Campbell College

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Campbell College

Address	Belmont Rd. Belfast BT4 2ND
Phone	(+ 44 28) 9076 3076
Fax	(+ 44 28) 9076 1894
Headmaster	J. A. Piggot
School type	Voluntary Grammar
School Board	BELB
Location	Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Enrollment	870 students
School colour(s)	Black, Green, White
Motto	Ne Obliviscaris

Campbell College is a public school (that is, an independent secondary school that charges tuition fees) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In legal terminology it is a "voluntary grammar school" and educates boys from ages 11-18. It is one of the seven Northern Irish schools represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

The school occupies a 100 acre estate in east Belfast, close to the Parliament Buildings at Stormont. All the school's facilities are located on the site, as well as a small lake and forest named Netherleigh. Campbell's junior school Cabin Hill is also located on the site. The school has the largest Combined Cadet Force in the UK, with 400 cadets. The school has an international reputation and attracts boarders from Hong Kong, Singapore and Africa.

History

Main Building

It was founded in 1894 thanks to a bequest from Henry James Campbell, who had made his fortune in the linen trade. Initially the school was primarily a boarding school but it has, particularly since the 1970s, become primarily a day school and in 2004 had 870 pupils, only about 60 of whom were boarders. Playwright and Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett taught at the school in the 1920s.

In 1935 the Irish Republican Army attempted to raid a Royal Ulster Constabulary training facility located in the school grounds. The RUC were tipped-off and the raid was unsuccessful. In 1936 Jimmy Steele and three other IRA members were captured, prosecuted and imprisoned in Crumlin Road Gaol.

During World War II the school was requisitioned by the War Office as a hospital, with the pupils being transferred to Portrush on the north Antrim coast. Campbell lost 134 former students in World War I and there are separate memorials to both wars in the Central Hall.Haines, Keith. Neither rogues nor fools - a history of Campbell College. Belfast, Campbell College, 1993.

Both of these events were experienced firsthand by Albert Maxwell BEM, who worked for the school as groundsman and head porter for 64 years. Maxwell retired in 1993 but continued to live in the school's Grade 1 listed gate lodge until his death in 1997.

Allegedly the lamppost on the school drive was the inspiration for that mentioned in Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Composer David Catherwood is currently director of music at Campbell. A collection of Lepidoptera by Thomas Workman is displayed in the school.

Netherleigh Lake - in the grounds of the College

Sport

The school has strong record in rugby, having won the Ulster Schools Cup 26 times. In 2006 Campbell reached the final at Ravenhill, losing to Methody. The school has extensive sports facilities for which they have received the GoldMark Award. These include sports pitches, an astroturf hockey pitch, squash courts, a fitness suite, shooting range, and a swimming pool. The 2006 opening of the astroturf pitch was marked with an exhibition match between the gold-winning 1988 Summer Olympics Great Britain and Northern Ireland hockey team and the school's 1st XI.

Controversy

Following complaints made by past pupils, an inquiry was launched into alleged sexual abuse at Cabin Hill. The allegations stated that a 13 year old boarding pupil abused younger boys in the 1990s. The boy, who was a prefect at the time, was formally cautioned by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in 2002. A 2005 report into the abuse heavily criticised the school, as it was found that the headmaster was aware of the abuse at the time, but failed to take proper action.[BBC report on inquiry]

Notable alumni

The cover of Keith Haines' book, showing an early photograph of a group of teachers at the school.

• Gordon Burns, journalist and television presenter
• Freeman Wills Crofts, author
• Eric Robertson Dodds, classical scholar
• William John English, Victoria Cross recipient whose medal was bequeathed to the school
• Mike Gibson, rugby footballer for Cambridge University, Ireland and the British Lions
• John Irvine, award-winning ITV News journalist
• Charles Lawson, actor
• Gary Lightbody, vocalist and guitarist in the band Snow Patrol
• C.S. Lewis, author
• Tim Martin, JD Wetherspoon founder
• Sir John MacDermott, former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
• Alan McFarland, former British Army officer and Ulster Unionist politician
• Robert Shanks, former Chairman of the Commissioners of Irish Lights and commanding officer of HMS Caroline
• James Simmons, poet
• Noel Thompson, BBC journalist

Headmasters

James "Jay" Piggot BA MA became the school's headmaster in 2005. A former pupil, Piggot is a former Assistant Master and House Master at Eton College. While at Campbell he won the Ulster Schools Cup and went on to play for Cambridge University 1st XV, where he attended Pembroke College.

William Duff Gibbon MA (Oxon), CBE DSO MC TD LLD was the schools headmaster between 1922 and 1943. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford, Gibbon served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Worcestershire Regiment during World War I. In World War II he was the Officer Commanding in the Army Cadet Force.

References