Presentation College, Bray
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| Presentation College Coláiste na Toirbhirte | |
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| Address | |
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Putland Road , | |
| Coordinates | 53°11′35″N 6°06′03″W / 53.192984°N 6.100825°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Catholic voluntary secondary school |
| Motto | Laudete, Pueri, Dominum (Latin: Praise the Lord, boys) |
| Established | 1921 |
| Oversight | Presentation Brothers Schools Trust |
| Principal | Pat Gregory |
| Staff | 55 |
| Secondary years taught | First through sixth |
| Gender | Male |
| Age range | 12–19 |
| Number of students | 630 |
| Colour(s) | Red, black, yellow |
| Athletics | Rugby, Basketball, Karate, Cricket, Ultimate Frisbee |
| Website | www |
Presentation College (Irish: Coláiste na Toirbhirte; colloquially known as Pres Bray) is a Catholic secondary school established in 1921 by the Presentation Brothers in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland.
There are currently about 600 students in Presentation College. The school is housed in a modern building opened in late 2011, which replaced an older building constructed in the 1960s. Outdoor facilities include a floodlit grass rugby field, astro turf soccer pitch, a basketball court, and several other playing fields. The school is located on Putland Road just off the main Vevay Road, next to the Queen of Peace church. It is accessible via Dublin Bus routes 45, 84, 145 and 184.
History
Presentation College Bray was established in 1921 by the Presentation Brothers. Pres Bray originally served as a primary and secondary school, but the primary school was closed in the late 1980s; the old school building is now the home of the Bray Adult Education Centre. Central to the school's history was its connections to the Presentation Brothers.
On 5 September 1921, the doors of Bray Head House were opened to admit 52 new students to The Presentation College. In 1924 outhouses at the back of the house were refurbished to provide extra classrooms and a science laboratory. In 1957 a new college building was opened. In 1971 this was replaced with a new Secondary School with a swimming pool and the 1957 building became the Junior School. In 1983 the Edmund Rice Building was opened. It includes a Science Laboratory, Geography Room, Career's Suite and other specialist rooms. In the late 1980s the Junior School closed; as this had been the last arm of the fee-paying aspect of the college, the school was now a wholly publicly funded secondary school. The last Brother left in the early 2000s after the Brothers closed the monastery at the school.
In 2010, the Presentation Schools Trust took over trusteeship of the school from the Presentation Brothers. In August 2011, staff and students (600) moved the short distance to the new Presentation College building. The 1971 building was handed over to the builders in June for demolition to provide the site for a new Sports Hall.
School Buildings
Having worked on the project for over ten years the Board of Management of Presentation College Bray was given authorisation in January 2009 to proceed to seek tenders for construction of a new school. The builders came on site in early January 2010 and had the entire project substantially completed by February 2012. The work was done in four phases, the new school, demolition of the 1971 building, building a new sports hall and refurbishment of the Edmund Rice Building. The new building has 16 classrooms, 8 specialist rooms, administration, assembly areas, a library and a staff room. It is a state of the art educational facility. The contract cost was in excess of €5 millions plus VAT.
Curriculum
Boys at Pres Bray sit the Junior Certificate syllabus for their first three years at the school, and the [[Leaving Certificate (Ireland}|Leaving Certificate]] syllabus for their last two. In between the two courses is an optional extra, Transition Year, affording students the opportunity to study subjects and topics not present on the exam syllabi. Subjects studied include:[1]
Junior Certificate subjects include Irish, English, maths, History, Geography, French, German, science, business, art, Woodwork, Civic, Social and Political Education, social, personal and health education, computer studies and religion.
Leaving Certificate subjects include Irish, English, maths, history, geography, French, German, physics, biology, chemistry, religion, business organisation, accounting, art, design & communication graphics and computer studies.
Notable past pupils
- Reggie Corrigan, former Irish Rugby international and Leinster captain[2]
- Tony Doyle, former Irish Rugby international and Leinster captain[2]
- Seán FitzPatrick, former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank.
- Ed Joyce, Irish cricketer (played for England and Middlesex).[3]
- Gary O'Toole, RTÉ sports pundit and former Olympic swimmer for Ireland.[citation needed]
- Darren Randolph, goalkeeper for Birmingham City F.C. and the Republic of Ireland national football team
- Robert Shortt, RTÉ Washington correspondent.
- David Wheatley, poet and critic.
- Luke O'Neill (scientist), Professor of Science, Trinity College Dublin, researcher, fundraiser, biochemist, winner of Trinity College Dublin Gold Medal award amongst other distinctions.
- Simon Keogh (actor), former cast member of Fair City and Terry-Thomas enthusiast.
- Harry O'Rourke, former international Judo representative and Chief Executive Officer of Waitakere City in New Zealand.[4]
References
- ^ Subjects Archived 9 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. PresBray.com. Retrieved on 28 August 2007.
- ^ a b About Reggie Corrigan[permanent dead link]. Retrieved on 19 October 2007.
- ^ Cricinfo.com. Ed Joyce. Retrieved on 19 October 2007.
- ^ "Harry O' Rourke Honoured | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2018.