Strangford College, also known as Strangford Integrated College, is a school in Carrowdore, Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is an integrated co-educational secondary school with a grammar stream for 800 pupils. Clare Foster is the school's current principal.[1]
| Strangford College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
Abbey Road | |
| Coordinates | 54°34′47″N 5°33′11″W / 54.5796°N 5.5531°W |
| Information | |
| Type | state post-primary school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | integrated |
| Established | 1 September 1997 |
| Principal | Clare Foster |
| Gender | co-educational |
| Enrolment | 800 |
Context
Integrated Education is a Northern Ireland phenomenon, where traditionally schools were sectarian,[2] either Catholic or Protestant. On parental request, a school could apply to 'transition' to become grant-maintained and offer 30% of the school places to students from the minority community. Lagan College was the first integrated school to open in 1981.[3] As of January 2022[update], pupils at Strangford College are approximately 45% from a Protestant background, approximately 25% from a Catholic background and approximately 30% from "other" backgrounds.[4]
History
Strangford College opened 1 September 1997, with 64 students and 7 staff. It was awarded grant-maintained status in September 1999.[5]
A new build was approved by the Department of Education in April 2016 and a contractor appointed in 2021.[6]
In 2021, the college applied to raise its official enrolment number from 670 to 760; the minister at first refused the request,[7] but on appeal, reversed his decision. This allows the college to accept 130 year 8 students a year.[8]
The college applied unsuccessfully in 2019 to use transfer tests to select the 35% of pupils it admits to the grammar stream in Year 8.[9] It reapplied in January 2022.[4]