Loreto College, Coleraine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other schools of the same name, see Loreto College.

Loreto College is a Roman Catholic grammar school situated in the Castlerock Road area of Coleraine, County Londonderry on the north coast of Northern Ireland.

In 1906 the Ursuline Order took control of the all-girls school, setting up a smaller boys' primary school nearby.

In 1922 when the new Northern Ireland Educational Authority was set up, certain qualifications were needed to teach in secondary schools. The nuns, being French, did not have these qualifications so they decided to withdraw from Ireland. The Loreto nuns in Omagh were asked to take over the schools, both primary and secondary. On August 13th 1930 four Sisters of Loreto, an order founded by Mary Ward, arrived. The Ursulines stayed with them for two weeks to help them settle into their new home. The original four sisters M. Rose, M. Colmcille, M. Aidan and M. Kevin were joined by M. Peter, M. Benedict and M. Gertrude as first members of the new community.

The school was later extended, and has adapted to changes in the educational system and maintained the high standards of Loreto education. The school became co-educational in 1977. It is owned and maintained by the Loreto trustees and its affairs are managed by the Board of Governors.

It has a successful history in education and a sound reputation in the town and the county for education and sports such as Gaelic football, soccer, Hurling, Camogie and Hockey. Loreto College, Coleraine has for many years achieved consistently outstanding public examination results, with pupils often attaining recognition for top scores across Northern Ireland.

In 2005 the school celebrated its 75th anniversary, culminating in an open day including a museum, and finally Mass in St. John's Church nearby.

In 2007 the school was awarded specialist school status for science and this has been celebrated in a variety of ways.