About Our School

Alexander Dickson is a controlled primary school situated on an elevated site on the Comber Road, Ballygowan. The school draws from Ballygowan and the surrounding rural areas.

The present enrolment is 101 with 8 teaching staff including the Principal. The school premises are bright, well maintained and modern. Accommodation consists of 6 permanent classrooms, a resource room which accommodates our learning support and a multi-purpose sports hall, which also serves as a dining hall.

All classrooms have interactive whiteboards and a range of computers. There is a well stocked library and computer suite.

The grounds have been developed to include a fitness trail and gardens. Ballygowan Community Playgroup has a new purpose built unit also in our grounds. A large hard surface playground provides a valuable resource for play time, P.E. and outdoor play.

As part of our extended day, we have an ‘Early Bird’ club which runs each day from 8.15 am. Children enjoy the relaxed environment where they participate in art and computer activities, play with construction toys or board games. In the afternoons, a range of after-school activities are offered; they vary each term depending on suggestions from our School’s Council. Activities include: football, basketball, tag rugby, badminton, cookery, study, art and cycling proficiency.

We also have a ‘Late Bird’ club from 2-3 pm each day which allows parents to collect all their children at 3 pm.

Pupils engage in a range of activities which enhance their learning. Primary 5-7 children visit Ards Leisure Centre for swimming tuition; all children receive weekly Spanish lessons by a special language teacher. Our Personal Development & Mutual Understanding work is supplemented by input from the Helping Hands Project, CASE programme, New Beginnings and our partnership with Ballygowan Seniors’ Club.

Community links are important to us and we value the positive relations we have with parents as well as the wider community. Ballygowan Presbyterian church is very generous with their support and we are delighted to have Ballygowan Community Playgroup on our site.

Our classes are small and most have a classroom assistant thereby offering the teachers greater opportunities to give each child individual time and attention and making it easier to integrate children of varying levels of ability.

High standards are expected and actively encouraged in all aspects of school life including work, attendance and uniform.