Established 1774 Enrollment 950 Age Range 4 to 18 Number of students 950 Province Ulster | Principal Mr Stephen Moore Colours Green, Red and Yellow Phone +44 28 9266 2156 Founded 1774 | |
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Type Voluntary grammar with preparatory department Address 6 Magheralave Rd, Lisburn BT28 3BH, UK Motto Quae sursum sunt quaerite - seek the things that are above Similar The Wallace High Sch, Jem Swim School, Victoria College Belfast, Rath Grammar School, Lisnagarv High School | ||
Friends' School, Lisburn is a Quaker voluntary grammar school in the city of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, founded in 1774.
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History
Friends School, Lisburn was founded - as The Ulster Provincial School- on the basis of a bequest in 1764 of a prosperous linen merchant, John Hancock, who left £1,000 for the purchase of land in or near Lisburn on which to build a school for the children of Quakers. Twenty acres were purchased at Prospect Hill from the Earl of Hertford. In 1774, the first headmaster, John Gough, took up his post. In 1794 The Ulster provincial School became the responsibility of the Ulster Quarterly Meeting, the body representing the Religious Society of Friends in Ulster.
Friends' is one of two Quaker schools in Ireland, the other being Newtown School, Waterford. There are nine in the United Kingdom.
In 2011 the school was named by the Sunday Times as the best in Northern Ireland.
Composition
The school consists of a fee-paying preparatory department, Prospect House, and a grammar school, the latter of which, until recently had a boarding department attracting pupils from abroad (mostly Hong Kong) due to its reputation. Friends' now only accepts day pupils, of around 140 a year contributing to a full enrolment of 970 for the grammar school.
The latest addition to the school was the East Suite, a teaching building which opened in 2016. It stands in place of the old playground, which was previously the location of the old swimming pool. The swimming pool was reputed to be the oldest heated pool in Ireland (1901), and used to stand beside Harding House, a temporary teaching building which was demolished to make space for the East Suite.
Sport
The school offers a wide range of sports, including rugby union, hockey, badminton, netball and cricket. Friends' has won the Burney Cup a total of 15 times, sharing it on 4 occasions.