Orangefield High School was a secondary school 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 Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Formerly Orangefield Boys' Secondary School and Orangefield Girls' Secondary School, it became

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 ...

before it closed in 2014. Notable alumni of the Boys' School include

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 ...

,Turner, p20. Brian Keenan,

David Ervine David Ervine (21 July 1953 – 8 January 2007) was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2002 to 2007, and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belf ...

Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet. Early life Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progres ...

, Walter Ellis and Ronnie Bunting. Prior to closure, Orangefield High School had a student population of approximately 240 pupils from age 11 to 18. The school offered a wide range of subjects from compulsory such as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Mathematics,

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 ...

that are required through years 8–12. The school also offered other subjects such as

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

and design,

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...

, information

computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, business studies,

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

and religious education. In October 2012, it was announced that the school might close, due to student numbers falling and failure to meet academic targets. The school's closure was confirmed in January 2014. The school closed in June 2014 and was demolished by February 2017. Plans for the school's site are still unknown. Prior to the school's demolition it was used as a film set for BBC drama '' The Fall'' in 2016.

History

Orangefield has had a long history within the east Belfast community, with many local celebrities and international icons having been educated at the school. The most famous former student is Van Morrison. Morrison wrote a song entitled " Orangefield" and included it on his 1989 album '' Avalon Sunset''. He also referred to his school days in Orangefield in the songs "Got To Go Back" (on his 1986 album '' No Guru, No Method, No Teacher'') and "On Hyndford Street" (on his 1991 album ''

Hymns to the Silence ''Hymns to the Silence'' is the twenty-first studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was his first studio double album. Morrison recorded the album in 1990 in Beckington at Wool Hall Studios and in London at Townhouse an ...

''). John Malone was the headmaster from when the school opened in 1957 to the early 1960s.

Location

Some of the older school buildings were still in use until its closure, although the original boys' school building was used only for physical education lessons. The new buildings added throughout the years have brought together the girls' and boys' schools with additional add-ons such as a dedicated science wing (built in 1991) and a reception area. The school shares the area with other local schools Grosvenor Grammar School and Orangefield Primary School.

Principals & vice-principals

* John (Boots) Malone / Brian Weston * Brian Weston / Ken Stanley * William Hyndman / Jennifer Mussen * Karen Burrell / Maurice Johnston

School houses (boys)

There were four school houses during the period to 1974 (linked to local businesses with respective colours): * Davidson (red) – Davidson Sirocco Work * Hughes (blue) – Hughes Tool Company * Musgrave (green) – replaced by McNeill House after the Musgrave company went bankrupt, and became Stewart House in the early 1980s * Bryson (yellow) – Spence Bryson (Carpet makers)

Integration of sexes

From 1972 onwards, girls from 6th and Upper 6th girls' school shared classes with the boys' school and vice versa. Lessons in the boys' school were undertaken in what was known as the 'new' block.

References

Sources

*Turner, Steve (1993). ''Too Late to Stop Now'', Viking Penguin, {{authority control Secondary schools in Belfast Van Morrison Defunct schools in Northern Ireland