54°30′11″N6°45′47″W / 54.503°N 6.763°W /54.503; -6.763

Royal School Dungannon
Location
2 Ranfurly Road Dungannon , County Tyrone , BT71 6EG Northern Ireland
Information
Type	BoardingGrammar School
Motto	Latin:Perseverando (by persevering)
Established	1614; 411 years ago (1614)
Founder	James I
Local authority	Education Authority
Headmaster	David Burnett
Staff	50
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	650 (10,000alumni)
Houses	Beresford Charlemont   Bullingbrook Tyrone   Mountjoy Ranfurly   Nicholson Dungannon
Colours	Chocolate and Magenta
Former pupils	RSD Alumni
Website	www.royaldungannon.com

The Royal School is a mixed boarding school located inDungannon,County Tyrone,Northern Ireland. It was one of a number of 'free schools' created byJames I (otherwise known as James VI of Scotland) in 1608 to provide an education to the sons of local merchants and farmers during theplantation of Ulster. Originally set up in Mountjoy nearLough Neagh in 1614, it moved to its present location in 1636. It was founded as a boys school but becamecoed in 1986 when the school amalgamated with theDungannon High School for Girls.It has four 'sister' schools,The Royal School, Armagh inArmagh,County Armagh, TheEnniskillen Royal Grammar School inEnniskillen,County Fermanagh, TheRoyal School Cavan inCounty Cavan, and theRoyal and Prior School inRaphoe,County Donegal. The original intention had been to have a "Royal School" in each of Ireland's counties (James I Order in Council read, "that there shall be one Free School at least appointed in every County, for the education of youth in learning and religion.") but only five were actually established, the schools planned for other counties never coming into being.

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The Royal School, Dungannon is one of several Royal Schools ordered in 1608 byJames I with the intended purpose "that there shall be one Free School at least appointed in every County, for the education of youth in learning and religion." These schools provided an English style education to the sons of landed settlers inIreland, most of whom were ofScottish orEnglish descent. Aroyal charter of 13 May 1614 records the appointment of John Bullingbroke as the first headmaster.

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The Royal School for Girls was founded in 1889 and was known as the "Girls' Department" (until at least 1908) housed in the Robinson (North) wing of the Royal School between 1892 and 1926. This school becameDungannon High School for Girls in a self-contained campus adjoining Royal School lands on Ranfurly Road. In 1986 the high school was re-merged with the Royal School.

The Royal School Dungannon'smotto is 'Perseverando', Latin for 'by persevering'. It is sometimes interpreted as 'never say die' however theirstrapline, 'Excellence Through Perseverance', reflects the original translation more closely.The school motto was only introduced in 1986, when the Royal School Dungannon merged with the Girls' High School, adopting their motto as its own. Previous to this RSD did not have any form of motto.^[1]

The school colours, chocolate and magenta (  ), were adopted in 1870. They are shared by two other UK schools:Fettes College inEdinburgh and the rugby colours ofBradford Grammar School.^{[citation needed]}

Ahouse system exists to facilitate healthy sporting and academic competition. All students are assigned a house upon enrolling – where possible this is the same house as assigned to a previous relative at the school.

The current houses are named below. The names in brackets indicate the full name of each house given when the amalgamation with Dungannon High School for Girls in 1986 incorporated the high school's own house system. 1986 names follow the original, historic Royal School names.

• Mountjoy (now, Mountjoy-Ranfurly);
• Bullingbrook (now, Bullingbrook-Tyrone);
• Beresford (now, Beresford-Charlemount);
• Nicholson (now, Nicholson-Dungannon).

The names of houses refer to notable past headmasters, alumni or local geography.

• Margaret Barrington, (1896-1982), author.
• Thomas Bloomer, (1894–1984), Anglican Bishop of Carlisle.
• Francis Brinkley,(1841–1912), newspaper proprietor and scholar of Japanese culture.
• Darren Clarke, (born 1968), professional golfer.
• Richard Collins, Privy Councillor, and judge at Oscar Wilde's libel action against the Marquis of Queensberry in 1895.
• Joseph Stirling Coyne (1803–1868), playwright.
• Bill Craig, (1924–2011), politician.
• Sir William Crossley, 1st Baronet, (1844–1911), engineer
• John Richard Darley, (1799–1884), bishop of the United Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh.
• Sir Frederick Matthew Darley, (1830–1910), judge and politician.
• Abraham Dawson (Dean of Dromore), (1826–1905), Archdeacon of Dromore.
• James Dilworth, (1815–1894),

founder of Dilworth School, New Zealand.

• Richard Dowse, (1824–1890), judge and politician.^[2]
• George Kelly Dunlop (1830–1888). Anglican bishop
• Andrew Robert Fausset (1821–1910), Canon of York, Church of England clergyman and author.
• Sylvia Hermon, (born 1955), politician, ex Dungannon High School.
• George Higinbotham (1826–1892), judge
• Waller Hobson (1851–1924), Anglican Archdeacon of Armagh.
• Hugh Holmes (1840–1916), politician and judge.
• Paddy Johns, (born 1968), football player.
• Joseph Johnston, (1890–1972), politician.
• William King (bishop) (1650–1729), Archbishop of Dublin.
• Robert Foster Kennedy (1884–1952), neurologist.
• Francis Fowke (1823–1865), designer of the Royal Albert Hall, London.
• Hugh Law, (1818–1883), Lord Chancellor of Ireland^[3]
• Robert William Lowry, (1824–1905), soldier .

• Dominick McCausland, (1806–1873), judge and writer.
• James Carlile McCoan (1829–1904), politician and journalist.
• Ken Maginnis (born 1938), politician.
• W.F. Marshall (1888–1959), Presbyterian clergyman, wrote the school song.
• Lindsay Mason (1945–2006), politician.
• Kris Meeke, (born 1979), racecar driver.
• William Flavelle Monypenny (1866–1912), writer.
• Peter Nelson (born 1992), rugby player.
• John Nicholson (1821–1857), soldier.
• Sir William Olpherts (1822–1902), soldier.
• Thomas Orr (1857–1937), politician.
• David Pollock (born 1987), rugby player.
• Nicholas McKelvey, (born 1991),skier.^[4] 2011 World Universiade Winter Games in Erzurum, Turkey^[5] & 2007 European Youth Olympic Festival in Jaca, Spain.^[6]
• Alexander George Richey (1830–1883), historian.
• Joanne Salley (born 1977), artist and television presenter.
• Victor Sloan (born 1945), artist.
• Robertson Smyth (1879–1916), rugby player.
• Frederick Thomas Trouton (1863–1922), physicist.
• James Swanton Waugh (1822–1898), Wesleyan clergyman.
• SirFrancis Verner Wylie (1891–1970), civil servant.
• Gerald Francis Yeo, (1845–1909), physiologist.

• The Royal School, Dungannon official website

• 1614 establishments in Ireland
• Educational institutions established in the 1610s
• Private schools in Northern Ireland
• Grammar schools in County Tyrone
• Dungannon
• Boarding schools in Northern Ireland
• Boarding schools in Ireland
• Schools with a royal charter

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