Rockport School
54°39′54″N 5°46′23″W / 54.665°N 5.773°W
| Rockport School | |
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| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Independent school; day and boarding |
| Motto | Virtus Repulsae Nescia Sordidae |
| Established | 1906 |
| Headmaster | Mr George Vance LLB BEd PQH |
| Colours | Green and White |
| Age Range | 3 to 18 |
| Website | rockportschool.com |
Rockport School is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls from 3 years to 18 years. Situated in 25 acres of woodland on the shore of Belfast Lough in Craigavad, near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland between Belfast and Bangor.[1]
The school was founded in 1906[2] by Geoffrey Bing, a 29-year-old former teacher at St Andrew's School, Southborough, Kent. The school began with four pupils, an assistant master and a matron. Bing remained as headmaster until 1945. The school quickly grew in size and now has around 200 pupils and accepts boys and girls from the age of 3 until 18.[2] as day or boarding pupils. The school celebrated its centenary year in 2006 by building a new Arts Centre which was opened by local North Down Westminster MP Lady Sylvia Hermon.
The school still sends some pupils on to study in leading UK independent schools (recently these have included Glenalmond, Gordonstoun, Fettes, Harrow, Rugby and Stowe) as well as to Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland.[2]
The Headmaster is a member of the 16 Group of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools and the school is represented by the Independent Schools Council (ISC). In January 2014 the school became the first school in Ireland, north or south, to be granted regional membership of the international conference of Round Square Schools. Global membership of Round Square was conferred upon the school in March 2016.
Notable alumni
- Ronnie Adams, winner of the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally in a Jaguar Mark VII and first winner of the Circuit of Ireland Rally in 1936
- Dudi Appleton, journalist and film director
- Geoffrey Bing (Jnr), Labour MP for Hornchurch and first Attorney General of Ghana
- Lady Caroline Blackwood, journalist and novellist who married Lucian Freud; composer Israel Citkowitz; and poet Robert Lowell
- Tiffany Brien, yachtswoman, Miss Northern Ireland 2012 and 1st runner-up, sports and fitness at Miss World 2012
- Nigel Casey, British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina 2011-2014; currently Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister
- Fred Covington, Cricketer
- John Crosslé, founder of the Crosslé Car Company
- Shaun Davey, Irish composer
- Daniel Edelstyn, filmmaker, screenwriter and actor
- Natalie Evans, Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, became the youngest female member of the House of Lords in 2014
- Howard Ferguson (composer)
- Sir Peter Gadsden, 652nd Lord Mayor of London
- Robin Glendinning, playwright and former politician instrumental in founding the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
- Sir John Gorman, soldier, Unionist politician
- Henry FP Herdman, Oceanographer, after whom Cape Herdman and Herdman Rocks were named
- Charles Johnston, Baron Johnston of Rockport, Conservative politician, businessman
- Gary Lightbody, musician Snow Patrol
- Harry McCaw, first Ulsterman to Captain The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) in its 250 year history
- Sir Michael McCorkell, soldier, public servant and Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry for 25 years
- Alan McFarland, politician
- Flora Montgomery, actress
- Major General Denis Grattan Moore, soldier, High Sheriff of Tyrone 1969
- Rafton Pounder, politician
- Jonny Quinn, musician (Snow Patrol)
- James Quinn (film administrator), one of the longest-serving Directors of the British Film Institute
- John Robb, surgeon; Irish Senator
- John Turnley, Irish nationalist activist
- Paddy Wallace, Irish rugby player
- Willoughby Weaving, (Master) Poet of the Great War: The Ulster History Circle unveiled a Blue Plaque at the School in November 2014
- John Watson, Formula 1 racing driver and commentator