Jump to content

Methodist College Belfast

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 81.157.23.190 (talk) at 14:50, 29 June 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Methodist College Belfast is a voluntary grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The school was set up in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland for the education of children of Methodist ministers. At present the Grammar School has 1850 pupils, aged 11 - 18; two boarding departments - School House (110 boys) and McArthur Hall (70 girls); and two preparatory departments, each with 280 pupils, aged 5 - 11.

History

It was founded in 1865, and opened three years later. Just three months after it opened, the college admitted "young ladies" to be educated on equal terms with boys, and the college has been co-educational ever since. As a grammar school it admits pupils based on academic selection. It is the largest grammar school in Europe. The motto of the school is "Deus Nobiscum" (God is with us).

File:AN145S.jpg
Methodist College as of 18th August 1868

Recent achievements

In recent years various societies have been very successful in the school. In 2001 and 2003, the Senior Girls Choir won the Sainsbury's Choir of the Year, the first choir to win the competition in two successive tries. The Chapel Choir won the Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year and the UTV School Choir of the Year in 2004. They were subsequently asked to sing at services in Westminster Abbey in August of 2004, and in 2005 performed with the Vienna Boy's Choir, in Vienna, Austria. Both of these choirs are led by Ruth McCartney MBE, the head of music in Methody.

The Model United Nations Society within the college is rated highly on a national and international front. The college has won many prizes at the Bath International Schools Model United Nations Conference and in 2003, a delegation of students went to Yale University, New Haven, to attend the Yale Model United Nations Conference. They won the overall best delegation award representing the United Kingdom. In 2005, a further delegation attended the Georgetown International Model United Nations Conference, in Washington DC again winning many awards. The College also hosts it's own Model United Nations Conference annually, with guest speakers including Nobel Prize winner, John Hume.

Sport has always been strong within the Collge, especially rugby. MCB were the recent winners of the Ulster Medallion Shield and have won the Ulster Schools Cup 30 times, being the current holders of the cup, beating Campbell College in the 2006 final at Ravenhill.

The school will shortly undertake extensive rebuilding works over a number of years. Essentially the whole school is being rebuilt save the Main Building, McArthur Hall, The Chapel of Unity and the Sports Hall. This will be the biggest building program attempted since the school's foundation in 1867.

Cecilia Galloway, former Head Teacher of the Royal Latin School in Buckinghamshire, succeeded Headmaster, Dr. Thomas Wilfred Mulryne OBE at Christmas 2005.

Methodist College Chess Club

Methodist College Chess Club was set up by Brian Thorpe and Arthur Willans in 1961 and has long been regarded as one of the best school chess clubs in Ireland. After Brian Thorpe's retirement in 1994, Dr Graham Murphy took over and presided over victory in both the Irish Colleges Chess Championship and the prestigious UK Times Championship. In addition to the outright victory in the UK Times Team Schools Championship in 1995, the College finished 3rd in 1970 and 1979, and 4th in 1986 and 1997. Methody won the inaugral Irish College's Championship in 1980, the first of several wins. The Ulster Schools Division One title has been won on many occasions.

The most distinguished former member is International Master Brian Kelly, who occupied Board 1 in the successful 1995 team. Kelly also won a Gold Medal at the Chess Olympiad in Moscow in 1994 playing at Board 5. Past pupils Brian Kerr, Tom Clarke, Angela Corry and Roger Beckett have also represented Ireland at Chess Olympiads.

The Ulster Championship has also been won by Methody alumni on 11 occasions, although only John Nicholson(1971,73), Paul Hadden(1975), and Brian Kelly(1994) won whilst still at school. Brian Kelly is the only Methody alumni to have won the Irish Championship, his win coming in 1995.

Distinguished alumni

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Methodist_College_Belfast&oldid=61203227"