Portadown College
Portadown College is an academic selective grammar school in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, founded in 1924. The school was established initially in Bann House on the banks of the River Bann, adjacent to the main road bridge of the time. In 1962 the school moved to a new, purpose-built site, on the Killicomain Road.HistoryPortadown College has seen many major changes in education. Originally established as a fee-paying voluntary grammar school, it embraced the changes of the 1947 Education Act and, subsequently, has made a major contribution to the present 'two-tier' system of secondary education in the Craigavon area. The school's pupils are divided into historical houses. The three houses are Shillington (red), Seale (green) and MacCallum (yellow). The house structure provides the basis for a wide range of inter-house competitions, including sports, music and debating.Principles:SportPortadown College has been officially recognised in the field of sporting excellence, and has been awarded the honour of a Sportsmark School. Representative teams participate in Rugby, Boys and Girls Hockey, Netball, Football, Volleyball, Golf, Tennis and Athletics.The School Rugby teams compete annually in the Ulster Schools Cup, with the best performance the reaching of the semi-finals. The Subsidiary Shield has been won three times in 1973, 1990 and 1997. In 2010 the 1st XV Rugby Team won the Ulster Schools Trophy.Girls' hockey teams enjoy success in the Belfast Telegraph Ulster Schools Cup and McDowell Cup competitions. Portadown College hockey teams have won the trophy on three occasions in 1963, 1964 and the most recent win in 1996.