Lagan College
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Lagan College is a grant maintained integrated
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. It holds a total of around 1475 students (as of 2024) It was formed in 1981 as the first integrated school in Northern Ireland and contains students of mainly
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
faiths, however students from other faiths also attend the school. Although considered a secondary school, Lagan College operates a
grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
entry using SEAG grades for 35% of its admissions. The school is situated on
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
land, overlooking Belfast. It is named after the
River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...
, which flows through the city. It is one of Northern Ireland's most oversubscribed secondary schools. As of 2024, students at Lagan College were 32% Protestant, 36% Roman Catholic and 32% other.


History

Lagan College was founded as a response to the conflict in the community and to the religiously divided school system in Northern Ireland. Most Catholic children attended Catholic-maintained schools, while Protestant school children mainly attended state (controlled) schools.


Origins

In the early 1970s a group of parents called ‘All Children Together’ wished to explore the idea of sharing their children’s education with other families of differing religious affiliations and cultural traditions. They sought to establish an “integrated school”. They published a paper in 1976 suggesting how it could be done, it was opposed by the churches. The 1978, Dunleath Act (Education NI) allowed existing schools to transform to integrated status. In 1981, Lagan College was the first integrated school to open. The school started in the Scout's Ardnavally Activity Centre with 28 pupils on roll. It moved into a redundant primary school at Castlereagh, and then into the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum owned Manor House at Cultra. It became a grant maintained school in 1984. A permanent site on National Trust land was found at Lisnabreeny and was housed in temporary facilities until September 1991.


Legislation

The political mood was changing. In 1986 a further act, made it easier to open integrated schools and on the back of this, NICIE was established in 1987 to assist. Then, in 1989, came The Education Reform (NI) Order 1989 which provided the statutory framework for the development of integrated schools. Article 64 stipulates that "it shall be the duty of the Department to encourage and facilitate the development of integrated education." Part VI defines two types of integrated school: grant maintained and controlled integrated schools.
Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
(DE) began to grant-aid schools with revenue funding. In 1991, the college was granted Grant-Maintained Integrated School and is fully funded by the Department.


Permanent buildings

Approval for the completion of the permanent buildings was given in 2002 under the Department's
private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
at a cost of £11.1 million. New buildings were opened in 2014. With the current educational climate in Northern Ireland, Lagan College stands among the top post-primary education secondary schools. While its focus has been on integration in terms of religious background, the school also integrates children in an 'all-ability' context accommodating children with a variety of academic backgrounds. With that in focus, Lagan College remains one of Northern Ireland's most oversubscribed schools. In 2017, the intake was 200 per year, with 100 in year 13, when it was raised to 200.


Notable alumni

* Clare Bailey, politician * David Honeyford, politician *
Adam McGibbon Adam McGibbon is a Northern Irish environmentalist and writer. Early life and education McGibbon was born in Belfast in 1988 and attended Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s first integrated school, and Queen's University Belfast, Queen’s Uni ...
, environmentalist * Matt McGovern, sailor * Brian Milligan, actor


See also

* List of integrated schools in Northern Ireland * List of secondary schools in Northern Ireland * List of grammar schools in Northern Ireland *
Education in Northern Ireland The education system in Northern Ireland differs from elsewhere in the United Kingdom (although it is relatively similar to Wales), but is similar to the Republic of Ireland in sharing in the development of the ''National school (Ireland), nat ...


References


Sources

*


External links

*
Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagan College Belfast Integrated schools in Belfast Secondary schools in Belfast Educational institutions established in 1981 1981 establishments in Northern Ireland