Elmgrove Primary School (Sometimes referred to as simply Elmgrove and originally known as Elmgrove Elementary School) is a state-controlled Primary School situated in East

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland. It opened in 1932 as Elmgrove Elementary School. In 2008 Elmgrove celebrated its 75th anniversary. Special medals made from Mambco, were given to all the pupils. Special balloons were also present and two students from each year group got a balloon and released it into the air with a note attached saying that, when found, contact the school, to see how far the balloon travelled. The farthest known distance was to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

Elmgrove opened in 1932/3 as Elmgrove Elementary School. Pupils from nearby schools were all moved into Elmgrove. Several famous/well-known people from Belfast attended the school. In 2008 Peter Robinson visited the school and several P7 pupils got to ask him questions about his childhood and career. In 2009

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series ''Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

(The Fonz) visited the school to talk about reading books and his new book. During Elections, the school is used as a polling station.

2012 Bomb scares

12 March

On 12 March 2012, a pipe bomb was left yards from the school gates in the street opposite, Flora Street. Homes around the area were evacuated and so was Elmgrove and nearby Avoniel Primary School, due to the close proximity of the bomb.

13 March

On 13 March 2012, another pipe bomb was found in the area, near the Conn O'Neill bridge on the opposite side of the road where the other bomb had been found the day before.

2015 malicious threat

On 21 January 2015, an e-mail was sent to the school which prompted the school to close on 23 January for the safety of those working and attending the school. However, despite the fact the threat was reported to the PSNI on Wednesday, the public had not been notified until Thursday evening. Throughout the evening and night of 22 January, police patrols were set up in the area. Police stated they were working with the Garda Síochána. Later on that night a 33-year-old man was arrested under suspicion of sending 'malicious telecommunications'.

Principals

*John Sullivan 1932–1948 *Arthur Clemitson 1948–1972 *Dr Jim Hunter 1972-1995/1996 *Frazer Thompson 1995/1996-2000 *David Hutchinson 2000–2011 (his death, 11 August 2011) *Andrea Brown 2011–2013 (Acting) *Jayne Jeffers April 2013 – present

Former pupils

Billy Bingham William Laurence Bingham (5 August 1931 – 9 June 2022) was a Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager. As a player, his first professional club was Glentoran, whom he played for between 1948 and 1950. Making the move ...

, footballer *

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

, musician * Sammy Wilson, politician * Ian Paisley Junior, politician

Projects

Out of this World

In 2006, pupils from Elmgrove took part in a new CCEA teaching resource called ''Out of this World''. They were joined with St. Teresa's Primary School for the activity. Pupils made different objects with recycled materials.

Connswater Community Greenway Project

Elmgrove has been involved with the local project to refurbish the local walkway and river next to the school. Over the years, the Conn O'Neill bridge and river nearby has been vandalised. The school has represented the project several times, first on 14 November 2007 and the second on 24 October 2008.

Over the Halfpenny Bridge

In 2009, Elmgrove stated that a new production was in the works with Dance United NI. The show was later named ''Over the Halfpenny Bridge''. It was about the History of Belfast and starred the P7 pupils of that year, and Elderly members from nearby nursing homes, Elmgrove Manor and Greenville Court. 'I am staggered by the range and the quality of what has been produced this evening,' said school principal David Hutchinson. 'The children have acquired so many new skills by working with this terrific company and, through them, all of our minds have been opened.' The children worked with Writer Ruth Carr, Rastafarian poet

Levi Tafari Levi Tafari is a British poet and performer. He was born and raised in the city of Liverpool by his Jamaican parents. He attended catering college, where he studied classical French cuisine and graduated with distinction. In the early 1980s, w ...

, printmaker Robin Cordiner, musicians Nikki Such, Patrick and Bronagh Davey and Irish, Greek and Indian dancers. On 2 April 2009, the show was performed live in St George's Market,

Eco-Schools Programme

Since 2009, the school has taken part in an Eco programme to make the school more eco-friendly. The School has Recently won the

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

Sesame Tree

In 2010, P2 pupils from the school starred in a T.V series that aired on CBeebies called Sesame Tree, Northern Ireland's version of Sesame Street.http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/community-telegraph/east-belfast/news/elmgrove-children-branch-out-into-new-sesame-tree-14886102.html?r=RSS

References

{{authority control Primary schools in Belfast Grade B+ listed buildings Van Morrison