Living history at Wilsons

Adrian Oughton has slowly revived the once ailing Wilson"s Hospital school, from a crumbling buildings to a modern school with 400 students currently on the books of the private school.The improvement in numbers is something which the headmaster will take away from the school as his major achievement from his time as "warden" at one of Ireland"s most prestigious academic institutions.'Getting the pupil numbers up from 286 which is what they were when I arrived to the 400 students we have today is the thing that I am most proud of I suppose,' said Adrian.Moving to the school was an 'upheaval' for the Oughton family unit as the couple"s three children were still at school in Dundalk and his new job meant a move away from their home in Drogheda where Adrian had spent the majority of his career teaching at St. Joseph"s CBS.While Adrian is not of the Catholic faith, his career flourished while he was at St. Joseph"s and he was asked to take a school management course at Maynooth which would eventually lead to a headmaster"s post at a CBS school.'I was right in the middle of the course when the job at Wilson"s came up,' said Adrian. 'There was never a question of bad feelings with the Brothers who I have the greatest of time and respect for and they wished me well when I left.'It was a big change for the children because they were used to an urban centre like Drogheda and of course my son still had two years of national school to go.'The biggest challenge Adrian faced when he arrived at the school was that the buildings had been neglected for several years and renovation work at Wilson"s has only just been completed.'A lot of credit must go to our bursar, Liam Coyle who I worked with closely to finance the renovation work that we needed to have done. When I arrived a lot of the school had fallen into disrepair and we were working with portable classrooms which have thankfully now gone. I would say that the school buildings are now on a par with any in the country.'Wilsons currently houses students of 14 nationalities who travel to the famous school to get the Irish Leaving Cert which is recognised at top universities both at home and abroad.'People forget what a valuable document the Irish Leaving Certificate is and it provides a passport to further education across the world,' said Adrian.'We have students from Spain, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Japan and Zambia and we have of course our students from across Ireland and our local girls and boys, the day pupils, from Mullingar, Castlepollard, Coole and across Westmeath.'We also have students from across Ireland from as far away as Donegal and Dingle in Kerry. Yes, sometimes the younger ones can get homesick when they arrive but I have to say it is usually one or two of the new boys who find it hard to settle in.'I remember one boy in particular who ended his career here as captain of the rugby team but cried for the first few weeks he was here.'He had to ring mammy every day and ask after the cattle and the sheep but he settled in and came to love it here. I would say that students who go to a boarding school have a great advantage when it comes to going on to university because they are better able to look after themselves even if they have to cook their own dinners.'They realise that there is a time for study, for play. for sleeping whereas some students who haven"t had that discipline find it very hard to adapt to running their own schedules.'Adrian is understandably proud of his students" academic achievements but is quick to point out that excellence in exams is far from the central focus of life at Wilson"s.'We cater for students of all abilities and while many of our pupils have achieved great results I would like to think that our students leave the school able to cope with whatever they may have to face in life.'When Andrew Wilson founded the school in 1761 it was so that all boys who came here, regardless of money or academic ability, could have an education. He had no children of his own and because his wealth wasn"t inherited he was able to dispose of it as he pleased and his name has been passed on through the generations because of his good deed.'Many of Adrian"s pupils go through their time at Wilson"s with little regard for the history of the school which is in fact the site of the last battle between the Crown forces and the United Irishmen in 1798.The chapel at Wilson"s is housed in the original school building and dates back to 1761, and proudly bears plaques with the names of all the "old boys" who lost their lives in both world wars.'Strangely more of our past pupils lost their lives in the second world war than the first,' said Adrian. 'Usually the number of deaths would have been higher in World War I.'For some of the students the school is just that, the place that they live and learn but some others realise its historical value and we use it for their coursework projects.'As the first lay teacher to take the position of headmaster at the school Adrian Oughton is already assured of his place in Wilson"s long, proud history but has no intention of putting his feet up as yet.'When the time comes for me to retire I"ll go back to my own house in Drogheda and take up some of the interests I have had no time for over the last 16 years' he said.'At one time I was a League of Ireland football referee but I"m a bit too old for that now,' he laughed. 'I"ll have plenty of time for my gardening then, but not just yet.'