Blackwater Integrated College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Blackwater Integrated College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
12 Old Belfast Road[1] , , BT30 6SG | |
| Coordinates | 54°20′20″N 5°42′56″W / 54.3388°N 5.7156°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Grant Maintained Integrated |
| Motto | Building, Inspiring, Caring |
| Established | 2008 |
| Status | Open |
| Local authority | Education Authority |
| Principal | Mr Stephen Taylor[2] |
| Staff | 52[2] |
| Gender | Co-Educational |
| Age | 11 to 16 |
| Enrollment | 283 (2024/25) |
| Capacity | 400 |
| Colour | |
| Website | www.blackwateric.org |
Blackwater Integrated College is an 11-16 secondary school on a restricted site with 283 pupils (as of 2025) and around 30 classrooms, however has the capacity for 400. Mr S Taylor is the school's current principal.[3]
As of 2024, students at Blackwater Integrated College were 31% Protestant, 37% Roman Catholic and 32% other.
Blackwater Integrated College opened in September 2008. It was formed as a merger of Down Academy and Rowallane Integrated College. Down Academy had been formed when Killyleagh, Castlewellan, and Quoile High Schools amalgamated in 1991. Down Academy became a controlled integrated school in 1998.[4] The Blackwater site was chosen for its central location.[5]: 18
In 2019 Blackwater was one of 22 school with sustainability issues with too few pupils to remain financially viable.[6] The centre of school population is closer to Belfast, and additional capacity is needed to support students who failed to get a place at Lagan College.[5]: 26
A period of consultation on the school's future ended 3 June 2021. With the support of the college, a new integrated college with an admission number of 100 was planned to open on a different site Mid Down Integrated College on 1 September 2023 and Blackwater Integrated College will close on or shortly after 31 August 2023.[5] This was not met due to no site being allocated. A new date has not been proposed yet.
