Slemish College
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Slemish College is a co-educational integrated secondary school in
Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
,
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 ...
. The college is named after Slemish Mountain near Ballymena in mid- Antrim, which tradition suggests was home to
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
during his youth.


Context

Integrated Education Integrated education in Northern Ireland refers to the bringing together of children, parents and teachers from both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions in childhood education: the aim being to provide a balanced education, while allowing the ...
is a Northern Ireland phenomenon, where traditionally schools were sectarian, either run as Catholic schools ( Maintained) or Protestant schools ( Controlled). On a parental request, a school could apply to 'transition' to become Grant Maintained ( Integrated school)which would offer 30% of the school places to students from the minority community.
Lagan College Lagan College is an integrated secondary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It holds a total of around 1540 students. It was formed in 1981 as the first integrated school in Northern Ireland and contains students of mainly Roman Catholic and ...
was the first integrated school to open in 1981. Under the delegated Northern Ireland education system, the year groups are numbered differently to their English cousins. In England the first year is Reception, then comes Year 1, in
Education in Northern Ireland Education in Northern Ireland differs from education systems elsewhere in the United Kingdom (although it is relatively similar to Wales), but is similar to the Republic of Ireland in sharing in the development of the ''national school'' syste ...
, reception is year 1, and 11 year-olds transition to post-primary (secondary) into Year 8.


History

Ballymena parents had established integrated primary schools, and wanted their children to complete their education in an integrated schools. A steering group formed in 1994, and support was received from NICIE on condition that 80 children could be found.
Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
and particularly Harryville Chapel had been a point of conflict during the 'Troubles'. The violence did not stop until
The Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
was signed in 1998. Slemish first opened its doors in September 1996 with 84 pupils. The school takes in 120 new students every year. It was one of the most oversubscribed schools in Northern Ireland by 2001. In June 2008 the college was given
specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
status in the area of the
Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
(Geography and English). It is the first specialist school in the Ballymena area and one of only three schools in the province to specialise in humanities.


See also

*
The Troubles in Ballymena The Northern Irish Troubles resulted in 11 deaths in or near the mainly Protestant County Antrim town of Ballymena. Eight people were killed by various loyalist groups, and three by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Two of the IRA victims were membe ...
*
List of integrated schools in Northern Ireland Integrated schools are part of integrated education, an attempt to bring together children from both sides of the primary religious divide in Northern Ireland. They can be existing schools that have converted but remained controlled, or new schoo ...
*
List of secondary schools in Northern Ireland This is a list of secondary schools in Northern Ireland, according to the Department of Education (Northern Ireland) The Department of Education (DENI) ( ga, An Roinn Oideachais; Ulster-Scots: ''Männystrie o Lear'') is a devolved Northern Iri ...


References


External links


Slemish College website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1996 Integrated schools in County Antrim Secondary schools in County Antrim Ballymena 1996 establishments in Northern Ireland Specialist colleges in Northern Ireland