Glynn Primary School - History

In years gone by there were five 'day schools' and two Sunday schools in Glynn. Of the five day schools, four were public and one was private. Lessons at the day schools were held mostly in private dwelling houses. The private school was for young children and according to Ordnance Survey memoirs, was of a humble and elementary description. Both Sunday schools were supported by the Sunday School Society for Ireland.

In 1825, Glynn Village National School was built. The school was located in a small one-storey stone house and built at a cost of approximately £50. The then proprietor of the village,
Randal William Johnston Esquire, paid for the majority of this cost. The average daily attendance in the 1820s was seventeen pupils. It is recorded that this number was made up of fourteen boys and three girls, of which two were Anglican, two were Roman Catholic and thirteen were Presbyterian. The building has now been renovated and is a private dwelling house. You can see the old school by clicking here.

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I Planted A Seed

In the autumn of 1947 one of Wilfred Pickles' Have a Go radio quiz programmes was broadcast by the B.B.C. from Glynn village hall. The then Principal of Glynn Primary School, Mr. Wilfred Bell, appeared in the programme and to that broadcast the book I Planted a Seed was attributable.
The poems and paintings in the book were representative of the unaided creations of boys and girls in Glynn Primary School in 1948.

Mr. Wilfred Bell said then; "In my school in Glynn I planted a seed. I created the environment in which the plants would grow. I tended the soil and I saw the plants reach the fullness of beauty that was inherent in them." The book back then cost four shillings and six pence (about 22½p today). For more details click here.

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In the 50s, 60s and 70s the number of pupils at Glynn Primary School increased significantly.

Also, boys and girls in the village were in the Guides, Scouts, Cubs and Brownies.
Click here to see a photograph of a group from the mid-1960s.

Click here to see a picture of the school pupils and staff taken in 1964-65.

Click here to see a picture of the school pupils and staff taken in 1973-74.

Click here to see a picture of the school football team during 1973-74.

In 1979 Glynn Primary School fielded a grand 5-a-side football (soccer) team. Below is a picture of the team that won the Milk Marketing Board Shield in 1979. Pictured with the team is the late school principal Mr A. J. Hoey. Click here to see the winning team.

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Glynn Primary School - Today

The current Glynn Primary School is located some 20 metres from the old school. The main building has three classrooms with an additional two external prefab classrooms set close by. There are approximately 54 boys and girls attending the school with ages ranging from four to eleven.

Contact Details:
Miss Diane Hawthorne MEd, BEd (Hons), DASE - Principal
Glynn Primary School
26 Main Road
Glynn
Larne
Co. Antrim
BT40 3HF
Tel. (028) 2827-6133

Click here to see pictures of the school building today.