A Brief History

Early in the nineteenth century a large "blackstone" school was built on the Ballymoney Road. The townspeople were proud of this modern place of learning, known as Ballymena National District Model School, one of the four original "model" schools in Ulster. On the one site there was a boys'school, a girls' school, an infant department and a headmaster's residence.

Some time later the name changed to Ballymena Model Public Elementary School. Pupils attended the school until they were fourteen years old. Some sat the Scholarship Exam for entrance to a grammar school, others went to technical school or left to take up employment.

The introduction of the "Qualifying Examination" following the 1944 Education Act meant that children then transferred to second level schools at eleven years of age and pupils of primary school age moved from "The Model" to Guy's and Ballymoney Street schools. For a number of years the building housed Ballymena's first Intermediate school and a new assembly hall was added.

Two new intermediate schools were then built and Guy's and Ballymoney Street schools were closed. In January 1960 Ballymena County Primary was born.

As Ballymena continued to develop, new schools were needed to cater for the educational needs of children and in 1971 Dunclug Primary School was opened. Children from the northern side of the town who had attended Ballymena County Primary were encouraged to go to the new school. Some teaching staff also transferred at this time.

After the re-organisation of education in Northern Ireland when control of the school changed from County Antrim Education Authority to The North Eastern Education and Library Board, the term "County" was dropped and the school became known as Ballymena Primary School.

Ballymena Primary School is therefore, one with a rich historical heritage. Many people who have had distinguished careers in politics, business, education, community work, religion and sport, to name but a few, look back with appreciation to their early days as pupils of the school. To them, and to many in the wider community, it is still referred to affectionately as "The County Primary".

We have now launched A History of Ballymena Primary entitled "A Model of Excellence". This well illustrated book traces the historical context of Model Schools and charts the many changes that have characterised the process of education in our school over 150 years.The author, Mr Jonathan Fisher, is a history graduate and a former teacher at the school.
Books cost £6 each (or £5 for two or more) and may be purchased from the office during normal school hours.