St. Patrick's Academy Dungannon

Dedicated to St Patrick, the Academy has been a beacon for quality Catholic education in Dungannon since 1891 and while preparing for the opening of a brand new school building in 2018, The Academy continues to be a centre of excellence for the 21st Century.The Academy is a progressive school that is constantly developing new opportunities for pupils, steadfast in maintaining academic standards complemented by a diverse range of activities that develop skills for the workplace and character for living a virtuous and productive life.Founded in 1891, St. Patrick’s Academy was, for its first three years, a boys’ school. From September 1894, the Sisters of Mercy undertook the teaching of students in preparation for the Intermediate board’s examination. The Girls’ Academy was based in a single room in the newly-built Mercy Convent on Northland Row.Both schools moved to new premises on Killyman Road in September 1901; the Academy building was to be the home of the school for the next seventy years. The Boys’ Academy was always led by the clergymen appointed by the Tyrone Roman Catholic Board of Education, while the Girls’ Academy was led by a senior member of the Sisters of Mercy.The Academy eventually outgrew its home on the Killyman Road. In 1975, the two schools moved to a new building on the Killymeal Road. Although housed in the same building, the Boys’ Academy and Girls’ Academy were two distinct and separate institutions. The phenomenal growth in the student numbers and need to provide the very best educational provision has resulted in the formal amalgamation of the Boys’ and Girls’ Academies with effect from 2003.For over one hundred years, St. Patrick’s Academy / Acadamh Naomh Pádraig, has been a vital part of the educational, culture and religious life of Tyrone.