Sullivan Upper School
Coordinates: 54°38′06″N 5°50′13″W / 54.635°N 5.837°W
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| Motto | Lamh Foisdineach An Uachtar (With the Gentle Hand Foremost) |
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| Established | 1877 |
| Head | Mr C J W Peel, M.A., B.Sc., Dip.A.S.Ed. |
| Board | DENI - Department of Education Northern Ireland |
| Location | Belfast Road Holywood County Down BT18 9EP Northern Ireland |
| Students | 1,100 |
| Colours | Black & Green |
| Type | Voluntary Grammar |
| Website | Sullivan Upper School |
Coordinates: 54°38′06″N 5°50′13″W / 54.635°N 5.837°W
Sullivan Upper School is a mixed cross-denominational voluntary grammar school in Holywood, Northern Ireland and has approximately 1,100 enrolled pupils. The school motto, which is printed on all the school blazers, is Lamh Foisdineach An Uachtar, which is Irish for "with the gentle hand foremost".
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[edit] History
Sullivan Lower School (equivalent to a primary school in modern terminology) was founded in 1862 by Robert Sullivan. After Sullivan's death in 1868, part of his estate was used to establish the upper school. Originally the two schools were based in Holywood's High Street, but the lower school no longer exists and the upper school has moved to a site on the edge of the town. The original building is now occupied by the town's public library.
[edit] Costello reforms
The school is opposed to the government's plans for the reform of education based on the Costello Report. These reforms will remove academic selection in Northern Ireland, which some observers think will effectively destroy the country's grammar schools. In opinion polls over 60 percent of parents in Northern Ireland are opposed to the changes.
A letter recently went out to Pupils in every year, directly from the headmaster, Mr Stevenson, raising the issue that the ethos and academic achievement of Sullivan would be changed irreparably by the post primary selection changes.
In the 2007–2008 Board of Governors' report it is stated that the school will use Common Entrance Assessments as academic selection for admission to year 8 in 2010.
The future role of academic selection in the educational system is also controversial given that there has been no agreement at Assembly or Executive level about the way forward. In managing this disturbing situation the Board of Governors has decided that Sullivan Upper will use Common Entrance Assessments as developed by the Association for Quality Education for admission to year 8 in 2010.
2007-2008 Board of Governors' Report
[edit] Sports
Sullivan Upper participates in various sports, including rugby, hockey, golf, volleyball, tennis and chess.
The school won the rugby 2001 Medallion Shield, with current senior Irish International and Ulster player Darren Cave playing in this team.[1] Other notable past players include David Erskine, a former senior Ireland International. In 2009 the school won the 2nd XV cup for the first time, beating Royal School, Armagh 14-12. Impressively, the school won the Medallion Shield for the second time in 2011, after being well-known for their strong team relationship and game play.[2]
In hockey, Sullivan won the 1993 Burney Cup beating Banbridge Academy after sudden death penalty strokes. In 2006 they reached the final again — losing 4–2.[3] Former team members include Irish Senior International player such as Mark Raphael. In 2009 they also reached the McCullough Cup final for the first time in the schools history.[4] In 2010, the team reached the semi-final of the Burney Cup but lost to Campbell College.
In Cricket, the school reached the School's Cup final for the first time in their history in 2009, but ended up losing by nine wickets to Foyle and Londonderry College.[5][6]
Sullivan have a golf team competing in various competitions. One notable previous member is Rory McIlroy, a young professional golfer on the PGA Tour.[7]
[edit] Music
The school involves a wide range of musical talent which is represented in the many musical groups held throughout the week. These include Orchestra, Jazz band, Junior Choir, Traditional group, Brass band and Sullivan Singers. there are also several small groups of musicians playing at many events inside and outside school, these include a jazz quartet "Jazz Inc.", string quartets, wind ensembles and pop bands.
[edit] The house system
The school is divided into four houses: Praeger (red), Grant (green), McAlester (blue), Speers (yellow). Two of the houses, Grant and Speers, were named after ex-headmasters of the school, whereas Praeger was named after the sculptress Rosamund Praeger and her brother Robert. McAlester was named after the Rev. McAlester who sat on the Committee of Sullivan Schools in the 1800s when the school was founded. The school's Preparatory Department, however, only contains three of the four houses - Grant house, which was established in the 1974-75 school year, only exists in the main body of the school.
Regular inter-house competitions are held to cultivate house pride - including the House Music Competition and Sports Day. In recent years Grant has dominated the House music event. McAlester has been successful in house rugby with Praeger dominating house hockey and winning the overall house cup in 2008. Speers has held a good record in badminton and tennis. The house cup has been hotly contested recently, particularly between Praeger and Speers.
In the school year ending June 2008, Praeger won by a considerable margin.
In the school year beginning Sept 08 Grant won House Badminton.
On Tuesday 21 October 2008 was the latest House Music Competition, with Grant taking first place, followed extremely closely by McAlester, Praeger, and finally Speers. There are 7 categories for the House Music Competition; Ensemble, Junior Instrumental Solo, Senior Instrumental Solo, Vocal Solo, Composition, Pop Band and House Choir.
Grant's win at House Music currently places them in the lead this year with Praeger close behind.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Darren Cave - rugby player
- Garth Ennis - comics writer
- David Erskine - rugby player
- Dan Gordon - actor (Give My Head Peace)
- Colin Harper - music journalist, writer and charity entrepreneur
- Maurice Jay - DJ on radio station U105, composer, actor and broadcaster
- David Jeffrey - Linfield F.C. manager
- Prof David E. Logan - Coulson Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Oxford
- Dr Des Johnson - Lecturer at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
- Bobby Kildea - guitarist (Belle & Sebastian)
- Derek Lawther - footballer, coach (American Olympic, etc.)
- George Lowden - guitar-maker
- Mark McClelland - bass guitarist (Little Doses, formerly for alternative rock band Snow Patrol)[8]
- John McCrea - comic artist
- Rory McIlroy - golfer
- Dermot Murnaghan - Sky News news reader and television personality
- Mark Simpson - BBC News Ireland reporter
- Alan Smith - UNESCO academic
- Peter Wilson - musician (Duke Special)
- Gareth McLearnon - musician
- Fergus Sweeney - Professional Jockey
[edit] The 1994 attack
On 17 June 1994, Garnet Bell, a former pupil, entered the School Hall during an A Level exam carrying an improvised flame thrower, containing petrol and paraffin. Bell discharged the device, burning six pupils, three of them seriously. He was subsequently found guilty of three cases of attempted murder and three of grievous bodily harm, receiving six life sentences.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ "2002 Medallion Shield". BBC Sport. 22 March 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/1887087.stm. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Heartache for teenagers". Londonderry Sentinel. 23 March 2011. http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/sport/other-local-sport/heartache_for_teenagers_1_2527690. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Banbridge boys retain Burney Cup". BBC Sport. 22 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/hockey/4834830.stm. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Cookstown clinch McCullough Cup". BBC Sport. 10 December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/7776133.stm. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Sullivan reach first cup final". Northern Cricket Union. http://www.northerncricketunion.org/database/2010/news/articles/article38.shtml. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Foyle retain Schools Cricket Cup". Northern Cricket Union. http://www.northerncricketunion.org/database/2010/news/articles/article46.shtml. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Rory McIlroy vows to learn from Masters experience". BBC News. 11 April 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13032667. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Double first for star student". University of Dundee. http://www.webcitation.org/5kdmS0V3G. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ Flamethrower maniac prayed on deathbed The News Letter, 19 December 1997
