St. Columbanus' College is a

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 ...

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 ...

situated on the Ballymaconnell Road,

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to whic ...

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History

The foundation stone for St Columbanus' Secondary Intermediate School, as it was then known, was laid by Bishop Daniel Mageean on the Feast of the Assumption, 15 August 1959. The school was built to serve the parishes of Bangor,

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) ...

and

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

and opened within a week of the feast of

St Columbanus Saint Columbanus (; 543 – 23 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in present ...

on 29 November 1960. A wide curriculum was offered with an emphasis on the teaching of vocational and technical skills. Many pupils left at the age of fifteen to take up employment while a small GCE class remained to study for external examinations. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a significant growth in enrolment which required a major extension to the original building. The school has grown significantly, focusing on both academic and vocational skills. In 2001, the college established a Sixth Form, allowing post-GCSE pupils to remain and study at St. Columbanus. Numbers of students completing A Levels at the college are still on the rise, showing an approximate 4-fold increase in the past 3 years.

Subjects

The school offers a range of subjects including; Art & Design, Home Economics, English, Drama, French, Spanish, Geography, History, Mathematics, Science, Technology & Design, Music, Religion, Learning for life and work, ICT and P.E. Such subjects are compulsory to study at

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

level. At

Key Stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31 ...

, the college offers further study in the above subjects, as well as: * Moving Image Arts * Business Studies * Construction * Single Award Science * Double Award Science * Biology * English Literature * Home Economics -Child ec * Home Economics -Food * Music The school has partnered with the South Eastern Regional College in Bangor to give students the opportunity to study further vocational and practical subjects at the equivalent of GCSE level. At

A Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

, Sixth Form students have the opportunity to study on site: * Art * Moving Image Arts * Applied Information and Communication Technology * Business Studies * Public Service * Health and Social Care * Applied Single Award Science * Biology * Sociology * Geography * Mathematics * Religious Studies * English Literature Sixth Form students also have the opportunity to study other A Levels at neighbouring schools through the North Down and Ards Learning Community. Schools who have taken part in this partnership are: Glenlola Collegiate, Bangor Grammar School, Glastry College, Priory College and Bangor Academy. The additional A Level subjects offered to St. Columbanus students by include, Chemistry, Drama, Psychology, Music Technology.

Facilities

St. Columbanus houses multiple, well-equipped ICT suites, a sports hall and assembly hall, a sports and athletic pitch, technology and design suites and science suites. The school's entrances are also fully accessible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Columbanus School, Bangor Bangor, County Down Educational institutions established in 1960 Catholic secondary schools in Northern Ireland Secondary schools in County Down 1960 establishments in Northern Ireland