Cambridge House Grammar School

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Cambridge House Grammar School is a mixed grammar school in the County Antrim town of Ballymena, Northern Ireland within the North Eastern Region of the Education Authority.GeneralThe school is located in the Galgorm Road area of the town at a mature site surrounded by gardens and playing fields comprising almost 80acre. Cambridge House is the newest grammar school in the province, having been opened in September 2001, following the amalgamation of the old Cambridge House Grammar School for Girls (founded 1910) and Cambridge House Boy's Grammar School (founded 1975). The main school buildings are contemporary and the campus was refurbished in 2001 prior to the opening of the new school. The Technology and Design Suite building is the most recent addition to the school. The school also includes a separate Drama and Media annexe and a self-contained, Sixth Form Centre complete with both private and communal study areas, a common room and a coffee shop.In 2011 it became the first grammar school in Northern Ireland to enter a period of formal intervention, however in 2013 it exited formal intervention and Elma Lutton was appointed the permanent principal of the school.The House SystemCambridge House Grammar School is split into five houses, and the pastoral care of each pupil is enforced by this system. The house system is based on patrons who are successful in a wide range of expertise, such as sports, business, science and the Arts. The ethos behind the house system is that each pupil can relate to a smaller unit within the school and have a sense of identity in such a large school. Each house is allocated a Senior Teacher, and a team of seven group tutors. Houses fosters the development of Leadership skills in the pupils, as House Prefects are elected in year 11. Each house has a separate colour, house charity and house ties, with the house crest emblazoned in the middle.