Prize Day 2009
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Thank you, Mrs Bell and good afternoon and welcome to the AntrimGrammar School Prize Distribution. It is our great pleasure to welcome Mrs Joan Christie OBE, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for CountyAntrim as our Special Guest and we look forward to her address later.
We are also delighted that some of our political representatives have been able to join us today to celebrate the achievements of our young people. At this point it is appropriate to thank two frequent visitors to our school, the Mayor Of Antrim, Adrian Cochrane-Watson for the considerable assistance we have received from Antrim Borough Council, and from him personally, and the Chairman of NI Assembly Education Committee Mervyn Storey MLA for his unstinting work and support of this school at a time of considerable uncertainty. It is much appreciated.
2008/2009 was a year of considerable success for Antrim Grammar School, beginning in September with a Standard School inspection, which reaffirmed the quality of the work ongoing within the school, and ending with our designation, in the face of fierce competition, as a Specialist School for Mathematics and Computing, once again confirming our position as one of Northern Ireland’s top performing schools.
The Standard Inspection of the school looked at all aspects of our provision and we were delighted, though not surprised, that the team of inspectors concluded that “the quality of education provided by this organisation is very good” and, especially, that no areas for improvement were identified in the final report, either on a whole school basis or in the three focus subject areas of Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages and Science, a rare occurrence in such inspections. Instead the report highlighted clear strengths in those three major subject areas including the leadership offered by Dr Woods, Dr Byrne and Mrs Calvert respectively and on the teaching throughout the school, the majority of which was very good or outstanding.
Our mantra of “Educating for Life” emphasises the importance we place on personal development, relationships and thinking about others and we are delighted that this was also evident in our inspection. The ETI reported upon “the exemplary behaviour of the pupils who display a clear sense of pride in their community” and “the outstanding provision for pastoral care”, again an accolade very rarely used! This would not be possible other than for the commitment of our Pastoral Team, under the leadership of Mr Brian Gingles, and, in particular, the work of our Year Tutors, work which often goes on unnoticed but which we recognise today.
The inspection report also highlighted the exam performance of our students in stating that our “A Level results have shown clear improvement while our pupil achievement in GCSE grades A*-C in at least seven subjects was well above the NI average for similar selective schools”, an achievement repeated again this summer.
At A Level, the very good results obtained across the Year Group allowed our pupils to access quality courses in many disciplines in the UK’s top universities. There were also many terrific individual achievements including –
9 candidates, who achieved 3 or more A grades, Sarah Dennison, Amy Duncan, Kirsty Fleming, Vanessa Humphrey, Sarah Jane Kennedy, James Patterson, Jane Playfair, Kerry Sinnerton and Michael Smyth.
That list included our Head Girl and Head Boy of last year, Amy Duncan and James Patterson, and I wist to pay tribute to the tremendous job they did in representing the school last year at a variety of events. We are delighted to see them, and many of their colleagues, at Prize Day today.
The results at AS Level were even more pleasing with almost two thirds of examinations resulting in A or B grades and more than three quarters gaining 3 or more A – C grades. Outstanding individual performances included 11 students, Chloe Boyd, Joey Chan, James Gardiner, Charlotte Lamont, Mark Lewis, Rachel Lewis, Rachael McAllister, Carrie McClenaghan, Emma McFadden, Jayne McGlaughlin and Amy McIlwaine who attained 4 A grades while 3 or more A grades were attained by 25 students.
It is not often that I like to single out subjects, in what are excellent results across many departments, however on this occasion it would be remiss not to highlight the results in Art and Design, under the leadership of Subject Leader Mrs Joanne Stranney, where all 24 pupils sitting A Level or AS Level examinations attained A grades, a remarkable achievement which could not go unnoticed. Special mention must also go to two Art and DesignAS students, Alex Pearce, whose work was selected by CCEA for its True Colours exhibition for the second consecutive year, and to Gillian Fleming who received full marks.
