Lagan College

Lagan College is an integrated[3] secondary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It holds a total of around 1500-1600 students. It was formed in 1981 as the first integrated school in Northern Ireland and contains students of mainly Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths, however students from other faiths also attend the school.

Lagan College
Address
44 Manse Road[1] Belfast[1] , County Down , BT8 6SA[1] Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54.5633°N 5.8822°W / 54.5633; -5.8822
Information
Type	Integrated
Motto	Ut Sint Unum "That they may be one"
Established	1981
Local authority	Education Authority
Principal	Amanda McNamee[1]
Staff	184[2]
Gender	Co-educational
Enrolment	1245[3]
Colour(s)	Red, Black and Yellow
Website	http://www.lagancollege.com/

The school is currently situated on National Trust land, overlooking Belfast. It is named after the River Lagan, which flows through the city. It is one of Northern Ireland's most oversubscribed secondary schools.

History

Lagan College was founded as a response to the conflict in the community and to the religiously divided school system in Northern Ireland. Most Catholic children attended Catholic-maintained schools, while Protestant school children mainly attended state schools.

Since 1974 the All Children Together (ACT) movement had been lobbying against the segregation in schools in Northern Ireland, however even by 1981 there had been virtually no initiatives from either the churches or the government in the direction of integration. Consequently, a small group of parents with children at the age of transfer from primary to secondary school decided to take the initiative with the support of ACT. They founded the school in September 1981 in temporary premises at Ardnavally Activity Centre beside the River Lagan in South Belfast.[4]

On the first day the school contained 28 pupils and seven staff members, including the Principal, Mrs Sheila Greenfield, one full-time teacher and five part-time teachers. At the end of 1981 the college needed to be relocated, and it was moved into a vacant primary school situated at Castlereagh, overlooking Belfast from the south-east, in time for the start of the Easter term. From September 1983 the new first year pupils were taught in the Manor House at Cultra, until a new building became ready in October 1984.

For the first three years of teaching, Lagan College received no government funding. Parents of pupils contributed what they could afford towards the costs. However over £500,000 still needed to be raised, so an appeal for benefactions by private individuals and charitable trusts was launched to bring the school to the point where it could develop into an economically viable institution. Lagan College gained maintained status in 1984, making the school eligible for full funding from the Department of Education. From this point 100% of running costs were met by the Department of Education and the school governors were responsible for 15% of capital expenditure. The school's first Chairman was Basil McIvor, a former Ulster Unionist MLA and Minister of Community Relations, who was a proponent of integrated education in Northern Ireland.

From 1985 to 1987, due to accommodation difficulties, the 98 new first year pupils were taught several miles away from Castlereagh in the Balmoral area of South Belfast, in premises shared with the newly opened Forge Integrated Primary School. A permanent home for Lagan College was eventually found just outside Belfast at Lisnabreeny, thanks to the hospitality of the National Trust. The first temporary buildings were opened at Lisnabreeny in September 1987, however travelling continued between the two areas until September 1991 when the first phase of the permanent school building was opened.

Following new legislation in 1989 concerning the development of integrated education by the then Minister, Dr Brian Mawhinney, the College became a Grant-Maintained Integrated School in 1991. As a result, 100% of the costs (recurrent and capital) are now funded directly by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland.

As of 2010, the first third of the permanent school building is open. Approval for the completion of the permanent buildings was given in 2002 under the Department's private finance initiative at a cost of £11.1 million. It is anticipated that the building programme will begin in 2010. With the current educational climate in Northern Ireland, Lagan College stands among the top post-primary education secondary schools. While its focus has been on integration in terms of religious background, the school also integrates children in an 'all-ability' context. Thus, Lagan College accommodates for children with a variety of academic backgrounds. As of 2010 the college accommodates 50% of its pupil intake, retaining at least those who achieve an A grade in the transfer procedure. With that in focus, Lagan College remains one of Northern Ireland's most oversubscribed schools.

The school recently opened new buildings, opened in 2014.[5]

Notable alumni

• Clare Bailey, Green Party MLA for South Belfast[6]
• Matt McGovern, Olympic sailor[7]
• Brian Milligan, Actor[8] (The Fall, Hunger, The Frankenstein Chronicles)
• Shoukri brothers, Ulster Defence Association paramilitary leaders[9]

References

1. "Contact". Lagan College. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
2. "Staff". Lagan College. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
3. "Standard Inspection - Lagan College". Education Training Inspectorate. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
4. "History - Lagan College". Lagan College. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
5. "O'Dowd officially opens new building for Lagan College | Integrated Education Northern Ireland". www.nicie.org. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
6. "The Big Interview: Clare Bailey deputy leader of the Green Party - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
7. "Good Luck Matthew! - Lagan College". Lagan College. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
8. "Brian Milligan: 'It's fantastic to get the chance to work with Robert Redford' - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
9. David Lister & Hugh Jordan, Mad Dog: The Rise and Fall of Johnny Adair and 'C' Company, Mainstream, 2004, p. 309

• Lloyd, John (20 April 2007). "A difficult subject". FT.com. Retrieved 1 November 2010.

External links

• Official website
• Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE)