Coleraine Grammar School

History

Coleraine Academical Institution occupied a 70-acre (28 ha) site on the Castlerock Road, where it was founded in 1860. It was, for many years, a boarding school until the boarding department closed in 1999. It was one of eight Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). As of 2012, the school had an enrolment of 778 pupils, aged 11–19.

The school has extensive sporting facilities, including 33-acre (13 ha) playing fields, indoor swimming pool, boathouse, rugby pavilion, sports pavilion and gymnasium. Coleraine Inst was nine times winner of the Ulster Schools Cup, the world's second-oldest rugby competition, in which it competed every year since 1876. The school has a past pupil organisation, "The Coleraine Old Boys' Association", which has several branches globally.

The school origins and land are tied to the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers, one of the Livery Companies making up the City of London Corporation.

As part of a general re-organisation of schools in the Coleraine area over a number of years, Coleraine Academical Institution was merged in September 2015 with Coleraine High School on Coleraine's Lodge Road and became a fully boys' and girls' grammar school called Coleraine Grammar School.

Headmasters

The school's former headmasters include:

(1860–1870) Alex Waugh Young, CAI's founding principal.

(1870–1915) Thomas Galway Houston served the school for 45 years and had a long retirement in Portstewart until his death in 1939 at the age of 96. Houston served as a member of the senate in the Stormont Parliament for Queen's University, Belfast.

(1915–1927) Thomas James Beare, known as "Tommy John", had a shorter tenure in office, until his premature retirement on health grounds in 1927.

(1927–1955) William White, commonly known as "The Chief"

(1955–1979) George Humphreys, by whom the major physical expansion of the school was guided. Previously on the staff at Campbell College, Belfast, it was during his headmastership that Inst became an H.M.C. school.

(1979–1984) Robert F. J. Rodgers, former headmaster of Bangor Grammar School, was headmaster of Inst until his appointment as principal of Stranmillis Training College, Belfast.

(1984–2003) R. Stanley Forsythe was appointed following a period as headmaster of The Royal School, Dungannon and remained in post until retirement.

(2004–2007) Leonard F. Quigg was the first headmaster in the school's history to have been promoted "from within the ranks". Quigg served as an assistant master, head of English, senior master, as both junior and senior vice-principal before his appointment as headmaster in January 2004. Quigg retired in 2007.

(2007–closure) David Carruthers was CAI's headmaster until its amalgamation to form Coleraine Grammar School. He was previously the head of mathematics at Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

Notable alumni

Richard Archibald, Irish Olympic rower 2004 and 2008. World silver medallist 2005, bronze medallist 2006

Sir Dawson Bates, 1st Baronet, politician

Air Marshal Sir George Beamish

Victor Beamish RAF ace fighter pilot in WWII

David Burnside, Ulster Unionist Party MLA and former MP

Alan Campbell, 2004, 2008 and 2012 (bronze) Olympic rower, 2006 world champion, 2007 Henley diamond scull winner

Mark Carruthers, TV presenter/personality

Richard Chambers, 2007 World Champion and 2008 and 2012 (silver) Olympic rower

Major General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, Governor of Gibraltar

John Clarke Davison, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician

Barry Hunter, former Northern Ireland international footballer

Chris Hunter, British chemist and academic

David McClarty, UUP MLA for Londonderry East

Brigadier Mervyn McCord, former Commanding Officer of the Ulster Defence Regiment

Graeme McDowell, Ryder Cup golfer and U.S. Open winner

Jim Shannon, Democratic Unionist Party MP for Strangford