The success story continued at GCSE, where we repeated last year’s excellent performance, with 50% of all examinations sat resulting in A* or A grades, 96% of students achieving 7 or more grades at A* - C and 25 students achieving 8 or more grades at A* or A. In recognition of the success of the whole Year group we held our Celebration of GCSE Achievement last month where all students received their GCSE certificates but today we recognise, in particular, those 15 individuals, highlighted in the programme, who achieved A* or A in all their full GCSE examinations. We also offer special congratulations to Hayley Donaldson and Carrie Ingram who were placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in Northern Ireland in GCSE Journalism.
It is also noteworthy that nineteen subjects exceeded NI grammar school averages for A* to C grades and, that at a time, where the standards of literacy and numeracy in schools are being questioned every Year 12 Antrim Grammar School pupil gained at least a C grade in both English and Mathematics.
An area we hear much talk from the Minister of Education concerns the delivery of the Entitlement Framework and the implied threats to schools who may not comply. However, within the Antrim Learning Community, collaboration involving our near neighbours ParkhallCollege, CrumlinIntegratedCollege, St Benedicts College, the Northern Regional College and CAFRE has allowed our pupils access to courses in Horticulture, Equine Studies and Engineering at GCSE and to Sports Studies and Psychology post 16 and most importantly to succeed in them. As a school we offer, and will continue to offer, a wide range of appropriate courses, not for the sake of meeting the Entitlement Framework but rather to ensure that we address the needs, hopes and aspirations of our pupils both at Key Stage 4 and post 16 and, most importantly, provide them with qualifications which prepare them for the demands of the 21st Century.
Of course our school, despite our excellent academic reputation, is about much more than results and curriculum and extra curricular activities play a big part in enhancing our pupils’ experience of school.
Our pupils continue to perform very well in Athletics with athletes winning numerous medals at District, Ulster and Irish levels including our Senior Girls Relay team who were placed 2nd in Ulster and 3rd in the All Ireland final. Congratulations to their coaches, Mrs McIvor and Mr McKenna, and to all our athletes with special mention to Amy Alexander, Rebecca McAllister and C J McDonald who were selected for both the NI Athletics team and for Ulster and to Rebecca McAllister who also represented Irish Schools in Glasgow last December.
In Rugby the 1st XV defeated Strabane Grammar in the Schools Cup before losing agonisingly to a last minute drop goal at WellingtonCollege in their next game. In the subsequent Subsidiary competition the team reached the semi final, only to lose narrowly to Down High in an exciting, keenly contested fixture. In a team game the undoubted individual performance of the season, or perhaps any season, came from Adam Gray who scored 41 points in the team’s Schools Cup win against Strabane GS, an achievement unlikely to be repeated!
The Girls’ Rugby Team continued their recent run of success and reached the Ulster Schools Final for the second time in three years. Over 200 spectators travelled to Ravenhill to support the girls but, despite the tremendous atmosphere they created, we disappointingly lost to Enniskillen Collegiate by 1 score. Congratulations, however, to all the girls and their coaches, Mr McKenna and Michael Duncan, for yet another excellent season.
Boys’ and Girls’ Hockey also continue to thrive with many outstanding results and individual performances. Individual successes for girls included Carrie Richmond being selected for the North Eastern Board U14 Regional Development Squad, C J McDonald and Rebecca McAllister who were selected for the North East U17 Squad and Rebecca McAllister and Rebecca Grant who played forUlsterin the U18B game versus Leinster. Not to be outdone, boys Andy Blair, Rory Brown and Ross McIvor were selected at RDS level and Rowan Bailey and Ryan Bailey progressed to trials for the UK Youth Games.
Thanks must go to all those involved in coaching these teams, both members of teaching staff and external coaches, and, in particular to Mr Baguley, Mr McKenna, Mr Brown and Mrs McIvor for directing and organising these major sports.
Show jumping, under the direction of Mrs Lavery, continued to prosper and there were numerous successes for teams in Open and Novice sections and for Joanne Blair and Ellen Wilson as individuals in Ulster Schools Show Jumping competitions.
Individuals have also excelled in many other sports, including Johnny Beers, in Cycling, Rebecca Barry in Swimming, Abigayle Gill in Equestrianism, Wayne Boyd in the Formula 3 Championship and Scott McClenaghan who equalled the world record for his age group at the British Weight Lifting Championships.
