Campbell College looks to encourage more students from southern Ireland to study at the Belfast school.
Campbell College in Belfast was founded at the height of the Belfast industrial boom of the 1890s. The college was established to follow the values of the liberal Protestant tradition.
Campbell College has been synonymous with two things over the years. Firstly, for turning out top class rugby players such as Mike Gibson. Secondly, it has provided the proper pedigree for people wishing to enter the Ulster Unionist establishment.
Southerners used to come to college here at Campbell but since the Troubles started that's all but ceased.
The current head of the college Brian Wilson would like to see students from southern Ireland attend Campbell College again. Brian Wilson has personal links with the south. His grandfather was Archbishop of Dublin and he has family from Cork and Castlepollard. He wants to renew the connection between Campbell College and south which was broken by years of violence in Northern Ireland.
Before the Troubles we had about 60 boys coming up and now we're down to one.
Brian Wilson believes that people from the south have a different view of things, perhaps more relaxed and cosmopolitan. He encourages any boy to apply for a scholarship to a college which can offer excellent facilities and has a very good academic record.
Campbell College offers a broad education spectrum. Students can study the classics, play sport and learn crafts. Over the years, Campbell College has provided Northern Ireland with top lawyers, doctors and clergymen. Many past pupils have become involved in the traditional Belfast industries of ship building and heavy engineering.
Located in the shadow of Stormont, many parents from the south may have misgivings about sending their children to Campbell College. Brian Wilson acknowledges that such fears exist, but says the reality is quite different. He reassures them that there are Catholic boys already attending the school. He would particularly welcome the sons of clergy from anywhere throughout the British Isles. A special scholarship has been created for sons of clergy. The school has places for day students and boarders. Brian Wilson is hopeful that the college will turn out academically developed, broad-minded leaders for the future.
Students at the college also believe that having classmates from the south around them would break down any preconceived ideas that both sides might have about each other. They would also welcome different perspectives and beliefs.
They don't realise that we are basically the same as them.
While the school is seeking more boys from southern Ireland, it is to end the temporary inclusion of girls. Brian Wilson explains that while the long term goal of the college is co-educational, the Department of Education decided that they were not entitled to pursue this objective. As a result, attendance by girls is being phased out.
This episode of 'Ireland's Eye' was broadcast on 9 March 1983. The reporter is Nick Coffey.
'Ireland's Eye' was a Tuesday-to-Friday series with human-interest stories and features from locations throughout Ireland. First broadcast on 7 October 1980, the programme ran until August 1983.
