Portadown College
Encyclopedia
Portadown College is an academic selective grammar school
in Portadown
, County Armagh
, Northern Ireland, founded in 1924 and as of 2009, is the number one controlled grammar school in Northern Ireland. The school was established initially in Bann House on the banks of the River Bann, adjacent to the main road bridge of the time. In 1962 the school moved to a new, purpose-built site, on the Killycomain Road.
area. The school's pupils are divided into historical houses. The three houses are Shillington (red), Seale (green) and MacCallum (yellow). The house structure provides the basis for a wide range of inter-house competitions, including sports, music and debating.
The School Rugby teams compete annually in the Ulster Schools Cup
, with the best performance the reaching of the semi-finals. The Subsidiary Shield has been won three times in 1973, 1990 and 1997. In 2010 the 1st XV Rugby Team won the Ulster Schools Trophy.
Girls' hockey
teams enjoy success in the Belfast Telegraph Ulster Schools Cup and McDowell Cup competitions. Portadown College hockey teams have won the trophy on three occasions in 1963, 1964 and the most recent win in 1996.
The Under 18 Boys Volleyball team are current Northern Ireland and All Ireland Champions and the under 16 Boys Volleyball team are current Northern Ireland and All Ireland Champions. Also, the Under 18 Boys Hockey Team are the current Great British Champions after beating RBAI 2nd XI 4-3 in the final.
It is compulsory for GCSE students to study a modern language subject. The options include, French
, Spanish
and German
. However, Latin
was abolished many years ago as a taught language in the school.
Sports facilities include three rugby pitches, two all-weather pitches, two outdoor basketball courts, two tennis courts, a synthetic cricket pitch, two long jump sand pits and a concrete throwing circle for discus and shot put events. There is also a dedicated sports hall with gym and a second indoor sports hall.
Although sport plays a key role in the schools extracurricular activities, there are a number of other societies that include: chess, drama, debating, Air Training Corps, flying experience, French cinema, Duke Of Edinburgh Award expedition, Bronze Medallion and fishing.
whereby internal entry exams are set to students within each of its feeder schools.
The Dickson Plan is in some regard an analogue of the 11+ but although given students sit internal entrance exams at 14 it is not a direct replacement. From the scrapping of the 11+ in Northern Ireland, some people are suggesting that the Dickson Plan emerges as a clear ‘model’ to replace the now obsolete 11+, albeit for students at the age of 11.
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Northern Ireland, founded in 1924 and as of 2009, is the number one controlled grammar school in Northern Ireland. The school was established initially in Bann House on the banks of the River Bann, adjacent to the main road bridge of the time. In 1962 the school moved to a new, purpose-built site, on the Killycomain Road.
History
Portadown College has seen many major changes in education. Originally established as a fee-paying voluntary grammar school, it embraced the changes of the 1947 Education Act and, subsequently, has made a major contribution to the present 'two-tier' system of secondary education in the CraigavonCraigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council is a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. The headquarters of the council is in Craigavon, on the shores of Lough Neagh, a new town built between Lurgan and Portadown. The council area includes the large towns of Lurgan and Portadown, as...
area. The school's pupils are divided into historical houses. The three houses are Shillington (red), Seale (green) and MacCallum (yellow). The house structure provides the basis for a wide range of inter-house competitions, including sports, music and debating.
Sport
Portadown College has been officially recognised in the field of sporting excellence, and has been awarded the honour of a Sportsmark School. Representative teams participate in Rugby, Boys and Girls Hockey, Netball, Football, Volleyball, Golf, Tennis and Athletics.The School Rugby teams compete annually in the Ulster Schools Cup
Ulster Schools Cup
The Ulster Schools' Challenge Cup is an annual competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The Schools' Cup has the distinction of being the world's second-oldest rugby competition, having been competed for every year since 1876...
, with the best performance the reaching of the semi-finals. The Subsidiary Shield has been won three times in 1973, 1990 and 1997. In 2010 the 1st XV Rugby Team won the Ulster Schools Trophy.
Girls' hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
teams enjoy success in the Belfast Telegraph Ulster Schools Cup and McDowell Cup competitions. Portadown College hockey teams have won the trophy on three occasions in 1963, 1964 and the most recent win in 1996.
The Under 18 Boys Volleyball team are current Northern Ireland and All Ireland Champions and the under 16 Boys Volleyball team are current Northern Ireland and All Ireland Champions. Also, the Under 18 Boys Hockey Team are the current Great British Champions after beating RBAI 2nd XI 4-3 in the final.
School facilities
Subjects such as geography, home economics and ICT have miscellaneous classrooms throughout the school. There are over 20 subjects taught at the school, which are served by approximately 50 classrooms, subject study rooms and technicians. The school's science department is one of the largest and best funded science departments in Northern Ireland.It is compulsory for GCSE students to study a modern language subject. The options include, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. However, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
was abolished many years ago as a taught language in the school.
Sports facilities include three rugby pitches, two all-weather pitches, two outdoor basketball courts, two tennis courts, a synthetic cricket pitch, two long jump sand pits and a concrete throwing circle for discus and shot put events. There is also a dedicated sports hall with gym and a second indoor sports hall.
Although sport plays a key role in the schools extracurricular activities, there are a number of other societies that include: chess, drama, debating, Air Training Corps, flying experience, French cinema, Duke Of Edinburgh Award expedition, Bronze Medallion and fishing.
