Dalriada School | |
Motto: | Labor Sine Cura, Labor Sine Fructu (Work Without Effort Is Work Without Fruit) |
Coordinates: | 55.0727°N -6.5222°W |
Established: | 1878 |
Type: | Voluntary, Co-educational Grammar School |
Head Name: | Headmaster |
Head: | Louise Aitcheson |
Head Name2: | Deputy Heads |
Head2: | Ian Walker & Louise Crawford |
City: | Ballymoney |
Website: | dalriadaschool.com |
Dalriada School is a mixed voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney in the north of County Antrim in Northern Ireland,[1] named after the Kingdom of Dál Riata. In 2008 the school won the The Sunday Times Northern Ireland State Secondary School of the Year award.[2]
The schools was established in 1878 as "Ballymoney Intermediate school". The first headmaster was Rev. J.B Armour.
The school's choirs have won a number of competitions, including the Chamber Choir which won the BBC Ulster School Choir of The Year competition in 2016.[3] [4]
In 2010/2011, the debating society entered the UK Wide Debating Matters Championship. A team of six debaters won the Derry Qualifying Heat to make it through the Northern Ireland and Scotland final in Edinburgh, where they triumphed over schools from across the two countries.[5] This allowed them to then qualify for the National Final held at the Royal Society of Medicine where they were defeated in a debate on the Banning of the Burqa.[6]
Dalriada also competes in the annual Bar Mock Trial Competition. The team prepares mock legal cases for the regional finals each year in the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, winning this competition three times.[7] After winning the National Championships in London in 2016 for the first time,[8] Dalriada pupils went on to compete in the Empire Mock Trial World Championships in New York for the third time.[9] At this event, a Dalriada student received an award for "Outstanding Witness".[10]
Dalriada competes in several sports. In 2023, a team representing the school won the All-Ireland volleyball title for a record eighth time.[11]
No. | Name | Tenure | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Alfred Ross | 1931-1948 | |
2 | Edmund Gordon | 1948–1975 | |
3 | Alan Reynolds | 1975–1987 | |
4 | William Calvert | 1987–2003 | |
5 | Derek Boyd | 2003–2007 | |
6 | Thomas Skelton | 2007–2024 | |
7 | Louise Aitcheson | 2024-present |