board of governors designation - aquinas diocesan...

Board of Governors DesignationAquinas Diocesan Grammar School 2011

Name Category

The Most Reverend Donal McKeown DD ChairmanAuxiliary Bishop of Down & Connor

Very Rev John McManus Vice Chairman

Mr Maurice Moroney DE Representative

Mrs Geraldine Goodall DE Representative

Mrs Joan Cronin Trustee Representative

Mr Harry Coll Trustee Representative

Mr Terry McDaid Trustee Representative

Mrs Paula Durkan Elected Parent Governor

Mr Eugene Leneghan Elected Teacher Governor

Mrs Geraldine Gibson Secretary to BOG

Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School 1 AGM 2009/10

Art and DesignAquinas Exhibitions; GCSE, AS and A2 Level, CCEA “True Colours”Aquinas Art and Design GCSE and A2 students exhibited in May 2010 closely followed by our AS exhibition in June. We enjoyed excellent results at all three levels and were delighted to welcome staff and parents to view the evening exhibitions and enjoy the sense of occasion. We were elated when the work of six GCSE level candidates in addition to three AS level candidates and two A2 candidates, was selected for possible inclusion in the 2010 “True Colours” exhibition. In February 2010 all GCSE, AS and A2 Art and Design students visited the CCEA “True Colours” exhibition. This exhibition profiles the best and most interesting work from GCSE, AS and A2 levels in Art and Design across Northern Ireland. We were delighted that the work of one Aquinas student (AS level) was displayed within this prestigious exhibition.

CompetitionsOne of our Year 11 students was chosen as the overall winner of the Translink poster competition. The winning poster was published for display in Castle Court and on public transport in the Belfast area. Three of our Year 11 students were awarded a Special Merit in the Texaco Children’s Art Competition and their work will be exhibited in the Ulster Museum.

Visitors to the DepartmentWe were delighted when Bronagh Griffin, fashion designer and owner and founder of “Design Inc.” and “19thirty” fashion design company, visited Aquinas to give a presentation to our Year 13 and 14 students on a career in fashion design. Bronagh and her colleague, Julie-Ann Graham a former student of the renowned St. Martin’s College, London, gave a presentation on “Life as a Fashion Student, Life as a Fashion Designer”. This session was extremely interesting and beneficial for us all. Students were given the opportunity to view a fashion design portfolio from St. Martin’s College in addition to asking questions. Bronagh returned to assist two of our Year 14 students with their portfolio applications for Fashion design courses.

Visits Out and AboutYear 12, 13 and 14 art and design students visited the RUA Exhibition in The Northern Bank Building, Belfast, in October 2009.

Links with Third level EducationWe continued our links with BMC when our Year 13 and 14 students visited their Foundation Art Department in November and were treated to a guided tour by Head of Department, Mrs Eilis Bergin.

Calamity JaneMs Nicola Gilmore designed the set for Calamity Jane and created the scenery along with Ms Kellie Mairs, Mrs E. Creen, Mr N. Mc Clean and Mr Brendan Finnegan in addition to groups of senior art students. The biannual Graphic Design competition for the Poster and Programme was a great success and we found the standard to be exceptionally high this year.

Rags to Riches Workshop We visited the newly opened Ulster Museum and enjoyed viewing the new exhibition area in addition to participating in a “Rags to Riches” workshop creating unusual artefacts and jewellery from plastic bags.

Welcome to Aquinas Year 8 CompetitionThe annual Year 8 competition to design the front cover for the introductory booklet for the in-coming Year 8 pupils was organised by the Art and Design department. Congratulations were due to the Year 8 pupils whose work was selected for the front and back covers.


Professional DevelopmentMs N Gilmore continued in her appointment as an Assistant Moderator at AS level Art and Design and Ms P Cunningham resumed her position as an Assistant Moderator at A2 level Art and Design.The department continues to offer after school tuition and support for exam students on a weekly basis. We are delighted that Art and Design remains a popular and successful choice in Aquinas and that many of our students pursue Art and Design related courses in further and higher education.

Business Studies

Throughout the academic year 2009-2010 Business Studies students enjoyed a variety of guest speakers and practical activities as part of their studies. All Year 11, 12, 13 and 14 Business Studies students are to be commended for their excellent achievements.

