The Academy was founded in 1785 by James Crombie. Originally situated near St Anne's Parish Church 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 November 1888.[3]
"Barring out" incident
On 12 April 1792, a group of schoolboys (eight boarders and two day boys) barricaded themselves in the mathematics classroom. In doing so they "declared war against the masters until their requests should be granted". As they expected to be holed up for some time, they had taken a quantity of provisions from the Academy kitchens; further they managed to arm themselves with 5 pistols and a large quantity of gunpowder and shot. A letter, headed “Liberty Hall”, was sent by the students to their masters in which they stated they would not surrender until their demands had been met. The Academy authorities, in an attempt to break the siege, sent workmen to break down the door and pour water down the chimney, without success, as the boys opened fire on them. Finally the Sovereign of Belfast, William Bristow, was summoned, he read the Riot Act to the boys but failed to end the barring out, and one of the boys opened fire on him.[3]
The siege ended by negotiation between the governors and the boys soon after; the boys, however, refused to show remorse and were later beaten, all leaving the school shortly following their punishment.[4]
Admission of girls
Originally a boys' school, girls were admitted to the secondary level in 1900 but taught separately. Mixed classes were introduced in 1924.[3]
The school emblem 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 by James Crombie in 1785, the transfer to the present site in 1880 and the approval by Queen Victoria of the designation Belfast Royal Academy in 1888.[3]
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.
House system
When a pupil enters the Academy they are placed into one of the four houses: Shaw, Currie, Pottinger or Cairns, named after past pupils: James Shaw, Donald Currie, Henry Pottinger, and Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns, for whom the house colours are yellow, green, red, and blue, respectively; each pupil must wear a tie with a stripe of their house colour on it.[7]
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, (green owls) intermediate honours (blue owls) and major honours (gold owls). In addition, a pupil gaining intermediate honours is entitled to wear a black blazer with maroon braid surrounding a golden school badge. 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, drama, or art & design are entitled to wear a blue blazer with maroon braid and a gold school badge. The honour, e.g. Cricket XI 2004 or Music 2002, is stitched in gold letters under the badge for both intermediate and major honours.
Extra–curricular activities
Sports
The main sports are rugby for boys, and hockey for girls. Other sports played include cricket, netball, athletics, swimming, cross-country running, badminton, tennis, table-tennis, basketball, and rounders. In addition, pupils can participate in golf, water polo, lifesaving, and gymnastics.[8]
Since the Academy moved to the Cliftonville Road, various sports facilities have been utilised, including Cliftonville Cricket Club, Bladon Drive, Castle Grounds, Belfast Jewish Institute, Shore Road, Ballywonard, and currently Roughfort. The Castle Grounds is used primarily by Ben Madigan Preparatory School, but still hosts some showpiece events. At the main school site, there is also a dedicated sports centre, and a 25-metre swimming pool.
The school has competed consistently, at the highest level, in Ulster Schools' sports. An extremely successful period for sporting achievement was 1960-74, with the 1st XV Rugby team reaching the Ulster Schools' Cup final on five occasions, sharing the trophy three times; the 1st XI Hockey team equalled this record in the Ulster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup, also winning that outright in 1974. The 1967 1st XI Cricket team, featuring three Irish Schools' internationals, is regarded as one of the most accomplished in the history of the school.[9]
JC Picken Playing Fields
JC Picken Playing Fields in 2009
JC Picken Playing Fields are the main outdoor sports facilities of Belfast Royal Academy, located at Roughfort, near Mallusk, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The 44-acre site was acquired and developed by the school in 1978 to provide extensive playing space for rugby, hockey, cricket, athletics, and other outdoor activities. Named in honour of former Academy Rugby Football Club President, James C. Picken, the grounds serve as a home venue for the school's competitive fixtures and training sessions, and are a key part of its physical education programme. The complex includes multiple grass pitches, an athletics track, and associated changing facilities. It is also known by the school community, simply as Roughfort, or, more informally, as The Fort.
Rugby
It was not until the school relocated to the Cliftonville Road, that there were sufficient numbers for organised games to be considered. Although several attempts were made to establish rugby, which had been played as early as the 1880s, the major sport for many years was association football, this preference likely influenced by the proximity of Cliftonville Football Club.[10] In 1923, Alexander Foster, who had been an Ireland international rugby player himself, became Headmaster, and successfully reintroduced rugby to the school. Eventually, in 1935, the school acquired its own playing fields when the picturesquely situated Castle Grounds was purchased from Lord Shaftesbury, in no small part due to the efforts of Alexander Foster;[11] before then, home matches were played at various venues, including Bladon Drive. Additional pitches were procured at Ballywonard in the 1950s, but, notwithstanding that the tenure thereof coincided with an exceptionally successful period for BRA rugby, the environment was deemed too inhospitable, and Ballywonard was superseded in the late 1970s by new sports facilities at Roughfort, where the 1st XV have played their home matches, ever since.[12]
Until 1997, an outright win had eluded BRA in the Ulster Schools' Cup. In the final that year, despite adverse playing conditions, the 1st XV produced a solid defensive display, grinding out a tough, but convincing, 12–0 victory against RBAI.[15] Aside from this success, the school has shared the trophy three times, and reached the final on five other occasions.
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