St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick

Saint Patrick's Grammar School is a Catholic grammar school located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is currently owned by the De La Salle Brothers. It has an enrolment of around 725 students, with girls admitted at sixth form level. Pupils come from all over the East Down area. Working to support the ideals of this Lasallian School is a staff of 75 lay teachers. Recently, the school has been awarded the Investor in People award,[1] and has been named a specialist school in humanities by the Department of Education.[2]

Saint Patrick's Grammar School
Address
Saul Street

Downpatrick
,
County Down
,
BT30 6NJ

Northern Ireland
Information
TypeGrammar
MottoSignum Fidei
("Sign of faith")
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1934
Local authorityEducation Authority (South Eastern)
HeadmasterJoe McCann
GenderAll-Male (Year 8 – Year 12)
Co-educational (Year 13 – Year 14)
Age11 to 18
Number of studentsApprox. 689
HousesDown, Killard, Lecale, Quoile
Colour(s)Maroon, yellow          
PublicationPulse
School YearsYear 8 – Year 14
Websitewww.spgs.org.uk

History

Saint Patrick's Grammar School was founded in 1934 and moved to its present site in 1937. In 2009, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary. A new school building was built and opened in April 2011. The new building contains improved modern facilities including a large music department and enhanced Physical Education amenities. The PE department includes a modern gym, two indoor sports halls and two floodlit outdoor pitches.

School and community

The school and its students are linked with the local community. Extra-curricular organisations such as the St. Vincent de Paul School Conference operate within Saint Patrick's Grammar School to raise funds for worthy causes[3] as well as out in the community, conducting regular visitations to the Lecale Lodge Nursing Home[4] which is operated by Four Seasons Health Care.

In the area of Performing Arts, the school has brought a number of productions to fruition over the years, the most recent being Philadelphia, Here I Come! , The Phantom of the Opera and Oliver!.[5]

The school is involved in many local, county and national leagues in sports such as football, Gaelic football, hurling and athletics. Its sports teams have achieved a number of county and province-wide titles under the guidance of the P.E. Department.

School houses

Upon admission into the school, students are placed into one of four houses (classes). These are:

  • Down
  • Killard
  • Lecale
  • Quoile
  • Saul (In Year 13/14 only)

The Saul house is used as a separate class for Creative and Expressive studies in the junior school.

New school building

After years of planning, the construction of the new school building commenced in the summer of 2009. The school was constructed on the "junior" playing fields, which can be seen on the Downpatrick skyline. When completed, the previous school building was demolished and the site was converted into all-weather playing fields and tennis courts. The new school campus opened on 1 April 2011.

Notable former students and staff
gollark: I recently found this weird thing: http://faculty.uml.edu/jpropp/srat.html
gollark: Also, do you need reaction mass for... whatever? Is this thing running in atmospheres?
gollark: I read your ping, I just don't know the answer.
gollark: To just blind them, you probably only need laser pointer level power, which hopefully means no setting tables on fire.
gollark: It's more the "page 265 this month".

References
  1. Minister encourages business improvement | Department for Employment and Learning
  2. St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick – Specialist Schools Award
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Paddy Kielty". Downpatrick Manchester United Supporters' Club. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  7. "Board". Northern Ireland Screen. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  8. Quigley, Maeve (27 January 2002). "It's great being the youngest at work..you can get away with so much". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  9. https://www.newsletter.co.uk/whats-on/music/co-down-singer-to-support-superstar-ed-sheeran-on-tour-1-7839060
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