St. Louise's Comprehensive College (Irish: Colaiste Naoimh Labhaoise) is a comprehensive high school located in the Upper

Falls Road, Belfast The Falls Road () is the main road through West Belfast, Northern Ireland, running from Divis Street in Belfast City Centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. The name has been synonymous for at least a century and a half with the Catholic comm ...

History

St. Louise's was established in 1958. The religious order the

Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (; abbreviated DC), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, is a society of apostolic life for women within the Catholic Church. ...

was asked by the Catholic Church to take responsibility for this school. The college is named after St. Louise de Marrilac who co-founded the Daughters of Charity with

St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, Congregation of the Mission, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitans, Occitan French Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving ...

. Sister Genevieve (Mary) O'Farrell was appointed one of the first Principals. She held the position for 25 years during which period the school grew in size from 1,000 to 2,400 students becoming the largest single-sex school in Europe. In 2019/20 school year it has begun to accept boys as well as girls.

Academics

St. Louise's offers instruction in a wide range of subjects. It offers technical and vocational courses alongside a large suite of academic subjects. In 2006 it was recognised as one of the first Specialist Colleges in Northern Ireland with particular expertise in Performing Arts and Media. In 2013 it was ranked the top, non-selective school in Northern Ireland at 5A* - C and has been the highest performing Belfast school for several years in a row. At ‘A’Level, its value added scores have placed it in the top ten percent of schools across Britain for several years in succession. In 2019, 75.5% of its students who sat the A-level exams were awarded three A*-C grades. It is one of the few schools in Northern Ireland which has City and Guilds affiliation.

Principals

* 1958-1963 - Sister Ita * 1963-1988 - Sister Genevieve O'Farrell * 1988-2005 - Sister Rosaleen * 2005-2014 - Carmel McCartan * 2014- Mary McHenry

Notable alumni

Brenda Murphy Brenda L. Murphy (born 1959) is a Canadian activist and politician who served as the 32nd lieutenant governor of New Brunswick, from 2019 to 2025.Alexander Quon"Brenda Murphy officially sworn in as lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick" Global ...

(b. 1954) - playwright * Bronagh Taggart (b. 1961) - actor and writer * Geraldine Hughes (b. 1970) - actor * Clair Dobbin KC - lawyer * Emma Jordan - actor and theatre director *

Mary O'Hara Mary O'Hara (born 12 May 1935) is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. She gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singer ...

- journalist and writer *

Anthony Boyle Anthony Boyle (born 8 June 1994) is a Northern Irish actor. A graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Boyle began his acting career on London stage and rose to prominence for originating the role of Scorpius Malfoy in the West ...

(b. 1994) - actor * Kristina O'Hara (born 1996) - boxer

References

External links