Turning from sport Stephen Fletcher a Year 9 pupil, qualified for the UK Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad, a competition eligible for GCSE pupils and, our Biology debating team, of Amy Duncan, Lucy Finn and Anna-Claire McMahon, qualified for the NI final held at W5 only to be narrowly defeated by Belfast High School.
National success was gained by Lyndsey Hoe and Leah Smyth who maintained our tradition of excellence in the Belfast Telegraph Young Web Designers of the Year competition, by winning the Key stage 4 Competition, success which is recognised in the award of the Kathleen Adams Cup today.
It would be impossible to mention the successes achieved in all competitions last year, and any omission is totally unintentional but other highlights were the success of Claire Adams in theRotary Young Leaders Competition, Ashton Davis in Public speaking, and Alex McFarlane who performed in Mother Goose at the Opera House.
An evening of A Level Performing Arts provided an opportunity for Year 13 students, led by Mrs Gilbert and Mrs Hughes, to present “Faith County” and for Year 14 pupils to showcase their examination work. Both performances left a big impression on their audiences, and also their adjudicator, and clearly demonstrated the wide ranging talent of our young people.
Considerable talent was also on display at our Carol and Spring Concerts as Music continues to play an important part in our school. Individually Charlotte Lamont became only the second pupil from the school to be invited to join the Irish Youth Orchestra, recognition of a wonderful talent! Thanks to Dr Reidy and Mr Gillespie, together with the peripatetic staff, for their work and we look forward to the musical contributions to follow.
Our international dimension continues to flourish and we have developed curricular links across the world. Through the work of Dr Byrne and the Connecting Classrooms project, sponsored by the British Council, we were honoured to host two teachers from the Al-Bassam schools in Saudi Arabia, providing our pupils with an historic opportunity to gain first hand experience of Middle Eastern culture and education. Video conferencing has also opened up frontiers with, amongst others, A Level Physics students liaising with scientists in CERN, Geneva, and Year 8 pupils engaging in a Mission to Mars with NASA and a school in New York.
The list of opportunities provided for our pupils through school trips was considerable with educational visits to Auschwitz and Paris, day trips to various events across Ireland and sports trips together with a World Challenge expedition to Vietnam which was certainly a “once in a lifetime” experience for our young people and their Leaders, Dr Finlay and Miss Garvin.
Of course, none of the excellent opportunities, inside or outside the classroom would be possible without the hard work, dedication and ability of our staff. As I have stated previously, we are privileged in AntrimGrammar School to have a teaching staff, which is second to none and totally committed to the school and the development and pastoral care of its pupils. I wish to record my thanks, along with pupils, parents and governors for their work which allows AntrimGrammar School to be the excellent academic and pastoral school that it has been since its inception.
My personal thanks and appreciation go to the members of the Senior Leadership Team, Mr Brown, Mr Neill, Mrs Reid and Dr Woods, and, in particular, to our two Vice Principals, Mr Gingles and Mr Hughes, for their support, insight and advice throughout what was a successful, but extremely busy, year.
As always the school depends on the hard work of many behind the scenes. Without the unstinting support of our non teaching staff AntrimGrammar School could not function in the way that it does and we thank them for it.
This year the Ad Astra Shield for contribution to the school goes to one of those unsung heroes, Mrs Helen Ingram, nominally Principal’s secretary but a title that doesn’t do justice to the incredible support which she provides for me, nor to her commitment to the school as a Parent, Friend and, previously, as a Governor. We are blessed to have someone who sets such exceptional standards in all aspects of her work and we hope that the Award in some way conveys our appreciation for all that Helen does for the school and for us personally.
We also pay tribute to the work of Friends, under the Chairmanship of MrsRoberta Brown, who continue to support us at school events and in co-ordinating fund raising, not an easy task particularly in these times of economic difficulty. Amongst many activities, the success of last year’s Sponsored Walk in raising in excess of £7000 towards a new mini bus stands testament to their excellent efforts.
2008/2009 saw the retirement of Ann Titterington, a valued and respected member of our Biology Department and I wish to record my thanks to her and wish her well for the future. We were fortunate to secure the services of two highly respected former members of staff Mrs Anne Drennan and Mrs Heather Gardiner to cover maternity leaves in Geography and Modern Foreign Languages together with Mrs Karen Armstrong, Miss Deborah Bissett and Miss Cath Skipper, other temporary employees, who contributed to the school during the year. To all these people we thank them for their hard work and commitment and wish them well for the future.
