Wallace High School, Lisburn

The Wallace High School is a co-educational grammar school in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.It was founded in 1880 by a bequest from the estate of Sir Richard Wallace, local landowner and Unionist MP, as the Lisburn Intermediate and University School on a site fronting the Antrim Road. A board of trustees took charge in 1900 to oversee the development of the growing school and, when they renamed it in 1942 in memory of its founder, they adopted the word Esperance as the school's motto from the Wallace coat of arms.The post-war years witnessed rapid growth in pupil numbers and consequent accommodation provision. Land was purchased at Clonevin Park, initially for playing fields, and when the Antrim Road site proved inadequate, the decision was taken to build a new school in these extensive grounds.Pupils and staff moved to the new building in 1976, and there are 1160 pupils in the grammar school and 200 in the preparatory department.The Wallace High School is currently undergoing construction on a new school expansion project. This will include construction of a new two storey extension which will include the subjects of Art, Home Economics, and Moving Image Arts which is set to finish by the end of December 2017. There is a fitness suite under construction which is planned to be complete by February 2018. A technology extension is also planned to begin construction in February 2018 and will conclude by August 2018.Existing 'mobile' classrooms, of which there are four, have been relocated to allow space for the expansion project. These mobile classrooms include the subjects of English, Maths, Modern Languages, Religious Education, among others.