Thornhill College

Last updated

Coordinates: 55°02′06″N7°17′02″W / 55.035°N 7.284°W / 55.035; -7.284

Contents

Thornhill College
Coláiste Chnoc na nDealg [1]
Address
Thornhill College
Culmore Road

Derry
,
BT48 8JF

Northern Ireland
Information
Type Grammar School
MottoAdveniat Regnum Tuum (Thy Kingdom come)
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established1886
Local authority Education Authority (Western)
PrincipalSharon Mallett, BSSc PGDFHE MSc PQM
Staff100
Grades6-12
GenderGirls
Age11to 18
Enrolment1409
Colour(s)  
Website www.thornhillcollege.org.uk

Thornhill College is a Roman Catholic grammar school for girls. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland. It has a student population of approximately 1500 and a staff of 100 teachers.

History

The nucleus of the present Thornhill College commenced shortly after the Sisters of Mercy came to Derry in 1848. The Sisters started a private school for girls in Pump Street. The school started in Artillery Street, Derry in 1887 as the Ard Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire - Convent of Our Lady of Mercy School. [2] Its first Scheme of Government under the then Ministry of Education was drawn up in February 1925. When Watt's Distillery closed in Derry, and the Estate at Thornhill, on the outskirts of Derry, became available for sale, the Sisters, with the kind assistance of Robert Boyle, a builder in Derry, completed the purchase of the property in 1929. The house was adapted to the needs of the nuns and of the boarders. The Sisters involved moved to Thornhill Convent along with the boarders, and the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy School was officially transferred and opened on 8 September 1932 with an intake of 120 pupils, and a staff of about seven Sisters and three lay teachers.

After the Education Act, Northern Ireland in 1947, the number of pupils had increased rapidly as grammar school education became available to more and more children through the eleven plus examination. The school also had a change of name to Thornhill College, Convent of Mercy Voluntary Maintained Grammar School and various new buildings completed but these were insufficient. After many years of much effort, the present building was approved and opened in 2002 across the road form the old site in the new Thornhill College. At that time, the Sisters of Mercy withdrew from trusteeship, and gave it over to the Bishop and the Diocese of Derry. [3]

Motto

The school motto is the Latin phrase "Adveniat Regnum Tuum", which translates as "Thy Kingdom come".

Academics

In 2009 Thornhill College became a Specialist School in Mathematics and Physics. [4] The Specialist Schools Programme helps schools, in partnership with private sector sponsors and supported by additional Government funding, to establish distinctive identities through their chosen specialisms and achieve their targets to raise standards.

In 2018 Thornhill College was ranked 17th out of 192 schools in Northern Ireland in terms of its A-level performance. A total of 84.3% of its students entered for A-Levels achieved a grade of A* – C. [5]

In 2018, 97.4% of its entrants achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including the core subjects English and Maths and the college was ranked 28th out of 191 schools in Northern Ireland. [6]

In 2017 the college took first place in the Northern Ireland Schools' Analyst Competition which is organised by the local Analytical Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry and involved 12 schools from right across Northern Ireland. [7]

Debating

Thornhill College has a Senior Debating Society, established in 1954. The team were runners-up in the final of the Northern Ireland Schools Debating Competition in 2007, and is known throughout the school for wearing the gold stripe around the lapel of the debating blazer. Thornhill had two teams in the semi-finals of this competition who debated against each other on 30 March 2007 in Belfast. In 2017 the society had two teams in the final of the Queen's Literific Society Debating Competition one of which was the outright winner. [8] The society meets regularly to debate topical subjects and research up and coming competitions. The school also has an established Junior Debating Society who meet after school as part of the homework club. A member from the senior debating society made the national debating team and competed in the 2018 and 2019 World Schools Competition.

Music

The college has a very active choir. In 2018 it won the School Choir of the Year at the International Choral Festival in Derry. The following year it won the BBC Northern Ireland School Choir of the Year. [9]

Statue

On the "teardrop" at the front of the school there is a piece of sculpture called 'Stepping Out'. The piece was designed by the school's Head of Art and Design, Mr Eamon McAteer and constructed by Maurice Harron and the final sculpture was officially unveiled in 2008. It comprises three abstract figures which represent pupils of the school dancing.

Notable former pupils

Related Research Articles

Sisters of Mercy Religious order

The Religious Sisters of Mercy are members of a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute has about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They also started many education and health care facilities around the world.

Dr Challoners High School Academy grammar school in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, England

Dr Challoner's High School, abbreviated to DCHS, is a grammar school for girls between the ages of 11 and 18, located in Buckinghamshire, England. In August 2011 the school became an Academy.

Foyle College Grammar school in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged under the Foyle and Londonderry College Act 1976 to form Foyle and Londonderry College. In 2011, the Board of Governors re-branded the school as 'Foyle College' and updated the school's crest.

