Blackwater Integrated College is an 11-16 secondary school on a restricted site with about 230 pupils though with the capacity for twice as many. Mr S Taylor is the school's current principal.[3]
Blackwater Integrated College opened in September 2008. It was formed as a merger of Down Academy and Rowallane Integrated College. Down Academy had been formed when Killyleagh, Castlewellan, and Quoile High Schools amalgamated in 1991. Down Academy became a controlled integrated school in 1998.[4] The Blackwater site was chosen for its central location.[5]: 18
In 2019 Blackwater was one of 22 school with sustainability issues with too few pupils to remain financially viable.[6] The centre of school population is closer to Belfast, and additional capacity is needed to support students who failed to get a place at Lagan College.[5]: 26
A period of consultation on the school's future ended 3 June 2021. With the support of the college, a new integrated college with an admission number of 100 will be opened on a different site Mid Down Integrated College on 1 September 2023 and Blackwater Integrated College will close on or shortly after 31 August 2023.[5]
The school is small so a single child can distort the statistic.[7] It fares well in inspections, and its year 12 results were above average for two of the last three reported years.[5]: 21, 22
