Continued progress at St Patrick’s College

Sixty per cent of the College’s GCSE students achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, an increase of eight per cent on last year’s figure. This is above the Northern Ireland average for similar schools and a clear indicator of successful ongoing school improvement.

Twenty St Patrick’s pupils are celebrating seven or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, while seven achieved eight or more at these grades.

Mrs Magee congratulated all of the school’s Year 12 students on their hard work and success. ‘These results are the culmination of a great deal of hard work on the parts of both students and teachers, and I congratulate each of the students, as well as their teachers. I would also like to thank the parents of the young people, for the encouragement and support they have provided to their children during the two years of their GCSE examinations.

“We are proud of the successes of all of our pupils, who between them have achieved seven A* grades, 54 A’s and 94 B’s. These are excellent results from children who, in many cases, had enrolled in St Patrick’s College five years ago with their confidence severely dented by the Transfer procedure. I am sure their achievements will give these young people the confidence and encouragement to go on to further success at A level.

“I would particularly like to recognise the achievement of many of our Polish students, 11 of whom have achieved either an A* or A grade in GCSE Polish, a qualification which will be very useful to them should they return to Poland to continue their studies or seek employment.

“Overall, these GCSE results, coupled with the excellent results at A Level achieved by our GCE students this year, give us great confidence in the future of our students, and in their ability to cope with the demands placed upon them by their studies.”

Mrs Magee also praised other successes within the Year 12 group, particularly 21 students who have achieved Level 2 in Double Award Occupational Studies, the equivalent of two GCSEs at A*-C. A further seven students achieved Level 2 in Essential Skills Communication, the equivalent of one GCSE at A*-C, while one student also gained an Edexcel First Certificate in Agriculture, again equivalent to GCSE.

“As a non-selective school, we celebrate success at all levels across the full range of post-primary ability. These are vocational courses, which our students access through the Northern Regional College, and they aim to broaden the educational experience of the young people, with a view to preparing them for further training or apprenticeships.

“I am delighted that these students have successfully embraced this opportunity, and I would like to thank the staff of the Northern Regional College for the partnership we enjoy, which is obviously benefiting our students.”

Mrs Magee wished all of the school’s Year 12 students success in the next stage of their education and is looking forward to welcoming many of them back to begin Sixth Form studies in St Patrick’s.