Eight ‘A2’ students participated in the IFS ProShare Student Investor Challenge which involved investing a virtual £100,000 in a set of stocks. Students were encouraged to make good investment decisions. All stock market data was genuine live data. The students developed important skills, such as working as a team, planning, budgeting and taking responsibility. All AS and A2 students also attended a revision course held in the Dublin Road cinema, Belfast. This was extremely beneficial, particularly regarding the new A2 pre-release research task.

A group of fifteen Year 13 students participated in the Young Enterprise Company Programme which aims to inspire young people to develop attitudes and skills for personal success, life-long learning and employability. Students gain practical experience of business and enterprise through setting up and running their own real company. The students were extremely successful, winning the ‘Most Innovative Product’ award and the Michelin award for ‘Most Environmentally Friendly Product’ at the Ballymena Trade Fair. They achieved the ‘Innovation’ award in the Belfast & Castlereagh Area finals. Our thanks go to our superb business advisors. Congratulations also go to our students on their wonderful results in the OCR Level 2 Certificate in Enterprise examination in conjunction with this programme. Overall the students achieved eight distinctions, five credits and two passes in this examination.

As part of National Enterprise Week, AS level students participated in the Young Enterprise Entrepreneurship Masterclass which was held in the La Mon Hotel, Belfast. This included a ‘Business Plan’ competition which was extremely good fun. This experience proved to be both fruitful and enjoyable.

Year 12 GCSE Business Studies pupils enjoyed a field trip to Tayto Castle which provided much relevant information regarding their coursework. They observed the production process and got great pleasure from tasting various types and flavours of crisps and corn snacks.

Year 11 GCSE Business Studies students participated in a number of programmes including a ‘Success Skills’ seminar which was delivered in conjunction with Young Enterprise NI. This was an extremely enjoyable group based activity which developed many employability skills. For the first time ever the Year 11 students also completed a unitised examination which is worth 35% of their overall GCSE qualification. The results were very pleasing.

Year 10 pupils again experienced a ‘taster’ Business Studies course. They participated in the ‘Young Enterprise Project Business’ programme. This encourages links with local industry and pupils became involved in a wide range of topics and activities. It is hoped that these links with local industry will continue in future years.


Careers Education

The Careers Department has excellent accommodation in the form of an office and spacious resource area for class work and research. We have access to the internet which is vital for relevant careers information, university application systems and choice of courses. Learning for Life and Work is well established and includes an eight week module entitled Employability for all year eight, year nine and year ten students. Employability is an integral part of GCSE Learning for Life and Work and the minimum entitlement for all year eleven students.

Year Ten students received a training day leading up to their choices for GCSE in March. The day was entitled Options for the Future and was held in association with Sentinus.. Class tutors, year head and careers teachers delivered the day. This training helped the students to reflect on where they are now in relation to their studies and encouraged them to think about the choices they will need to make for their future.

A training day was held for all year twelve students entitled Key Decisions Day. The day was delivered by Sentinus, the tutors, year head and careers teachers. Students were introduced to the UCAS website, various careers software packages and taught how to market themselves to potential employers and universities in the future.

Heads of Department contributed to an Options Booklet. This contained relevant information about all GCSE specifications and the format under which options would be organised. Coursework implications and requirements were outlined. A joint Options Evening for GCSE and GCE was held in March when parents and pupils were able to seek clarification on matters of concern.

An Advanced Level Booklet was produced with contributions from Heads of Department. This outlined comprehensively the nature and content of Advanced Level Specifications. All students made provisional choices in April.

Each Lower Sixth student participated in a one-week work experience placement in February. The rationale behind the programme is to help students see what a chosen career could offer, to gain self awareness, confidence and the sense of responsibility needed in work and to provide greater incentive and motivation to work in school. The experience was preceded by classes, which prepared students for the experience. The work experience programme was very successful and should help students in developing their personal career plan (PCP). Year thirteen students also attended a UCAS conference at the King’s Hall, Belfast in February to prepare them for imminent university applications.

The bulk of work with Upper Sixth students comprised of arranging applications through UCAS (University and Colleges Admission Service), CAO, (Central Applications Office) and admissions to further education and higher education colleges. The enormous administrative task was accomplished successfully by a team effort from careers staff, tutors, senior management and the office staff. All UCAS and CAO applications were completed on-line and on time.Individual guidance was on offer for all who made requests. In November, The Knights of Columbanus in association with the Careers Department held mock-interviews for forty students who were applying for courses which had an interview element for admittance.

