Sullivan Upper School
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| Motto | Lamh Foisdineach An Uachtar (With the Gentle Hand Foremost) |
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| Established | 1877 |
| Head | Mr C J W Peel, M.A., B.Sc., Dip.A.S.Ed. |
| Board | DENI - Department of Education Northern Ireland |
| Location |
Belfast Road Holywood County Down BT18 9EP Northern Ireland Coordinates: 54°38′06″N 5°50′13″W / 54.635°N 5.837°W |
| Students | 1,100 |
| Colours | Black & Green |
| Type | Voluntary Grammar |
| Website | Sullivan Upper School |
Sullivan Upper School is a mixed cross-denominational voluntary grammar school in Holywood, Northern Ireland, and has approximately 1,100 enrolled pupils. The school motto, printed on all the school blazers, is Lamh Foisdineach An Uachtar, Irish for "with the gentle hand foremost".
Sullivan Lower School (equivalent to a primary school in modern terminology) was founded in 1862 by Robert Sullivan. After Sullivan's death in 1868, part of his estate was used to establish the upper school. Originally the two schools were based in Holywood's High Street, The lower school has been moved to a site beside the upper school and is now called Sullivan Prep which is a private school and the upper school has moved to a site on the edge of the town. The original building is now occupied by the town's public library.
On 17 June 1994, Garnet Bell, a former pupil, entered the School Hall during an A Level exam carrying an improvised flame thrower, containing petrol and paraffin. Bell discharged the device, burning six pupils, three of them seriously. He was subsequently found guilty of three cases of attempted murder and three of grievous bodily harm, receiving six life sentences. Bell died in prison of cancer in 1997.
The school is opposed to the government's plans for the reform of education based on the Costello Report. These reforms will remove academic selection in Northern Ireland, which some observers think will effectively destroy the country's grammar schools. In opinion polls over 60 percent of parents in Northern Ireland are opposed to the changes.
A letter recently went out to Pupils in every year, directly from the headmaster, Mr Stevenson, raising the issue that the ethos and academic achievement of Sullivan would be changed irreparably by the post primary selection changes.
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