THE STORY OF DOWNPATRICK PRIMARY SCHOOL Downpatrick Primary School opened on its present site in Mount Crescent in 1975. The school known as the Downpatrick County Primary School was created out of a number of national and public elementary schools in Downpatrick. One of these was the Southwell School, one of the oldest schools in the town. In 1733 Edward Southwell established a charity school to educate ‘10 poor boys and 10 poor girls’ from the parish of Down. Local children were admitted to the school to be given a basic education and then trained for a variety of jobs. The museum has a register book from the school in its collection and in 1868-69 some of the children who were apprenticed included: • Robert Skillen aged 14 apprenticed to Mr Traill, a valet • Robert Casement aged 14 apprenticed to Edward Heron, a saddler • John Thomson aged 15 apprenticed to John Lloyd, a cabinet maker • Isabella Hanna aged 15 apprenticed to Mrs Quaill, a bonnetmaker In 1890 the school became part of the National School system and in the 1920s it became part of the Public Elementary School system. Boys and girls at the school continued to be educated separately with separate buildings and teachers.
Downpatrick Primary School House Captains
38 STARTING SCHOOL
Fountain St School Christmas 1958
In 1837 Fountain St school opened, known locally as the “Back Lane” school. The first principal was Mr William Robinson. This school also entered the National School system at the end of the nineteenth century and continued in operation until 1959. Pupils from this school transferred to the Downpatrick County Primary School. Later a new two storey red brick building was erected in Mountcrescent and pupils from many of the smaller schools, including Southwell and the “Back Lane” school moved to be educated there in. This building continues to be used for education purposes and now houses Downpatrick Nursery school. The closure of controlled schools in Inch, Ardglass, Strangford, Killough and Annadorn in the 1970s and 1980s brought an increase in the numbers of children at Downpatrick primary and today children at the school come from both urban and rural backgrounds to be educated together. Today the school has over 200 pupils aged from 4 to 11. The school’s motto is INSPIRE: Improvement, Nurture, Success, Potential, Innovation, Responsibility, Endeavour. Southwell School The teacher was called Mrs. Scott and I remember her well. She would have lived over at the Almshouses, the Southwell buildings. Although she was
Southwell School boys, 1956 with teacher Anne Ellis