We also had successful trips for all Upper Sixth students to the open days at Queens University and the University of Ulster. The careers department was on hand to deal with individuals when results were published in August and important decisions had to be made.


Drama Department

After several months of rehearsal, the school musical production ‘Calamity Jane’ was successfully staged on Tuesday 13 October 2009 (Matinee Performance) for our year 8-10 pupils together with pupils from our feeder primary schools. This was followed by three public performances of the show from Wednesday 14 October to Friday 16 October 2009. The number of pupils who participated in various aspects of the production e.g. performance, design, technical was staggering and reflects the level of pupil support for this cross curricular event. Ms Gould and myself were extremely pleased with the very positive parental response to the production as a showcase for the outstanding talent of our pupils.

On the Open Morning, our year 11 GCSE drama students performed a unique hand mime as an example of ‘black light’ theatre. This was a departure from the usual scripted and devised productions staged on such occasions, a real visual spectacle and one much appreciated by the very large numbers of pupils and parents who made a special point of calling into the DLT to see the performance.

During the year, the department continued to host the lunch time drama club which is open to all our junior pupils. Senior pupils were brought to see live theatre performances of the Brecht play, ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ in the Waterfront Hall and to the St Joseph’s production of ‘Blood Brothers’. Plans were put in place for a 2 day drama department trip to London for our GCSE examination pupils to see a West End musical production. The final dates for the visit were agreed as 16/17 September 2010.

We are continuing to expand the number of pupils who are being trained in the use of the computerised lighting and sound equipment in the assembly hall. This training is being delivered by two of our current year 14 pupils.

Preparations continued during the year to revise schemes of work based upon the new A2 Theatre Studies specification. In keeping with the school’s assessment policy and the pilot Data Tracking initiative, the year 8 drama schemes were also revised and re-written in a newly agreed format providing clear instruction and advice on the success criteria for each assessment task.

The summer 2010 examination results at both GCSE and A level were very pleasing.

English

A2 39 students – 98% A* - CAquinas NI Gram Total

Grade A* 18% 12.9%Grade A 44% 39.6%Grade B 23% 73.7%Grade C 13% 90.6%Grade D 3% 98.7%

AS 36 students – 89% A -CAquinas NI Gram Total

Grade A 42% 39.7%Grade B 39% 65.1%Grade C 8% 87.6%Grade D 8% 97.2%


GCSE English Language 122 students – 98% A* - CAquinas NI Gram Total

Grade A* 12% 9.3%Grade A 42% 38.6%Grade B 35% 76.4%Grade C 9% 95.1%Grade D 3% 99.3%

GCSE English Literature 122 students 99% A* - CAquinas NI Gram Total

Grade A* 15% 11.7%Grade A 37% 41%Grade B 34% 74.7%Grade C 13% 94.3%Grade D 2% 99.2%

Key Stage 3 116 Pupils 99% Level 6 and aboveAquinas NI Gram Total

Level 7+ 77% 23%Level 6 24% 28%Level 5 0.9% 27%

The experiences of students studying English Language and English Literature continue to reflect the creativity and expertise of the teachers within the department. Subject enrichment continued through attendance at several events throughout the year.

Students in the department achieved wonderful success as they took part in competitions such as the Belfast City Council’s Litter competition and, notably, a winner in the Cinemagic script writing competition. The department’s involvement with the Citizenship Foundation’s Bar Mock Trial competition met with further success as Aquinas students were again awarded the overall winners of the Northern Ireland heat for the second year running, narrowly missing out on the national title at this year’s final in Edinburgh.

The Shakespeare Festival continues to grow and the experience of dramatising Shakespeare’s plays is as infectious as ever among our year 8 and 9 students. Year 10 students joined the BBC’s School report Live this year for the first time – an invaluable insight into the world of media and journalism - The English Department also enjoyed participation in the annual Animation Project collaborating with several other departments to again, produce a high standard of innovative animations - all further evidence of our commitment to enriching the learning experiences of young people within our subject and beyond.

National poetry day was celebrated by original readings from staff and students alike and the standard of entries continues to amaze and delight everyone involved. Indeed, many of our students have had their work published in the Young Writers collection – Past Poets – Future Voices.

