Mottoes | Tenax Propositi |
---|---|
Established | 1828 |
Type | Grammar |
Headteacher | Mr Stephen Black |
Location |
89 Galgorm Rd Ballymena County Antrim BT42 1AJ Northern Ireland, UK Coordinates: 54°52′21″N 6°17′19″W / 54.872508°N 6.288643°W |
Local authority | Education Authority |
Staff | 93 |
Students | 1200 |
Gender | Mixed |
Ages | 11–18 |
Houses | Knocklayde, Lurigethan, Slemish, Trostan |
Colours | Black/navy and red |
Publication | The Braid |
Website | Ballymena Academy |
Ballymena Academy (founded 1828) is a mixed gender grammar school located in the market town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was founded in the early nineteenth century as a small provincial school for children in the town and surrounding agricultural hinterland.
The school currently has approximately 1200 pupils and 93 members of teaching staff. The school has 88 acres (360,000 m2) of mature grounds situated on the Galgorm Road, just west of the town centre.
The school motto is Tenax Propositi meaning Steadfast in Purpose.
Its current headmaster is Mr. Stephen Black who became headmaster of the school following the retirement of Mr J. R. Hassard.
Hassard announced on Tuesday, 19 November 2013, that he intended to retire at the end of August 2014. On Friday 7 March it was announced that Mr Stephen Black (former headmaster at Antrim Grammar School) would take on the role of headmaster on 1 September 2014.
The red hands are borrowed from the Adair family arms, who gave the 1-acre (4,000 m2) of ground on which the original school was built, itself represented by the blue rectangle below. The ant represents hard work. The badger on the crest, accompanied by a lamp representing learning, is a pun on 'Brocklamont', site of the new school buildings, with 'brock' being an archaic word for badger. Sporting, academic, musical and other arts achievement are recognised by the award of a similar but distinctive coat of arms worn on the school blazer and also by the presentation of Honours Ties.
The main boys' sport at Ballymena Academy is rugby, with the most recent success occurring at Ravenhill, Belfast. The school won the 2010 Ulster Schools Cup final when they beat Belfast Royal Academy by 10 points to 7. Previous wins were recorded in 1972 and 1981. The school has also won the Subsidiary Shield on seven occasions - more than any other school.
The medallion (under 15) team has won the Medallion Shield once in 1970. A share of the shield was secured twice after drawn finals.