Methodist College Belfast Voluntary grammar school in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is also a member of the Independent Schools Council and the Governing Bodies Association.

Ripon Grammar School is a co-educational, boarding and day, selective grammar school in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. It has been named top-performing state school in the north for nine years running by The Sunday Times. It is one of the best-performing schools in the North of England; in 2011, 91% of pupils gained the equivalent of 5 or more GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and maths; the figure has been over 84% consistently since at least 2006. The school was graded "outstanding" in its 2012 Ofsted report and is listed in the top 50 schools in the United Kingdom. In 2017, the school's boarding was rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted. As a state school, it does not charge fees for pupils to attend, but they must pass an entrance test at 11+ or 13+. There is no selection test for entry into sixth form as pupils are admitted on the basis of their GCSE grades.

Trinity School, Nottingham Academy in Aspley, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

The Trinity School in Nottingham, England is a Catholic secondary school and sixth form with academy status for pupils aged 11–18. It is part of the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi Academy Trust.

St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls, formerly St Dominic's High School, is a Catholic grammar school for girls aged 11–18, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh, is a Roman Catholic boys' non-selective voluntary grammar school in the city of Armagh, Northern Ireland. The present-day school was officially opened on Thursday 27 October 1988 by the late Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, the then Chairman of the Board of Governors, and was the result of the amalgamation of two of Northern Ireland's oldest grammar schools, Christian Brothers' Grammar School and St. Patrick's College, both of which had traditions stretching back as far as the 1830s.

St Marys Christian Brothers Grammar School, Belfast Grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland

St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Dalriada School School in Ballymoney

Dalriada School is a mixed voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. The school draws its pupils from a wide geographical area and a range of social, religious and cultural backgrounds. In 2008 the school won the Northern Ireland State Secondary School of the Year award from The Sunday Times.

Rathmore Grammar School, normally referred to simply as "Rathmore", is a Catholic grammar school in Finaghy, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The current and second lay principal of the school is Arthur Donnelly, who succeeded Thérèse Hamilton as principal at the beginning of the academic year 2021/22. Rathmore is one of the highest-performing and most competitive schools in Northern Ireland.

Victoria College, Belfast Voluntary independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Victoria College, Belfast is a voluntary non-denominational Independent grammar school in Cranmore Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2007, the college had 867 pupils aged 11 – 18 and a Preparatory Department with 175 students, aged 3 – 11.

St. Mary's Grammar School is a grammar school in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Limavady Grammar School Grammar school in Limavady, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Limavady Grammar School is a co-educational 11-18 selective grammar school in Limavady, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Situated on the Ballyquin Road, it is close to other schools in the town, including Limavady High School and St. Mary's High School. In 2008, the school was placed 139th in The Times school league table for the UK, which is based on both GCSE and A-level results.

Mount Lourdes Grammar School Grammar school in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland

Mount Lourdes Grammar School is a Roman Catholic girls' grammar school in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The school educates Catholic girls from County Fermanagh and surrounding areas. The school is located within the parish of Enniskillen, one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of Clogher.

Our Lady's Grammar School is a girls' grammar school in Newry, Northern Ireland. It is at Chequer Hill, on the County Armagh side of the Newry River.

St. Patrick's College, Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, also known as St. Patrick's Co-Ed Comprehensive College, is a co-educational 11-18 secondary school in Northern Ireland. It teaches within the Roman Catholic ethos.

Loreto College, Coleraine Grammar school in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Loreto College is a Roman Catholic grammar school situated in the Castlerock Road area of Coleraine, County Londonderry, on the north coast of Northern Ireland. Loreto College educates both girls and boys between the age of 11 and 18.

Assumption Grammar School is a Catholic girls' grammar school in Ballynahinch, County Down, Northern Ireland with almost 900 students.

Aloysius McVeigh

Sister Aloysius McVeigh, R.S.M., was an Irish artist, iconographer and teacher. She was from Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

References

  1. ↑ "Seachtain na Gaeilge 2017". Thornhill College. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "THORNHILL COLLEGE YEARBOOK 2018/19" (PDF). Thornhill College. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "Sister Emmanuel's years at the heart of Thornhill College" . Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Education Minister announces nine new specialist schools Northern Ireland Executive, 4 June 2008, Retrieved 31 July 2012
  5. ↑ "A-Level: Northern Ireland School League Table 2018" . Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Belfast Telegraph GCSE 2018" . Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Thornhill College takes first place" . Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Queen's Literific Society Debating Competition" . Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Thornhill College Yearbook 2018/19" (PDF). Thornhill College. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Sheila McClean's vibrant personality" . Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  11. ↑ McClements, Freya. "Real-life Derry Girls: 'The nuns are gone but the pupils are the same'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.