We were delighted to retain the services for this year of two other temporary teachers, Miss Karla Garvin and Mr Hugh Woodcock and to appoint on a permanent basis, Mrs Elizabeth Fullerton in Mathematics, Mrs Sarah Hanna in History and English and Mr Stephen Johnston as Head of Chemistry. Other arrivals were baby daughters Zoe to Mrs Sharon Craig and Ella to Dr Louise O’Kane and baby sons Isaac to Ms Louise Agnew, Jack to Mrs Noeleen Ayling and Rio Benjamin to Mr Robert McKee and our best wishes extend to them and their families.
Other happy occasions during the year included the marriages of Miss Haren, Miss Burch, Miss Taylor and Miss Liddle now Mrs Lavery, Mrs Reid, Mrs Hanna and Mrs Stranney respectively, again we offer our best wishes for their future happiness.
Another group of people who contribute tirelessly to our success are the Board of Governors and it is appropriate to thank them for their hard work and for the insight and expertise which they bring to running the school. In addition to monthly meetings, there are regular meetings of sub committees with 34 meetings taking place last year, involving many difficult decisions at this time of turmoil in education. During this time we certainly missed our Chairman, Roy Stinson as he continued to recuperate after major surgery. It would not be possible in the time available to give justice to the work Roy has done for the school but I echo Mrs Bell’s tribute earlier and the renaming of the Assembly Hall as the Stinson Hall is a fitting honour to a man without whose courage and commitment we would not have the successful school we have today.
The increasing accountability of schools and the challenge to the grammar school system have placed additional demands and necessitated considerable commitment from all our governors but, in particular, for Mrs Susan Bell, who not only stood in as Acting Chairperson, before becoming Chairperson, but has found time to attend every meeting and school function throughout the year providing invaluable support to us all. On behalf of the school community I would wish to thank you and ask James Gardiner, our Head Boy, to present you with a small token of our gratitude today.
The issue of post primary transfer continues to dominate many of our meetings of Boards of Governors. I do not wish to get involved in all the politics surrounding the debate today. However the Education Minister continues to remind us that, on this issue, we should listen to the wishes of parents and the wishes of young people. As a school we would wish to say that we are listening and the growing interest from pupils wanting to come to this school emphasises to us the support that continues to exist, across all sectors of the community, for the retention of a grammar school in Antrim and indeed for a grammar school system across Northern Ireland.
It is not our desire to have an unregulated system of Transfer but while academic selection remains legal, an opinion reaffirmed by Senior Counsel, we will use it within our Admissions Criteria as part of our determination to continue to provide young people, who seek an academic education, with that opportunity.
Aside of Transfer we did receive good news from the Education Minister when we were delighted by her announcement of our designation as a Specialist School for Mathematics and Computing. As ever though there was a “sting in the tail” with the revelation that designation, and its associated funding, would be for two years, not the four originally indicated by the Department of Education.
Despite this our designation is a tremendous accolade and one which further highlights the outstanding work going on throughout the school, and in our collaboration with our post primary partners, feeder primary schools, business and the community. We are indebted to Mr Victor Hughes and Mrs Jennifer Reid, the authors of our successful bid, and to Dr and Mrs Fitzgerald of Randox Laboratories for their commitment to the programme and, especially, their generous sponsorship of £25,000 without which we could not have been successful.
In conclusion, Bernice Johnson Reagon once said “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyse you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are”. We have had many challenges thrown at us over the past year, whether it be ESA, Transfer or other educational initiatives, but we have certainly not been paralysed. Indeed the challenges have helped us rediscover why AntrimGrammar School, through the vision of Mr Stinson and others, was established in1974 and has reaffirmed our commitment to pursue excellence as an academic grammar school committed to its aims of valuing learning, valuing individuals and valuing others.
As I hand over to Mr Gingles who will conduct the Prize Distribution and as we celebrate the achievements of our young people today, be assured that we remain determined to provide future generations with the tremendous opportunities which an AntrimGrammar School education can provide.
Thank you for listening and best wishes for A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Mr S Black
Principal