The Belfast Old Instonians Association

📖 The latest edition of Sea-Horse is out now!

Congratulations and our thanks to Matthew Young, the Recorder, on another excellent edition of the BOIA magazine, bringing together news, memories and stories from across the Instonian community.

Among the features in the Summer 2026 edition is this wonderful story of three generations of the Gallagher family, connecting RBAI’s appearances at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens in 1967 and 1968 with the competition almost 60 years later!

Another excellent record of Instonian life, past and present⚫🟡

Read the Summer 2026 edition of Sea-Horse on the BOIA website: https://boia.org.uk/the-seahorse/

Paper copies have been posted to all those who have request them.

Saddened to hear that Sinclair Spence (RBAI 1953-60) has passed away.

Sinclair travelled from Nutts Corner each day, proud to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather by attending RBAI. He will be remembered by peers as a loyal member of Kelvin, participating in a range of House activities.

Sinclair left RBAI to study Medicine at QUB before practising as a GP in Moira for over 40 years.

Our thoughts are with the Spence family at this time.

Who remembers their first day at RBAI?

🎤🎧Beyond the Pillars podcast - Year 8 special

A new academic year is fast approaching and we can’t wait to welcome our new Year 8 pupils to begin their journey at RBAI.

In this must-listen episode, Amos, Hishaam and Tom share their experiences and offer advice and guidance to the new Year 8 pupils. The episode also features our Deputy Head of School, Luke, who provides an overview of the Year 8 Mentor programme.

Listen now:

Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/special-year-8-advice-on-starting-rbai/id1798940685?i=1000774069947

Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ZwFwQfDJrLNpzn8Hu6J5T?si=VRe8qg3qSdeC0Rg03apTkA

A date for the diary - Inchmarlo Autumn Gala:

📅 Date: Saturday 10th October 2026

📍 Location: Culloden Estate and Spa

🎟️ Order Tickets: https://forms.gle/qQTMtNAerZhZk7PDA

Throwback Thursday . . .

It’s that time again – can you guess the year?

🎉This year was a very special one for RBAI, with plenty of celebrations including a Waterfront gala concert and Instonians Sports Day.

🛶Our Year 8s enjoyed their annual residential trip to Gannaway.

🎨The Art department led the creation of a unique sculpture to celebrate an important year for RBAI, which took nearly six months to complete.

👑Some lucky CCF members had the chance to meet The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at Hillsborough Castle.

🐾A team of RAF Cadets took part in a summer camp at RAF Kinloss, engaging in a diverse range of activities including a visit to the Dog Section.

🌊A highlight of the Senior CU calendar was a weekend trip to Sheep Island View Hostel in Ballintoy.

🎭The Drama Society joined forces with Strathearn School to put on two evenings of performances including ‘Twelve Angry Men’.

⚜️The Scout Group joined Habitat for Humanity NI to build homes for families in need in Mozambique.

🇨🇱After two years of planning and fundraising, two RBAI teams took on a World Challenge to Chile, pictured here at the summit of Volcan Lascar.

💻Matthew McClatchey (Year 😎 was named winner of the prestigious ‘Young Web Designer of the Year’ competition.

🏉The Under 12s rugby season was severely affected by snow but this photo of them celebrating a win against Methody at Pirrie Park was a highlight.

🎾The Intermediate tennis team secured an impressive Intermediate Cup win against Sullivan Upper.

♟️Brothers Kiran (Year 9) and Kevin Robbin (Year 8 ) won Ulster’s most prestigious schools chess tournament, earning themselves a chance to represent Ulster.

👨🏻And finally – a number of RBAI staff took part in ‘Movember’ for charity – there are a few familiar faces here!


And in other news…

In this year, Apple officially launched the first generation iPad and Instagram was launched as a new photo sharing app.

What a year!

Another gone too soon. Peter Rainey (RBAI 1976-83) will be fondly remembered by many...

Tributes paid to former Belfast Telegraph picture editor Peter Rainey following death The death of former Belfast Telegraph picture editor Peter Rainey at the age of 57 has prompted many tributes.

🎧🏉Beyond the Pillars with Brian McLaughlin


Mr Brian McLaughlin is the latest guest on our Beyond the Pillars podcast. Brian was Head of PE at RBAI (1992-2009) and led the 1st XV to nine Schools Cup Finals, winning five of them. Brian also worked as skills coach for the Ireland rugby team under Eddie O’Sullivan and was appointed Ulster Head Coach in 2009, leading them to the Heineken Cup Final in 2012. Brian discusses his teaching and coaching career, as well as the important role that sport can play for lifelong learning.

Listen now:

Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/episode/6IgqaEA97tVlOr3mTbcGrr?si=7U2GeUgUS4CoPc1xQcvBSQ

Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/special-coaching-resilience-with-brian-mclaughlin/id1798940685?i=1000774668641b

A few dates for the diary…