Stevenson House

Housemaster: Mr. S. McMillan B.A., P.G.C.E.

House History

Stevenson House came into existence in October 1950 and was named after Joseph Stevenson, who was the first Secretary of Inst. He held this office from 1807-1837 and is regarded by many to be the real founder of the School. His personal qualities were said to be ‘untiring energy and conspicuous tact’, and it was hoped these qualities would be maintained by all members of the House. His portrait hangs in the school boardroom to this day.

During the 1980's Stevenson House was phased out of existence in response to a drop in entry numbers and, as the youngest House, it was the first to go, later followed by Jones. Thankfully, by the start of the 1990's the School saw its enrolment rise sufficiently for the House to be reinstated.

Stevenson House Report 

Senior Housemaster: Mr S McMillan 

Year 8 Tutor: Mrs M O’Fril  

Year 9 Tutor: Miss R Haslett 

Year 10 Tutor: Mr TH Lynn  

Year 11 Tutor: Miss N Cosgrove 

Year 12 Tutor: Mrs L Thom  

Year 13 Registration: Mr GIV Hamilton

Head of House: Duncan McGregor 

Deputy Head of House: Christopher Burns 

House Secretaries: James Surgenor & Patrick Thompson          

Prefects: Aiken AW, Burns CJ, McGregor DJ (Senior Prefect), McMurray CW, Surgenor JR, Tan RM, Thompson PJ (Senior Prefect).  

A warm welcome must go to this year’s Year 8 pupils, and many congratulations on being selected for Stevenson House! I would encourage you all to take full advantage of the various clubs and societies, and get involved with the House events, all of which are worthwhile and enjoyable experiences. 

Year 8 Stevenson House pupils get ready to go wet and wild at the Ganaway residential trip.

Congratulations to all those in Upper Sixth who have been appointed Prefects, in particular Patrick Thompson and Duncan McGregor on being appointed Senior Prefects as a result of their dedication, both academically and in extra-curricular activities. This year’s Stevenson prefects are: Duncan McGregor, Patrick Thompson, James Surgenor, Christopher Burns, Ryan Tan Alistair Aiken and Conal McMurray.  I know each one is proud to perform the role of Prefect and I have every confidence the will serve the School with distinction.

Last year’s academic results were exemplary both throughout the School and within Stevenson House. At A2 Level, particular note should be given to Qussei Buhidma, Andrew Little and Nathan Robinson who all achieved four A’s. At AS Level the trend of academic excellence continued with  Duncan McGregor and Patrick Thompson achieving four A grades; Michael Harris, Charlie McKeown and Conor Shevlin achieved three A’s and a B while Nathan Keown achieved three A’s and a C.  At GCSE Level, Stevenson House members were again amongst the high achievers with a significant number of boys achieving an impressive number of A* and A grades.

It has been evident throughout the years at RBAI that there is more to the School than excellent academic successes and in Stevenson House we have our share of high achievers throughout a variety of activities: Patrick Vincent and Ryan Tan were in the 1^st XV Rugby squad that made the final of the Schools’ Cup at Ravenhill; Callum Birney was selected to play for the youth squad at Glentoran F.C. and, along with Aaron Smith, was a member of the very successful Under 16 Football squad.  Callum was also one of four pupils in the School to be selected to play for Belfast Schools against Dublin Schools; Toby Boyd was the second placed Inst pupil in the Ulster Schools Golf competition with 9 over par; Ben Wylie captained the Ireland Under 15 Cricket squad; Conor Shevlin was selected for the Ulster Schools Swimming team and captained the Ireland Schools team. Also in swimming, Morgan Berryman, within his age group in Ireland, finished second in the 1500m freestyle. 

Samuel Millar (Year 10) had a particularly busy and successful year.  Samuel was a member of the Senior Quiz team which won the Northern Ireland Senior Schools’ Challenge and went on to represent Northern Ireland in the National Finals in London; he also competed for the School in the UK Team Mathematics Challenge and along with fellow Stevenson housemen, Philip McComiskey, Tomas McCleave, Duncan Wells and Lee Mason, achieved second place in the Novice category of the F1 in Schools competition in Birmingham. 

Adam Baird was awarded Cadet Firefighter of the Year; Andrew Gardner (Year 14) was awarded both the Gold and Silver in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Michael Davidson (Year 10) also received the Silver award, while Ben Lowe (Year 13), Peter Montgomery (Year 12) and Jonathan Burden (Year 11) received Bronze awards.  Jason Sime successfully completed the IFA Football Referee course, and Christopher Girvin was selected, out of hundreds of applicants from all over Ireland, to partake in Music Theatre for Youth, which gave him the opportunity to perform at the Grand Opera House. 

Patrick Thompson, Charlie McKeown and James Surgenor took part in the European Youth Parliament and represented Northern Ireland, along with other Inst pupils, in the UK stage of the prestigious competition. James Surgenor was also selected to play in both the City of Belfast Youth Concert Band and the Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra, both of which are known for their very selective application processes.

I would like to finish by once again wishing Mr McMillan every success during his reign as Stevenson Housemaster and wish all those in Stevenson House the best of luck both academically and in the various societies in which you all partake.  

James Surgenor (House Secretary)