doing so Trevor was shot dead. His brave actions were mentioned in Army dispatches and in September 1968 the Regimental Band of the Irish Guards took part in a special ceremony of the Beating of the Retreat in the grounds of the school in honour of his memory. The Trevor Bell Shield continues to be presented each year on Speech Day.

Prior to the above, David James Larmour, the schools greatest achievement :D