Belfast Royal Academy: Difference between revisions
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*[[Robert Charles]] (1855–1931), clergyman and biblical scholar |
*[[Robert Charles]] (1855–1931), clergyman and biblical scholar |
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*[[Frederick Donnan]] (1870–1956), Professor of [[Physical Chemistry]], and Director, [[Muspratt Laboratory of Physical Chemistry]], [[University of Liverpool]], 1904–1913, and Professor of General Chemistry, [[University College London]], 1913–1937 |
*[[Frederick Donnan]] (1870–1956), Professor of [[Physical Chemistry]], and Director, [[Muspratt Laboratory of Physical Chemistry]], [[University of Liverpool]], 1904–1913, and Professor of General Chemistry, [[University College London]], 1913–1937 |
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*Sir [[Francis Evans]] (1897-1983), British ambassador to [[Israel]], 1952-1954, British ambassador to [[Argentina]], 1954-1957, and agent for the [[Government of Northern Ireland]] in Great Britain, 1962-1966 |
*Sir [[Francis Evans]] (1897-1983), British ambassador to [[Israel]], 1952-1954, British ambassador to [[Argentina]], 1954-1957, and agent for the [[Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland|Government of Northern Ireland]] in Great Britain, 1962-1966 |
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*[[John Ward Armstrong]] (1915–1987), [[dean (religion)|Dean]] of [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]], 1958–1968, [[Bishop of Cashel, Emly, Waterford and Lismore]], 1968–1977, [[Bishop of Cashel and Ossory]], 1977–1980, and [[Church of Ireland]] [[Archbishop of Armagh]], 1980–1986 |
*[[John Ward Armstrong]] (1915–1987), [[dean (religion)|Dean]] of [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]], 1958–1968, [[Bishop of Cashel, Emly, Waterford and Lismore]], 1968–1977, [[Bishop of Cashel and Ossory]], 1977–1980, and [[Church of Ireland]] [[Archbishop of Armagh]], 1980–1986 |
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*[[Douglas Gageby]] (1918–2004), Editor, ''[[Evening Press]]'', 1954–1963, and Editor, ''[[Irish Times]]'', 1963–1986 |
*[[Douglas Gageby]] (1918–2004), Editor, ''[[Evening Press]]'', 1954–1963, and Editor, ''[[Irish Times]]'', 1963–1986 |
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Revision as of 21:52, 7 June 2006
Belfast Royal Academy is a co-educational, non-denominational independent school situated in north Belfast. It currently has approximately 1600 pupils.
The School was founded in 1785 by Dr. James Crombie in Academy Street and is the oldest school in Belfast. Originally situated near St. Anne's Cathedral in what is now Academy Street, it moved to its current location on the Cliftonville Road in 1880. For more than a century the school was named Belfast Academy. On 27 November 1887, Queen Victoria granted permission for the school to style itself the Belfast Royal Academy, and its name was officially changed in January 1888. The current Headmaster is W.S.F Young.
The school's preparatory department, Ben Madigan, is located on the Antrim Road in the shadow of Cave Hill. Originally opened in 1829, it moved to its current site in 1965. A pre-prep was opened in 1998.
The School Crest comprises the rose, the thistle and the shamrock, along with the Royal Arms, the Arms of the City of Belfast and those of the Province of Ulster. The three significant dates mark the foundation of the school in 1785, the transfer to the present site in 1880 and the approval by Queen Victoria of the designation Belfast Royal Academy in 1888.
When a pupil enters the Academy they are placed into one of the houses: Shaw, Currie, Pottinger or Cairns, all named after past pupils. Each house has its own colour and pupils wear house ties.
As a pupil progresses through the Academy they can earn honours through hard work in sport and/or in the arts. There are minor honours (which allows a pupil to wear a minor honours tie, which has blue owls on it) and major honours. If a pupil gains major honours in sports they are entitled to wear a maroon blazer with a gold school badge on it and a tie that has yellow owls on it. Pupils who receive a major honours in the arts, such as music or drama, are entitled to wear a blue blazer with a gold school badge. To get these honours pupils need to be hard-working and dedicated.
The school operates a smart card system, so rather than pupils paying for their meals with cash, and using cash in the vending machines, they use electronic money which is read by several machines throughout the school, including cash registers, top-up machines and balance checkers.
Dintinguished Alumni/ae
- William Hamilton Drummond (1778–1865), Presbyterian minister and poet
- Alexander Mitchell (1780–1868), blind civil engineer and inventor of the screw-pile lighthouse
- James Lawson Drummond (1783–1853), Professor of Anatomy and Medical Physiology, Belfast Academical Institution, 1819–1849
- Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pottinger (1789–1856), Envoy and Plenipotentiary to China, 1840–1843, first Governor of Hong Kong, 1843–1844, and Governor of Madras, 1847–1854
- William Bruce (1790–1868), Presbyterian minister
- Thomas Romney Robinson (1793–1882), Director, Armagh Observatory, 1823–1882
- George Benn (1801–1882), historian of Belfast, and distiller
- Robert Patterson (1802–1872), naturalist
- Thomas Andrews (1813–1885), Professor of Chemistry, Queen's College, Belfast, 1845–1879, and physician
- Sir William Ewart (1817–1889), linen manufacturer
- Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819–1885), Lord Chancellor, 1868, 1874–1880
- John Mulholland, 1st Baron Dunleath (1819–1895), textile manufacturer
- James Witherow (1824–1890), Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, 1878–1890, and writer
- Sir Donald Currie (1825–1909), founder and owner, Castle Line, 1862–1900, and Union Castle Line, 1900–1909, and politician
- Joseph Gillis Biggar (1828–1890), Irish Home Rule MP for County Cavan, 1874–1890
- Charles Williams (1838–1904), first Editor, Evening Standard, 1860–1863, first Editor, Evening News, 1881–1884, and war correspondent
- James Johnston Shaw (1845–1910), Whately Professor of Political Economy, Trinity College, Dublin, 1876–1891, judge, and Presbyterian minister
- Robert Charles (1855–1931), clergyman and biblical scholar
- Frederick Donnan (1870–1956), Professor of Physical Chemistry, and Director, Muspratt Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, University of Liverpool, 1904–1913, and Professor of General Chemistry, University College London, 1913–1937
- Sir Francis Evans (1897-1983), British ambassador to Israel, 1952-1954, British ambassador to Argentina, 1954-1957, and agent for the Government of Northern Ireland in Great Britain, 1962-1966
- John Ward Armstrong (1915–1987), Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, 1958–1968, Bishop of Cashel, Emly, Waterford and Lismore, 1968–1977, Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, 1977–1980, and Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, 1980–1986
- Douglas Gageby (1918–2004), Editor, Evening Press, 1954–1963, and Editor, Irish Times, 1963–1986
- Sir Donald Murray (born 1923), Lord Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland
- Jack Kyle (born 1925), Ireland rugby union player
- John Cole (born 1928), Political Editor, BBC, 1981-1992
- Denis Weaire, Erasmus Smith Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Trinity College, Dublin, and physicist
- James Stirling, Professor in Mathematical Sciences and Physics, University of Durham
- Kate Hoey (born 1946), Minister for Sport, 1998–2001