St. Colm's Intermediate School (1961)

Sunday 10 th September 1961 saw the final phase and the realisation of a dream. That dream was the provision of a school which would take its pupils into the 21 st century. The dream, which had taken thirteen years to realise, had begun for Fr. Michael Collins when the Education Act of 1947 was published.

This Act was concerned with the education of children over the age of 11. The form of education to be given was not available in the existing Primary schools. It was to cater for those pupils who had not achieved a place in Grammar Schools. This resulted in schools like St Colm's, Ballinascreen being known as 'Intermediate Schools'.

Fr. Collins set out to build a school which would protect the culture of the area and pass on and strengthen the Catholic faith. The money for such a project had to be raised and was to come from two sources. Number one was the provision by Government of 65% of the total cost. The remaining 35% was to be raised by the parishes building the school. In the case of St. Colm's this meant the sum of £35,000 was to be raised.

Considering that Fr. Collins embarked on a massive School building campaign, to set up three new Primary schools as well as a Secondary School, the fact that the money was raised is remarkable.

The school which was called after the Patron Saint of the Parish was designed by M.A. Fitzpatrick of Derry and built by Messrs. J. Kennedy & Co. of Coleraine. Some of the ground on which the School was built was presented to the Parish by Patrick Bradley , Magherafelt Road , Draperstown. The school had facilities for subjects such as Science, Woodwork, Domestic Sciences (Sewing and Cookery), Typewriting, Art, Music and General.

The School Opens
The people of the Ballinascreen and Desertmartin Parishes were informed on Sunday 10 th September 1961 , that the new school would open the next day. The furniture for the classrooms had to be set out that day so the school would be ready for its first intake of pupils. Some pupils came from Greencastle.

The Uniform
The girls wore a royal blue pinafore with a pale blue blouse, black shoes and on their heard a royal blue beret.

The boys wore a more conservative black blazer, grey trousers, white shirt and blue tie. To promote the uniform, a competition was run, the prize being a full uniform for the winning girl and boy respectively.

The girl's uniform was won by Ann C. Kelly of Bancran and the boy's uniform was won by Kevin O'Hagan of the Blackhill.

The School Crest
This crest and blazer badge was designed by the new Headmaster, James Gunn.

The book represented the learning; the wall the remnants of the first church in the Parish and the Dove the Holy Spirit to guide the learning within the school.