Academic selection
As with many grammar schools in Northern Ireland academic selection is at the heart of admission to Portadown College. Entry to Portadown College is defined by a system called the Dickson PlanDickson Plan
The Dickson Plan is a school transfer system implemented in North County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It is a two tier system in which the majority of pupils in the Craigavon Borough Council Area and parts of Armagh City and District Council Area attend Junior High Schools for 3 years before...
whereby internal entry exams are set to students within each of its feeder schools.
The Dickson Plan is in some regard an analogue of the 11+ but although given students sit internal entrance exams at 14 it is not a direct replacement. From the scrapping of the 11+ in Northern Ireland, some people are suggesting that the Dickson Plan emerges as a clear ‘model’ to replace the now obsolete 11+, albeit for students at the age of 11.
Notable former pupils
- Henry Uprichard. Presbyterian Church Moderator
- DameDame (title)The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...
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. Lord LieutenantLord LieutenantThe title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
of Belfast and Olympic Gold Medallist - Gloria HunnifordGloria HunnifordGloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...
. BBC Television Personality - Rory BestRory BestRory Best from Poyntzpass is an Irish rugby union footballer. He plays at the position of Hooker for Ulster and is registered for Banbridge RFC.-Club/Provincial:...
. Ulster and Ireland Rugby Union Player - Simon BestSimon BestSimon Best is a former Irish rugby union footballer. He played for Ulster and was club captain in Ulster's 2005/06 Magners League winning season...
. Ulster and Ireland Rugby Union Player - Waldo MaguireWaldo MaguireWaldo Maguire was a British broadcaster for the BBC. He had a long career with the BBC, culminating in his appointment in 1966 as the Controller of BBC Northern Ireland...
, OBE. BBC Northern Ireland Controller - Ruth McCartney. Head and Director of Music at Methodist College BelfastMethodist College BelfastMethodist College Belfast , styled locally as Methody, is a voluntary grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and is a member of the Independent Schools Council...
- The Very Reverend John Paterson. Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
- Mark Russell, Chief Executive Church Army, Member of Archbishops' Council of Church of England
- Nigel Williams. Northern Ireland's first Children's Commissioner
- Sammy Stewart (Northern Irish footballer). Football player for Glenavon FC and general legend.
- Alexander WalkerAlexander Walker (critic)Alexander Walker was a film critic, born in Portadown, Northern Ireland. He worked for the Birmingham Post in the 1950s, before becoming film critic of the London Evening Standard in 1960, a role he held until his death in 2003...
. UK film critic. - Ernest Nicholson. Provost of Oriel College, Oxford University.
- James Uprichard, CBECBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
. A Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force... - Danys Hawthorne. ActorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
- Tom McGurkTom McGurkTom McGurk is an Irish poet, journalist, radio presenter and sportscaster from Brockagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.From 1983 to 1996 he was married to the broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan...
. IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
JournalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and BroadcasterPresenterA presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show... - The Reverend Professor Ernest Nicholson, FBA, DD. ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford - Prof. Alison Kitson RN, BSc(Hons), PhD, FRCN. Professor of Nursing and Head of the Discipline of Nursing at The University of Adelaide
- Prof. Ronald H. Perrott. Professor of Software Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast
- Prof. Edward McCann. Canadian and BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
LawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political... - Dr George McKerr. Senior Lecturer School of Biomedical Sciences University of UlsterUniversity of UlsterThe University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
- Dr David McCluskey. Clinical Senior Lecturer (Cons) (JA), Queen's University, Belfast
- Susan PenhaligonSusan PenhaligonSusan Penhaligon is a British actress and writer, she is probably best known for her appearances in the controversial 1976 drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire and several ongoing roles in UK television series.-Early days:...
. Actress, WriterWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images.... - Niall Sloane. BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
JournalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A... - Colin TurkingtonColin TurkingtonColin Henry Turkington is a Northern Irish auto racing driver. His most notable success to date was becoming 2009 British Touring Car Champion driving for Team RAC. Most recently he has competed in the 2010 World Touring Car Championship driving a BMW 320si for West Surrey Racing...
. Auto RacerAuto racingAuto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:... - John Draper. BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
JournalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and BroadcasterPresenterA presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show... - Diana Madill. BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
BroadcasterPresenterA presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show... - Nigel Williams. Childen's Commissioner (Northern Ireland)
- Raymond Pollock OBE. PrincipalPrincipal- Education :*Principal , a head of a primary or secondary school*Principal , a chief executive of a university or college- Law :*Principal , a person who authorises an agent...
of Banbridge AcademyBanbridge AcademyBanbridge Academy is a grammar school located in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. The school was founded in 1786.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 , a graduate of... - George Woodman MBEMBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
. Parliament Librarian, Northern Ireland AssemblyNorthern Ireland AssemblyThe Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive... - Philip McDonagh, OBE. EconomistEconomistAn economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
- Dan Sinton MBEMBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
. Former Chairman of the Energy Institute, Northern Ireland Branch - Prof. Roy Turkington. Department of Botany and the Biodiversity Research Center at the University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British ColumbiaThe University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
See also - Feeder schools
- Killicomaine Junior High SchoolKillicomaine Junior High SchoolKillicomain Junior High School is a comprehensive school in Portadown, Northern Ireland.It accepts male and female pupils following primary education. Children attend for three years and generally transfer to either Portadown College or Craigavon Senior High School. The Headmaster is Hugh McCarthy....
- Clounagh Junior High SchoolClounagh Junior High SchoolClounagh Junior High School is a comprehensive school on the Brownstown Road, Portadown, Northern Ireland.It accepts male and female pupils following primary education. Generally, children attend for three years; however those with special educational needs stay for an extra two years. The current...
- Tandragee Junior High School