Students were also taken to a local production of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa and several other theatre visits are planned as we look to develop this experience.


Areas for development identified for 2010-11Revision of Key Stage 3 Schemes of Work

We aim to revise these so the pupils are better prepared for the demands of the revised GCSE English Language and English Literature specifications while still promoting the enjoyment of the subject catered for by the NI Curriculum. Ideas include introducing controlled assessment at KS3, stressing the importance of producing final draft quality with every piece of work and studying more poetry in the Junior school to better prepare the pupils for the unseen poetry element at GCSE. We will standardise work internally and share teaching ideas together to keep the subject at Key Stage 3 interesting and demanding.

New GCSE SpecificationsIn September we will begin teaching the revised specifications for GCSE English Language and English Literature. These have significant changes from the legacy specifications and so as a Department, we have drawn up a proposed schedule for the teaching of texts, completion of Controlled Assessment and sitting of modular exams (one module in both English Language and English Literature at the end of Year 11). We will review and evaluate this schedule at the end of 2010-11 academic year. GCSE and A Level ResultsSimilar to this academic year, we hope to further improve GCSE and A Level grades, especially A*-B percentages. We would hope that our knowledge of the entire A Level Revised Specification should help to improve A Level grades.

Geography

The Aquinas Geography Department had another successful year in giving pupils a good breadth of experience both within the classroom and outside. Pupils received quality teaching and learning of good Geographical content whilst at the same time acquiring the Personal Skills and capabilities and Core Skills as outlined in the Revised Curriculum.

We incorporated new fieldwork tasks into the Geography Curriculum this year which have proved very popular. Staff agreed that these experiences have enhanced the pupils’ learning in Geography.

A LevelThe Year 14s embarked on the new Revised AS/A2 Geography Specification by CCEA. The two papers have similar content to the legacy exam although some new content required further teacher research and prior preparation.

Both Year 13 and Year 14 attended the Geographical Association’s evening lectures at QUB to enhance their knowledge and understanding of certain aspects of the course.

A new fieldwork destination to Snowdonia National Park was explored. It was arranged for one weekend in February and covered both the Tourism topic in module A21 and Remote Rural Environments in AS2. The pupils and indeed staff got a lot out of the trip and again, it enhanced their understanding in this topic.


GCSEThe Year 12s completed excellent projects based on their visit to Marble Arch Caves. Although still focused on Rivers, this is a new venue for the GCSE Project proved to be very popular because it was a three day residential to the Gortatole Residential Centre. We successfully incorporated cave exploration into the experience and staff were delighted with the new opportunities for learning that came with this venture. Once again, CCEA commented very favourably on the standard of work we submitted and the quality of the marking and Internal Standardisation.

Curriculum and Schemes of Work at KS 3The topics at Key Stage 3 are relevant and thought provoking. More emphasis is now experiential learning. For example:

Year 8s conduct the investigation around the school grounds which is a good Using Mathematics activity because it involves measurement, perimeter and area.

Year 9s had a good range of learning experience having embarked upon a fieldwork opportunity to the Glens of Antrim. The pupils really enjoyed this experience.

Year 10s continued making models displaying selected hazards, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, tornadoes or tsunami. Each group has to present to their colleagues details of their model. Pupils enjoy this activity.

The Year 10’s also contributed to the Using ICT portfolio, having completed a CCEA approved ICT task on Ethnic Diversity. The task itself was a Desk-top Publishing exercise to produce a tri-fold leaflet on Belfast’s ethnic issues.

Government & Politics

This has been another very successful academic year for the two Government & Politics classes. High standards of achievement, above the Northern Ireland Grammar School averages, have been maintained.

We outperformed the NI Grammar averages significantly in many areas. At AS level our percentage of Grade As was 26 points higher than the NI Grammar Ave. For Grades A-B we performed at nearly 30 points higher.

At A2 we doubled the A* performance for the average NI Grammar school and achieved 10 percentage points higher in A*-B grades.

