Ballyclare High School

Ballyclare High School is a grammar school, despite what its name might suggest. It is co-educational and non-denominational, on the Rashee Road in Ballyclare, taking around 1,210 pupils from eleven upwards, with roughly 190 in each Year 8. Entry is at Year 8 through the SEAG assessment.

It has no single founding year. The school began in the 1890s as a small private school in the village of Doagh, was taken over by Catherine Aiken in 1902, moved into Ballyclare in 1904 and onto the present Rashee Road site in 1930. It only became Ballyclare High School in 1935. The crest was designed by a pupil. The four houses are Aikin, Brann, Dixon and Russell, each split into a senior and a junior side, so eight teams compete rather than four, across badminton, hockey, netball, rugby, basketball, athletics, cricket and a spelling bee.

The part most worth knowing is how the school handles first years. Year 8 start a day before everybody else, so they can find their way round, work out their lockers and get organised while the building is quiet. They visit in June beforehand to meet their form teacher and their class. Every Year 8 is assigned a sixth form buddy, and the buddies are trained for the job in August, before induction day, with their own guide the school calls the Buddy Booklet. There is a Year 8 residential to an outdoor centre as well. It suits a child who needs a bit of a runway rather than being dropped in on day one.