Ballakermeen High School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

comprehensive secondary school based on a single site in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

, on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. It is the second largest

Isle of Man Government The Isle of Man Government ( gv, Reiltys Ellan Vannin) is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of Charles III. The executive head is the Chief M ...

building after Noble's Hospital in Strang. On the start of the 2022/2023 academic year, a new head teacher was appointed, Mr Graeme Corrin, replacing Mrs Adrienne Burnnet, who was

Head Teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

for 21 years.

History

Ballakermeen formed part of HMS ''St George'' during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. This was the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

's only Continuous Service Training Establishment, where cadets would receive an education comparable to that of a Secondary School.Mona's Herald, Tuesday, August 28, 1945; Page: 3 It was opened in September 1939. Starting at the age of 16, the cadets who passed through HMS ''St George'' received a concentrated 15 months training course in the Seaman, Signal and

Wireless Telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

Communications branches. A staff of over 300 officers provided the educational background to the practical and technical training for the cadets. To give breadth to their education, English subjects and Naval history were taught, with lectures additionally being devoted to mathematics and its service application to

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, with emphasis placed on the practical rather than the academical aspects of the subjects. Classroom work at Ballakermeen was supplemented by instructional films and practical experiments. Separate classes were formed for cadets of different branches of the service, with each class consisting of 25-30 cadets under the charge of a qualified Naval Schoolmaster. The officer in charge of Ballakermeen was Captain A.J. Lowe and by the end of the war 8,677 cadets had passed through the establishment. HMS ''St George'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on Thursday, December 20, 1945, with the officers and ratings leaving the Isle of Man and relocating to HMS ''Ganges'', Shotley. Following the decommissioning ceremony and to commemorate the association of Ballakermeen with the

a signal mast, which had been in use in the Signal School, was presented by Captain Stevens-Guille to the Isle of Man Education Authority. It was hoped that the mast would have been erected in the grounds of the school, and a brass plate commemorating the role the school had played during the war years. In a letter thanking the Authority Captain Stevens-Guille wrote:

Current use

The school used to be a Junior High School where pupils attended from the age of 11 to 14 and they would then go to a Senior High School such as St Ninians. Both schools became full high schools. It currently has 1700+ students aged 11–18, making it the larger of the two secondary schools in Douglas in terms of student numbers and the largest on the island ( St Ninian's High School is the other secondary school in Douglas). The school offers GCSEs, BTECs and

City and Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

qualifications for study. The

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

department of the school (renovated and extended during 2013-2014 period) offers A-level qualifications. Facilities at the school include a swimming pool,

sports hall The following is a list of indoor arenas. Africa Asia Europe North America Canada United States Oceania South America See also *Arena *Stadium *Sport venue *Lists of stadiums The following are lists of stadiums t ...

, ICT suites,

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physici ...

and a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. The school's sports field is changed every season for a fitting sport. in autumn it is used as a

rugby pitch The team sports rugby union and rugby league have shared origins and thus many similarities. Initially, following the 1895 split in rugby football, rugby union and rugby league differed in administration only. Soon, however, the rules of rugby ...

, in early

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

it is used as a

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural t ...

and in early summer there is a

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

. The school was used as a location in the 2006 British spy film ''

Stormbreaker ''Stormbreaker'' is a young adult action-adventure book written by British author Anthony Horowitz, and is the first novel in the ''Alex Rider'' series. The book was released in the United Kingdom on the 4th of September 2000, and in United S ...

''. In November 2014, work began on a new £3.2M three-storey extension to accommodate Ballakermeen's 300 sixth form students.

Performance

As a Manx school, Ballakermeen High School is not subject to inspection by Ofsted. Instead, schools are evaluated using a process called 'school self-review and evaluation'. Ballakermeen High School was most recently evaluated in April 2018, and was mostly found to be either 'effective' or 'very effective'.

Notable former pupils

Mark Cavendish Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a track cyclist he specialises in the madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he is a ...

, professional road cyclist * Bill Henderson, former member of the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in L ...

for

Douglas North Douglas North is a House of Keys constituency These are the constituencies used in the elections to the House of Keys, the lower house of the parliament of the Isle of Man. Constituencies from 2016 Constituencies from 1986–2011 The ...

and currently (2020) a member of the

Legislative Council of the Isle of Man The Legislative Council ( gv, Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh) is the upper chamber of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man. The abbreviation "LegCo" is often used. It consists of eleven members (MLCs): * Eight members elected by the House of ...

. * Joe Locke, actor best known for portraying Charlie Spring in

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

series '' Heartstopper'' *

Martyn Quayle George Martyn Quayle, MHK (6 February 1959 – 26 August 2016) was a Manx politician who previously held the position of Minister of Tourism and Leisure in the Isle of Man Government and represented Middle in the House of Keys. He served a ...

, the former member of the

for Middle, who previously held the position of Minister of Tourism and Leisure in the

Paul Quine Stephen Paul Quine (born 17 January 1969), is a Manx-born commercial pilot and former politician who, on August 31, 2002, was pilot in command of the final Manx Airlines flight. On 27 August 2020 he was elected as a Member of the House of Keys ...

Member of the House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

References

External links

Ballakermeen High School
{{Education in Crown dependencies Schools in the Isle of Man Buildings and structures in Douglas, Isle of Man Educational institutions established in 1939 1939 establishments in the Isle of Man Secondary schools in the United Kingdom Secondary schools on the Isle of Man