Down High School

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title: "Down High School" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["grammar-schools-in-county-down", "downpatrick", "people-educated-at-down-high-school"] topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_High_School" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox school"]

FieldValue
nameDown High School
mottoNothing achieved without effort
Floreat Dunum
motto_translationMay Down flourish
established
typeControlled Grammar school
statusOpen
principalMrs M. Perry
teaching_staff84
enrollment953 (2024/25)
capacity934
streetStrangford Road
cityDownpatrick
countyCounty Down
postcodeBT30 6SL
countryNorthern Ireland
local_authorityEducation Authority
colours
housesDown
Lecale
Rathkeltair
Mourne
Strangford
nicknameDHS
Green High
Down High
alumniOld Dunamians
free_labelEmblem
lower_age11
upper_age18
websitehttp://www.downhighschool.org.uk
::

| name = Down High School | native_name = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | logo = | motto = Nothing achieved without effort Floreat Dunum | motto_translation = May Down flourish | religion = | established = | closed = | type = Controlled Grammar school | status = Open | category_label = | category = | gender_label = | gender = | affiliation = | affiliations = | asst principal = | campus_director = | principal = Mrs M. Perry | head = | head_name2 = | head2 = | dean = | founder = | chaplain = | officer_in_charge = | faculty = | teaching_staff = 84 | enrollment = 953 (2024/25) | capacity = 934 | grades_label = | grades = | street = Strangford Road | city = Downpatrick | county = County Down | postcode = BT30 6SL | country = Northern Ireland | coordinates = | latitude = | longitude = | local_authority = Education Authority | oversight = | accreditation = | campus = | colours = | athletics = | houses = Down Lecale Rathkeltair Mourne Strangford | student_union = | nickname = DHS Green High Down High | alumni = Old Dunamians | mascot = | free_label = Emblem | free_text = | rival = | yearbook = | newspaper = | free_label_1 = | free_1 = | free_label_2 = | free_2 = | free_label_3 = | free_3 = | test_name = | test_average = | national_ranking = | lower_age = 11 | upper_age = 18 | website = http://www.downhighschool.org.uk | footnotes = | picture = | picture_caption = | picture2 = | picture_caption2 = Down High School is a controlled co-educational grammar school located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. The school has students from the ages of eleven to eighteen in the senior school; there are 953 students (2024/25).

On 21 July 2014, John O'Dowd, the education minister, approved a development proposal to close the preparatory department of Down High School and it closed on 30 June 2014. There are roughly 250 pupils studying A-levels in the sixth form. In July 2015, some £20 million was granted by the education minister to begin the new build project in 2017.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Down_High_School_(01),_August_2009.JPG" caption="Down High School gate house"] ::

The gate house and stone walls surrounding the school were originally part of the county gaol. The stone walls were lowered to the deck when the school was established. It was argued that removing the walls completely would allow fog from the nearby River Quoile to rise into school grounds. There were tunnels, now sealed off, beneath the school and grounds which were used to transport prisoners to and from the court house on English Street. Convicts sentenced to death would often be hanged in the main gateway in front of the school. The large granite gatehouse is a prominent feature of the Mount Crescent area and is unused. Many of the classes are taught in temporary classrooms.

Down High School left the Mount Crescent campus in 2025 after 92 years, moving to a purpose‑built £44 million facility on the Strangford Road.

School crest

The school's crest, designed by the late RWH Blackhood of Loughinisland near Downpatrick, is a reminder of another link with the past, dating back to the 12th century. The design itself is based upon the supposed badge of John De Courcy, the Norman soldier who captured Downpatrick in 1177 and established himself as the ruler of the north east of Ireland. The colours of the crest are taken from the arms of the Anglo-Irish aristocrat, Elizabeth Cromwell (1674–1709), the daughter of the 4th Earl of Ardglass, and owner of the Downpatrick estate. Lady Elizabeth was wife of the Rt Hon Edward Southwell, MP for Kinsale, and principal secretary of state for Ireland in the reigns of William III and Anne. Southwell was a well known benefactor of the town.

The school's motto, Floreat Dunum, Absque Labore Nihil, means "May Down Flourish, nothing is achieved without effort". Floreat Dunum appears on the blazer badge of the school. Previous pupils are known as "Old Dunumians".

Notable alumni==

References

References

  1. "About Down High School". Down High School.
  2. "New school for Down High". The Down Recorder.
  3. "Down High says farewell to historic site and after 92 years prepares for £44m new start".
  4. "History of the School Crest". Down High School.
  5. link. (8 March 2008 The author refers to Down Highs {{sic detention cue {{sic)
  6. "Alister McGrath Biography". University of Oxford.
  7. "Thomas James Taylor Patterson".

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