Talk:Belfast Royal Academy

Assess
Need references. Lots. Victuallers 15:08, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

LOL
this school is full of complete fruitbats. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.29.211.90 (talk) 22:20, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

I marvel at the validity of that point.86.150.252.38 (talk) 20:41, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

The Ulster banner
Is not the flag of N Ireland, and hasn´t been for some three decades. N Ireland has no flag. Lets not turn this into a big thing, as it is in use in this way nowhere else on wikipedia, or the world for that matter. ʄ! •¿talk?  00:14, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
 * What is the source for your contention that it is not used in the rest of the world?Traditional unionist (talk) 00:15, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Removed per WP:FLAG. One Night In Hackney  303  00:17, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Which was an action of edit warring.Traditional unionist (talk) 00:18, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

My source is the government of the United Kingdom which both ignores the Ulster banner & forbids its use, and One Night In Hackney´s edit was simply enforcing wikipedia content policies. ʄ! •¿talk?  02:06, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
 * It certainly does not forbid its use. Nor could it to "the rest of the world"Traditional unionist (talk) 11:01, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

In any kind of official capacity, yes it does forbid it. What on earth are you trying to prove by attempting to use it? You wont be able a find a single source supporting its use. ʄ! •¿talk?  21:04, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
 * You're clearly not from Northern Ireland. It is used by Local Government, and as an ex-officio flag widely.  Including todays Sunday Times.Traditional unionist (talk) 21:12, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Principal / Headmaster
What's the difference between a principal and a headmaster (specifically within the context of the section in this article)? --HighKing (talk) 16:02, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

Originally (ie in the 1700's) the "Head" was known as the "Principal" but during the later half of the 1800's the name changed to the current "Headmaster" hence the need to differentiate between the 2 titles Cliftonville (talk) 19:43, 16 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Is there a reference for that - it's an interesting fact. I've briefly checked the school site and a little bit of googling, but I can't find it.  --HighKing (talk) 14:30, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's mentioned/discussed in the 3 official histories of the school Cliftonville (talk) 19:12, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Can you provide page numbers and a wee snippet/quote? I'm forming an opinion that since "Headmaster" is the current title, then the section is better named headmaster, and the fact that the original term was "Principal" would make a good and interesting note in the text.  --HighKing (talk) 18:56, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately I don't have the books infront of me at the moment so the actual ref is a little difficult to give you - sorry, however I am now tending to your view and support the change to simply "Headmasters" thanks Cliftonville (talk) 00:42, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Categories for discussion: nomination of various 'Alumni' categories
The 'alumni' category associated with this school has been nominated for renaming, along with all similar categories in Northern Ireland. Comments are invited at the categories' entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. Occuli (talk) 00:17, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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BRA RUGBY
rugby ugh yes rn
 * 1) yes #no #cringe #ugh — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7D:7078:2D00:FCC0:2B87:4F0:A9DE (talk) 17:40, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Infobox
I have simplified the infobox to use the affiliations parameter, reduced the complexity of the legend markup by using standard legend templates, and used URL for formatting the website. please discuss here if there is a problem. Frietjes (talk) 13:37, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree. Thanks for the improvement! Plastikspork ―Œ (talk)  13:37, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Hi, Frietjes and Plastikspork, I'm guessing that you are some sort of Wikipedia style cops. Thanks for your input on the House table.  However, the Columns template is not rendering it well on smaller mobile devices; e.g., my 6" display smartphone.  Also, the House names should be alphabetized horizontally, with a smaller gap between the columns.  Unless you have fixed these issues within two days, I shall address them myself.  Thanks  AstralCiaran (talk) 22:00, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Protestant school
The school was founded as a Protestant school. At some point it the past it decided to admit Catholic pupils. If any such Catholics enrolled, they enrolled in a Protestant school. At some point in the recent past, it became non denominational. None of this prevents it being categorised as a Protestant school as intended by its founders IMHO. Laurel Lodged (talk) 12:37, 5 November 2021 (UTC)


 * As stated in the revision history, the school was founded in the spirit of liberal Presbyterian enlightenment prevalent in Belfast at that time, which advocated religious tolerance, and has been non-denominational since its inception. A supporting citation, describing the regime when the school received its first boarders in 1786, has been added. The relevant text is: As the Academy was non-denominational, however, boys were taken to their own particular churches where possible. AstralCiaran (talk) 02:14, 6 November 2021 (UTC)

Notable alumni
Former pupils of good reputation, who have distinguished themselves professionally, and brought honour to the school, can be added to this section. Sources should be cited for those without their own Wikipedia articles. Neutral point of view notwithstanding, it is not standard practice for schools to include infamous alumni here. AstralCiaran (talk) 18:27, 14 January 2022 (UTC)


 * The consequences of airbrushing history only draw the more attention to it. If one wants to draw attention in a crowd, (in this case a crowd of readers), one whispers.

One of rhe principles of all good schools, state, grammer, public, is probity: one achieves that by cultivating many things: one of which is honesty, which, in it's turn, generates respect. History should be taught. One doesn't draw attention to a mess that a person has accidentally stepped in, but one doesn't either fail to teach those younger than oneself, who are a few steps; behind in years to tread more carefully. The man, a thief, had more respect for the truth than this edit has, because, whilst unfortunately possessed of a lamentable skill, Scott called himself "A master idiot": one can respect such remorseful self-appraisal, whilst regretting that the decline in honesty, in what is pleased to think of itself as more respectable circles, now so dominates as still to be capable of learning something from the crimminal classes. Heath St John (talk) 02:14, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Burglar or Cat Burglar?
Peter Scott was more famous as a cat burglar, so should he not be listed as such, rather than as simply a burglar? 2A00:23CC:4D88:2701:A0F3:A3E0:3D38:EC59 (talk) 10:15, 21 June 2023 (UTC)


 * In my opinion, the generic "burglar" is sufficient here. It is incumbent on editors to avoid clutter and duplication of more specific material that can be found in the subject's main article, for which the link has been provided. Something like, "cat burglar and gentleman thief", is too much information for the school page. Note that, from WP:ALUMNI, entries should have a description of their notability, so trying to keep these as terse as possible. AstralCiaran (talk) 00:56, 22 June 2023 (UTC)


 * OK. I'll settle for that explanation. Thank you for your contribution. 2A00:23CC:4D88:2701:5006:92E7:5EB9:B53E (talk) 01:11, 23 June 2023 (UTC)
 * No problem, thanks for listening to my point of view. AstralCiaran (talk) 23:47, 23 June 2023 (UTC)