Rathmore Grammar School

Rathmore Grammar School, normally referred to simply as "Rathmore", is a Catholic grammar school in Finaghy, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The current principal is Thérèse Hamilton who succeeded Sr. Ursula Canavan as principal at the beginning of academic year 2009/10. It is one of the leading grammar schools in Northern Ireland and is one of the top four over subscribed schools in the region.

Rathmore Grammar School, Belfast
Location
Kingsway, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Information
TypeVoluntary Grammar
MottoUt Vitam Habeant (That they may have life)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
ClosedJuly - September
Local authorityEducation Authority (Belfast)
PrincipalMrs. Thérèse Hamilton
GenderCo-educational
Age11 to 18
Number of students1269
Colour(s)                
SportsBadminton, Basketball, Cross country running, Gaelic, Hurling, Skiing, Soccer, Swimming, Orienteering
School YearsYear 8 - Year 14
Vice PrincipalsDr Arthur Donnelly & Mrs Ursula Lavery
Websiterathmoregrammarschool.org

Rathmore is situated in Kingsway, Finaghy, Belfast, behind the St. Anne's "campus", consisting of St. Anne's Primary School, Parish Church, and Parish Centre.

Rathmore Grammar School is paired with the Nicolaus-Cusanus-Gymnasium in Bonn and Colegio de San Jose in Madrid.

History

Rathmore began as a stately home, built by Belfast businessman Victor Coates for his family, but the house was passed to the local Bishop who in turn sold it to the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. The RSHM used the house as a convent, where they began a school for girls. Sometime later, a major development project surrounded the convent with school buildings.

The new courtyard, the central part of the school. The drama/lecture theatre is situated here, it is a separate building, and can be seen in the background.

More recently, a new school building was designed by a past pupil of the school. The new building was completed in time for the school year beginning September 2005. This project included the restoration of the convent, which now houses History, Politics and Religious Education.

Academics

In 2014, it was awarded the Sunday Times School of the Year award. It was the first year that the school had entered the competition.[1]

in 2019 the school was ranked 10th out of 159 secondary schools in Northern Ireland with 89.0% of its A-level students who sat the exams in 2017/18 being awarded three A*-C grades.[2]

In 2018 it was ranked 20th in Northern Ireland for its GCSE performance with 98.3% of its entrants receiving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including the core subjects English and Maths.[3]

Sports

Rathmore has a history in Gaelic games, winning the All-Ireland senior C title in 2006/7. Within Ulster, Rathmore has competed in the McLarnon Cup in Gaelic football and the Casement Cup in hurling, winning both in 2008 and 2012 respectively. In 2010, Rathmore 4th years won the Leopold Cup in hurling, defeating Belfast neighbors St. Malachy's in the final. They have also tasted success in basketball with the u16 boys winning the Northern Ireland Cup in 2012 and finishing 2nd place the previous year. And recently with football Winning the Lisburn cup, the league and the Belfast cup with the 4th years doing this in 2016.[4]

Recent events

In September 2007, Rathmore closed its Amnesty International branch in response to a change in Amnesty International's policy on abortion.[5]

In April 2010, the school debating team (Conor Heaney and Davin Clarke) won the Northern Ireland Schools Debating Championship, defeating the team from the Royal Belfast Academical Institution in the final at Stormont. It was the first time a team from the school had reached the final of the competition. They spoke in Opposition to the motion 'This House Would Welcome Being Part of a European Federal State'. In 2012, another debating team (Brendan Kelters and Christopher Matthews) progressed to the semi-finals, with Brendan nominated for the competition's Best Speaker award. Christopher was nominated the following year and was placed runner up.

In March 2013, Rathmore hosted a world record attempt for the most people simultaneously wearing paper hats. This was held in connection with the school's annual Trócaire campaign.


Notable former teaching staff

Notable former pupils

References
  1. "school prospectus". Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  2. "Belfast Telegraph A-Level: Northern Ireland School League Tables 2019". Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  3. "Belfast Telegraph GCSE 2018". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  4. "BT Ulster Colleges". Match Report.
  5. "Catholic schools bar Amnesty for abortions policy". The Independent. 2007-09-22. Retrieved 2019-03-12.
  6. "SF candidate: Bairbre de Brun". BBC News. 2004-05-18. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  7. Northern Ireland Assembly - Biography - Davy Hyland Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
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