Banbridge Academy

Coordinates: 54°21′25″N 6°16′16″W / 54.357°N 6.271°W / 54.357; -6.271

Banbridge Academy is a grammar school located in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. The school was founded in 1786.^[1] The current Principal is Mr Raymond Pollock OBE, who was previously a Vice Principal at Friends' School, Lisburn. Mr. Pollock was preceded by Mr. Charles Winston Breen (1984–1995), a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. Mr. Breen is widely credited with overhauling the Academy and transforming it into one of the best performing grammar schools in the United Kingdom. His passing in 1995 was mourned with great sadness by the whole school community.

The work of Mr Breen has been continued by Mr Raymond Pollock, who was recognised for his significant achievements in the 2009 New Year Honours list, For services to Education in Northern Ireland. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. .^[2]

Enrollment stands at over 1318 pupils and the School has around 90 teachers. The School Colours are Petrol Blue, Red and Black. It is consistently one of the strongest Academic, Sporting and Musical schools in Northern Ireland, and was in the Top 100 Schools in the United Kingdom for A-Level results 2008 in a list compiled by the Times.

The school traces its roots to the building now known as Dunbar nursery near the current site of Banbridge Leisure Centre but moved to its present home, Edenderry House on the Lurgan Road, in 1950. A major redevelopment in the 1990s (begun in 1989) has provided a new building, while retaining much of magnificent original House frontage, whose interiors and facade is listed. The School building now has a glass atrium and dedicated technology suite and science block. The school also has two sports halls, and a large amount of land serving as playing fields for hockey, rugby union, cricket, football and netball, together with five tennis courts.

The school has recently undergone major building work. The assembly hall was demolished and a new, modern dining hall with a small sports hall and a large fitness suite inside was built. A new science block has been constructed where the old dining hall existed. The entire building has been refurbished, and there is a hockey pitch being constructed where the mobiles were.

Academic Results

Banbridge Academy consistently ranks in the top 100 schools in the UK, as rated by The Times^[3] Its placing in 2009 of 93rd is a fall from 73rd in 2008, however the 40.2% A grade success rate at A-Level and 53.8% of submissions achieving A/A* at GCSE level still places it as the 7th best school in NI.

A focused inspection of the school in 2000^[4] and follow up inspection noted many strengths of the school in Science and Technology, including, "the relationships between the pupils and their teachers; the commitment of the teachers; some very good teaching; some very high standards of pupils’ project work in technology and design, and the improvement in standards in science through effective target setting." The original report noted weaknesses in the range of teaching methods used, ICT skills and monitoring of pupils. Between 2000 and 2002 the inspectors found "thorough process of review and planning, to address the issues identified at the time of the inspection." It is noted in the follow-up inspection that results had improved, self-evaluation had been introduced, the opportunity for pupils to investigate scientifically and IT provisions had been improved.

Extracurricular activities

Banbridge Academy is one of the strongest schools in boys' hockey in Ireland, having won numerous Burney and McCullough Cups over the years. In 2006 they were crowned Irish schools champions and came 2nd in the European schools competition in Dan Haag.

The school gives pupils the opportunity to take part in a number of sports including badminton, cricket, football, hockey, netball and rugby^[5]

The school has a strong musical interest, with four choirs (Chamber choir, Girls Choir, Junior Boys Choir and Junior Choir) and two orchestras (Junior Orchestra and Senior Orchestra).^[6] The school has an annual theatrical production in November/December, Christmas carol concert and Spring concert.

There are a number of other extracurricular activities, including Bridge Club, Craft Club, Young Enterprise and Junior and Senior Scripture Unions.

All internal school competitions are based around the House system.^[7] Every pupil is randomly assigned a House in Year 8 (if they have older siblings in the school they will be assigned to the same house as their sibling), and when they participate in any activities during their time in the school, points are awarded to their House. The Houses are named after notable local figures, and are:

• Dunbar (Hugh Dunbar, local Linen merchant),
• Waddell (Helen Waddell, scholar and writer who spent her last years living with her sister Meg at Kilmacrew House, near Banbridge^[8]),
• McWilliam (F. E. McWilliam, surrealist sculptor),
• Crozier (Captain Francis Crozier, British naval officer and Arctic explorer, born in Banbridge in 1796.).

Each House is represented by a colour and an animal; Dunbar (red) is represented by a dragon, Waddell (green) a duck, McWilliam (yellow) a lion and Crozier (blue) a polar bear. Points are added to an overall scoreboard and pupils keep track of house activities via House assemblies and the House blog .

School Website

The school's website has been updated recently to a new modern look.

Notable former pupils

• Tyrone Howe - Northern Irish rugby player/ former UUP Councillor
• Diane Dodds - Member of the European Parliament
• Joanne Cash - Barrister and Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Westminster North (2010) ^[9]
• Alan Nelson - Cricketer
• Jo-Anne Dobson UUP Councillor and UUP Candidate
• Professor Deirdre Heenan - Pro Vice Chancellor for Communication at University of Ulster. First female provost at University of Ulster's Magee campus. Member of Irish President's Council of State ^[10]

References

1. ↑ "Banbridge Academy Prospectus". Banbridgeacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
2. ↑ "Microsoft Word - queenslist.doc" (PDF). BBC News. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
3. ↑
4. ↑ http://www.denidata.nics.gov.uk/appInspRptsSearch/IRMain.aspx?org_id=1583&src=1&rn=2
5. ↑ "Banbridge Academy Online | Sport". Banbridgeacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
6. ↑ "Banbridge Academy Online | Music". Banbridgeacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
7. ↑ "Banbridge Academy House System »". Banbridgeacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
8. ↑ "Helen Jane Waddell - writer and scholar". Ulsterhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
9. ↑ "How the candidates from NI fared across the water". BBC News. 2010-05-09. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 
10. ↑ "Deirdre Heenan first female provost at Magee". BBC News. June 3, 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.