Stephen Nolan
One of the most popular presenters in British radio, Stephen was
born in Belfast in 1973 and was educated at the Royal Belfast
Academical Institution and Queen’s University. He won early fame
with BBC Northern Ireland as a radio and television presenter and
has been presenting an award-winning show on BBC Radio Five Live
since 2005. He also presents a show for Radio Ulster. Known for his
cheeky sense of humour and straight talking style, he was UK Speech
Broadcaster of the Year 2003 and Royal Television Society Regional
Presenter of the Year in 2005 and 2006.
A building which stands
proudly in Belfast City Centre completely transformed my
life. The Royal Belfast Academical Institution, or ‘Inst’
for short, is quite simply an astonishing example of how a school
is so much more than just a place to learn. I was born on the
Ballygomartin Road, not too far away from the
Shankill Road and when I reached secondary school age, I was
determined to go to the Boys’ Model school with the rest of my
mates. Why? Simple. They wore white socks, played football and I
thought I’d blend in with my hard man accent and tipped
hair.
Of course, the Boys
Model was a great school, but my parents had other thoughts and so
I was dragged, kicking and screaming, to Inst. I was nearly sick at
the thought of wearing black socks (only toffs did that!) and rugby
was for snobs. I’ll never forget walking through those huge front
doors for the first time, to enter a massive centre square called
‘the quad’ and the towering Assembly Hall straight ahead. The
classrooms were old, the desks engraved with names of pupils who
were now grandfathers, but even as an 11-year-old boy I quickly
knew I had found my true home. I met people from the
Malone Road for the first time, I picked up my first
rugby ball within weeks and slowly threw the white socks into the
uncool pile. I was starting to be moulded into the man I would
become. Inst is an incredible place. It somehow instils a sense of
pride and enthusiasm into every pupil, nurturing personality and
creating an infectious desire to be a winner. It is a special
place, set right in the heart of a special city.
