Belfast Royal Academy

Belfast Royal Academy "B.R.A"
Motto	per vias sapientiae "by the ways of wisdom"
Established	1785
Type	Independent
Headmaster	Mr. William S. F. Young, M.A.
Founder	Rev. Dr James Crombie D.D.
Students	1400 (approx.)
Location	Cliftonville Road, BT14 6JL, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Colours	Maroon and Royal Blue
Yearbook	"The Owl"
Website	School Website

Belfast Royal Academy (B.R.A) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland^[1]. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school situated in north Belfast. The Academy is one of eight Northern Irish schools whose Headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). There are currently approximately 1400 pupils at the school.

History

The Academy was founded in 1785 by Rev. Dr. James Crombie. Originally situated near St. Anne's Cathedral in what is now Academy Street, it moved to its current location on the Cliftonville Road in 1880. For more than a century the school was named Belfast Academy. On 27 November 1887, Queen Victoria granted permission for the school to style itself "Belfast Royal Academy", and its name was officially changed in January 1888^{[citation needed]}.

The School Crest

The School Crest comprises the rose, the thistle and the shamrock, along with the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, the Arms of the City of Belfast and those of the Province of Ulster. The three significant dates mark the foundation of the school in 1785, the transfer to the present site in 1880 and the approval by Queen Victoria of the designation Belfast Royal Academy in 1888.

Preparatory Department

The school's preparatory department, Ben Madigan Preparatory School, is located on the Antrim Road in the shadow of Cave Hill. Originally opened in 1829, it moved to its current site in 1965. A pre-prep was opened in 1998.

The House System

When a pupil enters the Academy they are placed into one of four houses: Shaw, Currie, Pottinger or Cairns, all named after distinguished past pupils: James Johnston Shaw, Donald Currie, Henry Pottinger, Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns. Each house has its own colour: green (Currie), blue (Cairns), red (Pottinger) and yellow (Shaw) and pupils wear ties accordingly.

The Honours System

As a pupil progresses through the Academy they can earn honours through excellence in sport and/or the arts. There are minor honours, allowing a pupil to wear a minor honours tie (blue owls) and major honours (gold owls). In addition a pupil gaining major honours in sport is entitled to wear a distinctive maroon blazer with blue braid and a gold school badge. Pupils who receive major honours in the arts, be it for music or drama, are entitled to wear a blue blazer with maroon braid and a gold school badge.

Notable alumni/ae

• Thomas Andrews, Jr. (1873–1912), ship builder
• William Hamilton Drummond (1778–1865), Presbyterian minister and poet
• Alexander Mitchell (1780–1868), blind civil engineer and inventor of the screw-pile lighthouse
• James Lawson Drummond (1783–1853), Professor of Anatomy and Medical Physiology, Royal Belfast Academical Institution, 1819–1849
• Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pottinger (1789–1856), Envoy and Plenipotentiary to China, 1840–1843, first Governor of Hong Kong, 1843–1844, and Governor of Madras, 1847–1854
• William Bruce (1790–1868), Presbyterian minister
• John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Director, Armagh Observatory, 1823–1882
• George Benn (1801–1882), historian of Belfast, and distiller
• Robert Patterson (1802–1872), naturalist
• Sir Samuel Ferguson (1810–1886), poet, barrister and antiquarian
• Thomas Andrews (1813–1885), Professor of Chemistry, Queen's College, Belfast, 1845–1879, and physician
• Sir William Ewart (1817–1889), linen manufacturer
• Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819–1885), Lord Chancellor, 1868, 1874–1880
• John Mulholland, 1st Baron Dunleath (1819–1895), textile manufacturer
• James Witherow (1824–1890), Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, 1878–1890, and writer
• Sir Donald Currie (1825–1909), founder and owner, Castle Shipping Line, 1862–1900, and Union-Castle Line, 1900–1909, and politician
• Joseph Gillis Biggar (1828–1890), Irish Home Rule MP for County Cavan, 1874–1890
• James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), jurist, historian and politician.
• Charles Williams (1838–1904), first Editor, Evening Standard, 1860–1863, first Editor, Evening News, 1881–1884, and war correspondent
• James Johnston Shaw (1845–1910), Whately Professor of Political Economy, Trinity College, Dublin, 1876–1891, judge, and Presbyterian minister
• Bowman Malcolm (1854–1933), railway, civil and mechanical engineer
• Robert Charles (1855–1931), clergyman and biblical scholar
• Samuel Cunningham (1862–1946), businessman and Senator of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, 1921–1945
• Frederick Donnan (1870–1956), Professor of Physical Chemistry, and Director, Muspratt Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, University of Liverpool, 1904–1913, and Professor of General Chemistry, University College London, 1913–1937
• Sir Francis Evans (1897–1983), Ambassador to Israel, 1952–1954, Ambassador to Argentina, 1954–1957, and Agent for the Government of Northern Ireland in London, 1962–1966
• John Ward Armstrong (1915–1987), Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, 1958–1968, Bishop of Cashel, Emly, Waterford and Lismore, 1968–1977, Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, 1977–1980, and Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, 1980–1986
• Robin Eames, Baron Eames of Armagh (born 1937), Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, 1986–2006
• Douglas Gageby (1918–2004), Editor, Evening Press, 1954–1963, and Editor, Irish Times, 1963–1986
• Sir Donald Murray (born 1923), Lord Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland
• Jack Kyle (born 1925), Ireland and British Lion rugby union player
• John Cole (born 1928), Political Editor, BBC, 1981-1992
• Denis Weaire, FRS Erasmus Smith Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Trinity College, Dublin, and physicist
• James Stirling, CBE, FRS Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor in Mathematical Sciences and Physics, University of Durham
• Colin McClelland (born 1944), journalist, Editor and Director "Sunday World" 1981–1994, co-manager Stiff Little Fingers 1977–1979
• Kate Hoey (born 1946), Minister for Sport, 1998–2001
• Sir Paul Girvan (born 1948), Lord Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland
• Basil McCrea UUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
• Ali McMordie (born c.1957), musician, founding member of Stiff Little Fingers
• Paul Seawright (born 1965), photographer and academic
• William Crawley, BBC radio and television presenter

Sources

References

• Belfast Royal Academy: The Second Century 1885-1985, by Edward McCamley
• Belfast Royal Academy: 1785-1935, by Hugh Shearman

External links

• Official school website
• Ben Madigan website
• BRA and the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme

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