Established | 1866 |
---|---|
Type | Grammar School |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Principal | Mr. John Martin |
Location |
Belfast Northern Ireland |
Local authority | Belfast Education and Library Board |
Students | 1196 |
Gender | All-Male |
Ages | 11–18 |
Colours | |
Website | St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School |
St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School (St Mary's CGBS) (Irish: Scoil Ghramadaí Mhuire na mBráithre Críostaí) is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The school was founded by the Irish Christian Brothers in 1866. The original school was on Divis St in the lower Falls Road area of Belfast. In 1929, a new secondary school was built in the nearby Barrack Street. The students were largely drawn from the surrounding district but due to the growing population further up the Falls Road it was decided to build a new school at the top of the Glen Road which opened in 1968. The Barrack Street branch remained in use until 1998 when all students were accommodated in the greatly extended school on the Glen Road.
The school was once entirely run by the Irish Christian Brothers but in the late twentieth century their numbers declined. The school is now entirely staffed by lay teachers. It is now under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (NI). The current principal of the school is John Martin who took up his position in November 2014 upon the retirement of Jim Sheerin, who had been principal from 2008.
The school provides instruction in a broad range of academic subjects At the advanced level students are prepared for exams in Applied Business, Business Communication Systems, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, ICT, Computing, Art & Design, Geography, History, Religious Studies, Politics, English Literature, Drama, Irish, Music, Sports Studies, Media Studies, Home Economics, Travel and Leisure. St Mary's also offer a double award science option and a further maths option which pupils are chosen for.
The school hurling team won six Mageean Cup titles in succession in the 1990s. St. Marys also completed an Ulster Colleges double in 2008 winning both the Mageean Cup and the McLarnon Cup for the first time in the school's history after beating St Columbs (Derry) 1-7 to 0-8 in the final at Healy Park in Omagh on St Patrick's Day. The school has also had sustained success in handball and Gaelic football.