At AS we achieved:53% grade A NI Grammar Average: 27.1%92% A-B 63.4%100% A-C 85.8%

At A210% A* NI Grammar average: 5.4%30% A* - A 32%85% A*-B 75.7%100% A* - C 95.5%


As well as the high academic performance of our students, two of the highlights of the academic year were:

1. Our annual trip to Parliament Buildings at Stormont. We organised a question and answer session, for all politics students, with MLAs from Alliance, Sinn Fein, DUP, UUP, SDLP and the Green Party. The students posed an array of questions to the political representatives and gained a lot from the experience. The students were also given a tour of Stormont and an educational talk on the mechanics and politics of the Northern Ireland Executive & Assembly.

2. An educational tour of Westminster, London at the end of March 2010. The students had the opportunity to visit the UK government institutions and tour the chambers of the House of Commons & the House of Lords. The tour was very much enhanced by a terrific presentation by the Westminster Education Service in one of the committee rooms.

In the classroom, a variety of teaching strategies and methodologies have been employed to ensure that political information is accessible and enjoyable for a broad range of academic abilities. Group work, peer assessment, individual learning, one to one feedback etc are all used to achieve the best for our A-level candidates.

The use of video & audio podcasts, BBC iPlayer & multimedia downloads are an example of an approach to bringing US, UK & local politics to the classroom.

History

Throughout the academic year 2009-2010, History students enjoyed a range of activities inside and outside of class as part of their studies. The examination results at GCSE, AS and A2 were superb and all Year 12, 13 and 14 History students are to be praised for their hard work. At GCSE, AS and A2 Level, all pupils gained grades above the N.I Grammar school averages. At GCSE Level 100% gained grades A*-C, with 68% gaining A or above. At AS Level 95.45% gained grades A-C and at A2 Level 97.06% gained grades A-C.

All advanced level History students attended AS and A2 level History conferences at the Somme Heritage Centre in Newtownards, Co. Down in November 2009. These were addressed by guest speakers, including Russell Rees, the author of our two main texts at 'A' Level. The conferences as always were very relevant and beneficial as they were directed at the CCEA course the pupils are studying.

In April, the Year 8 pupils enjoyed the workshops and role plays delivered by the Anglo-Normans in Ireland Outreach programme based at St. Patrick’s Trian in Armagh. They also went to Carrickfergus Castle and benefitted from the activities and the tour they experienced there.

Our Year 13 pupils took part in the Lessons from the Holocaust Project organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust in London. They produced a fabulous PowerPoint presentation which they delivered to the Junior School Assembly to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. This was followed by a minute's silence. Those involved worked extremely hard and were excellent role models for our younger pupils. The music and poetry that they selected so carefully was extremely moving. This involvement in Holocaust Memorial Day has now become a part of our annual school calendar. All in all, 2009-2010 was a busy and productive year for the History Department.


Home Economics

In January, 109 Year 10 pupils passed the Royal Society of Health Food Hygiene exam. 10 pupils achieved 100%. Visits were made by the Dairy Council, and Livestock and Meat Commission professional Home Economists to give cookery demonstrations to GCSE students. Jenny Magennis (past pupil) visited A Level students to give her experience of studying home economics at UUC. Laura McAllister has great success in the NI future chef competition. She was the NI under 16 school’s champion and achieved 3rd place in NI cook off against other trainee chefs and catering students. 12 students entered the Dairy Cook of the year competition and 7 junior students were highly commended in their entries and received small tokens and certificates. 5 AS Level students took part in the food technology Sentinus scheme. They achieved bronze awards for their research into pressure treated smoothies in conjunction with a Food Science team from New Forge Lane, Belfast. 40 GCSE students took part in the ‘Feed your Mind’ course in Loughry College in June. The Home Economics Culinary Cup was presented to Ryan McGarry for excellence in GCSE practical skills. The Junior School Cup was presented to Amy Dean. We are also delighted to learn that Ciara Rooney a past pupil, achieved the top mark in her 1st class degree in UUC and has been specially chosen to undertake a PHD research project in nutrition in QUB.

Information and Communication TechnologyThe ICT department consists of two teachers and delivers AS and A Level ICT, GCSE ICT and Junior ICT.

All pupils in Year 8 received 2 periods of ICT per week, these classes were used to acquire skills in the use of word-processing, PowerPoint, desk-top publishing, video editing and the use of the Internet. The department was also involved in the Year 10 Animation project – ‘Belfast – a city for everyone’.

The A Level results for June 2010 were very pleasing. 14 pupils sat the exams and 100% gained grades A-D. This was the first year the A* grade was available and 36% (5 pupils) achieved this grade, a further 21% gained an A grade with 93% of candidates gaining grades A - C.

