Portora Royal School

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Portora Royal School for boys, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free English-medium schools' founded by Royal Charter in 1608^{[citation needed]}, by James I. Originally called Enniskillen Royal School and located outside Enniskillen, the school moved to its present location on Portora Hill, Enniskillen in 1778 when the nucleus of the present school was built.

Formerly a boarding school, Portora now caters for 490 day students. Originally the school only accepted male pupils, but in the 20th century females were first admitted to Portora; the school's website states, "the year 1979 saw a break from the tradition of the previous 361 years when a small number of girls were accepted as pupils. The number of girl pupils increased from the original 9 boarders and 2 daygirls of 1979 to a maximum of 31 girls in 1984." No girls currently attend Portora; the last graduated in the early 1990s.

In 2008 Portora will celebrate the quatercentenary of its founding proclamation by King James. Plans are being made to commemorate this occasion jointly with the other Royal Schools. A book relating the history of the school has also been commissioned to designer Tony Malone by Pegasus Publishing.

The other Royal Schools that were established under the same proclamation are the Royal School Armagh, Royal School Cavan, Royal School Dungannon and Royal School Raphoe in County Donegal. The original intention had been to have a "Royal School" in each of Ireland's counties (James I Order in Council read, “that there shall be one Free School at least appointed in every County, for the education of youth in learning and religion.” ) But only five were actually established.

1 Statistics
2 Famous alumni
3 Miscellaneous
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Statistics

Age range: 11 - 18
Day pupils: 490 boys
Annual school fees: £100
Total pupils: 490 boys
Including 6th form/FE: 130 boys
Staff numbers: 33 full time
Method of entry: application to school
Professional affiliations: HMC, ISC
Religious affiliation: Accepts boys of any religion. Has affiliations to some Protestant churches in NI.
Headmaster: Mr Neill Morton
Bursar: Mrs A Stronge

[edit] Famous alumni

Samuel Beckett, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature
Nigel Dodds, politician - MLA and Member of Parliament
Neil Hannon, singer and song writer
Bishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Bishop
Rev Henry Francis Lyte, Anglican priest and Hymn writer
Harry West, politician (Ulster Unionist Party leader and Stormont Minister)
Oscar Wilde, playwright

[edit] Miscellaneous

Former pupil Oscar Wilde won a scholarship to Trinity College, Dublin, and his name therefore appears on the school's Honours board. The name shines more brightly than those of his contemporaries and visitors have suggested that it has been deliberately highlighted. In fact, following his disgrace in the 1890s, the name was deleted, only to be reinserted in the 1940s, which accounts for its lustre.