our school - history

Edenderry Primary School occupies a unique position in the history of Portadown
with the school being able to trace its origins back to the year 1840 and a three
storied house in Bridge Street. This school was later transferred across the street
and subsequently ended up in a building forming part of a Mr W. J. Green's hayloft
before finally finding its resting place in a building behind Edenderry First
Presbyterian Church.

By 1877 the attendance had increased considerably and the accommodation was so
inadequate that extension became necessary. Further growth prompted the
formation of a sub-committee, in 1886, to wait on the Baroness Von Steiglitz of
Carrickblacker, and a site for a new building was obtained at the top of Edenderry
Hill.

This new school was an immense improvement upon the old, its location could
scarcely be surpassed. The two storied building was built on a site at the junction of
two roads and consisted of two large rooms, together with four classrooms and three
cloakrooms. On either side of the building there were two large playgrounds for the
use of girls and boys respectively.

For eighty years the building on Carrickblacker Road served thousands of pupils
from the Edenderry district and further afield but as the reputation of the school grew
accommodation was insufficient. The County Armagh Education Committee decided
to build a new school in the Princess Way area of Killicomaine and this was duly
opened in April 1968. This is, of course, the school that still serves the community
today.