Larne Grammar School
Larne Grammar School is a co-educational voluntary grammar school located in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1886 by Sir Edward Coey and John Crawford, it has around 760 pupils and 50 teaching staff. History. The school was opened by Mr. John Crawford and Sir Edward Coey in 1887. Mr. R.M. Jones M.A. opened the school to its first pupils. Larne Grammar School was set up as an all boys fee paying and boarding school. During the school's first 20 years, very few pupils attended, and the school was threatened to be closed on  numerous occasions. The school temporarily closed between 1914 and 1918 due to the outbreak of World War One. In 1922, Larne Grammar School merged with Larne Girls' School, and a Preparatory Department was established. Larne Grammar began to grow, with more and more pupils joining the voluntary school. During the early 1970s, the school was extended to accommodate the growing number of pupils. 19 new classrooms, a sports hall and changing rooms were built to the rear of the school. During the leadership of Headmaster D.J. Thompson, the original school building was demolished and replaced by a new school in  1987. 22 new classrooms, a new sports hall, new staff offices and a new canteen were built, as well as a new atrium, reception and Headmaster Suite. The extension from 1972 remained, but was refurbished. The original assembly hall was retained and still remains today. In 2001, under the command of John Wilson, a new Technology and Design Department was established. The new building consists of two classrooms with workshops, offices and lavatories. The building has solar panels and provides all of the energy required to power the entire school. Furthermore, a new Music Department was constructed towards the rear  of the building, with a large classroom, offices and tuition rooms. To celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Larne Grammar School, a new astro-turf hockey pitch, four tennis courts and a new pavilion were built. All classrooms have been fully refurbished during the 2012/13 school year, with new equipment being added such as Apple Computers, new desks and new chairs; all of which under the orders of new Headmaster Jonathan Wylie. Academics. The school was inspected in November 2000 by the Department of Education. The following strengths were identified: With J Wilson as headmaster, the school flourished with pupils gaining  an overall excellent standard of teaching with GCSE and A Level grades much higher than the Northern Ireland average, which has the highest average throughout the UK. To enroll at the school, pupils go through several selection processes to ensure that all pupils have a high academic standard. Teaching Staff. Larne Grammar School has 60 teachers and 772 pupils, giving the school a pupil teacher ratio of 12.7 pupils per teacher, which is much lower than the Northern Ireland average of 15.6 for Grammar Schools, and 16.8 for all schools delivering secondary education. All subjects have at least two teachers , with many having more. All teachers are able to teach at least one subject to A level, with many able to do so with two subjects. Extracurricular activities. Department of Music Department of Physical Education and Sport Department of the Environment English Department Modern Languages Department Technology and Design Department Other Sport. Hockey. In 2000, the School won the Ulster Senior Schoolgirls' Hockey Cup, an annual competition competed for by schools affiliated to the Ulster Women's Hockey Union, by beating Ballymena Academy 2–1 in the final. Rugby. The 1st XV have reached the final of the Subsidiary Shield competition  of the Ulster Schools Cup on three occasions in 1981, 1991 and 1992, but lost on each occasion. On 9 March 2007, the 1st XV rugby team won the Schools Trophy by beating Omagh Academy 11–3 in the final. They won it again on 22 February 2008, beating Dalriada 12–0 in the final. At junior level, the school Medallion XV were finalists in the Medallion Shield in 1955. The team won the subsidiary Medallion Plate in 1987 and were runners up in the Plate in 1998 and 1999. The lowest of the subsidiary competitions, the Medallion Trophy, was won in  2008 when Downshire High School were narrowly defeated by 13–12 in the final. Athletics. In the summer of 2008, the school senior boys 4 × 100 m team qualified from the Ulster heats to reach the All Ireland School Athletics Finals. The team won the title in a time of 43.67 seconds, less than a tenth ahead of second place Castleknock College.