In June 2010, 14 pupils completed their AS ICT examinations. The results were excellent with 79% gaining a grade A, 7% grade B and 14% grade C. Thirteen pupils have opted to continue with ICT at A2 level, they will sit their A2 modules in June 2011 to receive their overall A Level grade.

Twenty-five GCSE ICT students sat their exams in June 2010. The results were extremely rewarding with 48% of the candidates receiving an A* grade and 52 % an A grade. These results put us well above the NI average for grammar schools at GCSE, AS and A2 level.

Eighteen Year 13 pupils have decided to study AS ICT and will sit their modules in June 2011. We welcome 3 pupils from St Joseph’s College who will attend AS ICT classes with us. Forty-seven Year 11 pupils have opted to study GCSE ICT. They will be the first cohort to study the revised GCSE ICT specification which includes 60% controlled assessment units.

In March 2010 a group of 19 GCSE ICT pupils attended the’ Bring IT on’ conference at Queen’s University, Belfast focussing exclusively on today’s dynamic ICT industry.

In February 2010 four Year 11 GCSE ICT pupils participated in the ‘ValueOils and Belfast Telegraph Young Web Designer of the Year Award’; their work was highly commended. Ciara McCann, an ICT


PGCE student from Queen’s University Belfast, joined the department for a 12 week teaching practice placement. We wish her every success in her future career.

Modern Foreign Languages Department

French

The French department is delighted to that Mme. Nathalie Wilson is returning again as language assistant and her contribution in all aspects of departmental work is valued by both pupils and staff.

The department were delighted with examination results. At A2 all pupils gained an A* grade and at AS 100% of pupils gained grade A-C. At GCSE 96 % of pupils gained grade A-C. 55% of pupils at GCSE gained grade A/A*. The overall number of students taking up French at AS level doubled for the current academic year, which is a positive development.

In 2009 the French department secured funding from The Lefèvre trust at the British Council for a joint collaborative project with our partner school the Lycée Marguerite de Flandre in Gondecourt, France. The project was an investigation of the industrial heritage and subsequent regeneration of the Belfast and Lille areas. A group of 15 students from the French school spent a week in Belfast in September and Aquinas A’level students spent a week studying the Lille area in March 2010. The group went on a guided tour of the Titanic quarter, hosted a lecture on regeneration of the dockyard area, spent time researching traditional industry in the Linenhall library, and visited the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra . The group also took part in many social activities and went on a tour of the Antrim coast. In France visits included a day in a mining museum, a study of the renovated factories of Roubaix , and a very enjoyable day in Paris. We visited the Louvre, Galerie Lafayette, Montmartre , the Eifel Tower and a had a trip on the Seine. The project was a very successful collaborative activity and the pupils produced a DVD on their findings, a website with their documents, photographs and experiences and a lengthy written bi-lingual project. They gained much from the experience of working together, both linguistically and socially to further mutual understanding of their own and their French partner’s cultural heritage. The collaborative experience of the project was an important aspect of the Lefèvre project and on evaluation this was extremely successful for all concerned, and we fully met all our objectives.

As part of celebrations for European Day of Languages in September Year 9 pupils watched a special showing of ‘Les Choristes’. This was a very positive experience in terms of linguistic development and cultural enrichment. A’ Level French students also visited several local primary schools scheme to teach basic French. It is hoped that this experience will be expanded as it was a beneficial learning experience for both sets of pupils and an excellent first experience of language learning in the primary school curriculum and an excellent opportunity for Aquinas pupils.

In March Year 13 French AS pupils attended an AS day at Queen’s University which was organised by the French Department. This was a very positive experience. Pupils attended lectures in French and took part in listening, reading and writing activities. Mrs Lambon attended a seminar on promoting Careers in Languages in the afternoon.

German The German department was, yet again, delighted with the excellent results achieved in the public examinations by students in the department: For the Third year running our students appeared in


CCEA’s list of top students in Northern Ireland. Pascal McBride was the top candidate in Northern Ireland and Sinead Meier was 2nd. These students are to be congratulated on their outstanding performances. At GCSE the results mirrored the excellent work of the department: 100% of entries were grades A* -C of which 63.6% were A* or A It is especially gratifying to see that in 2010-11 four students have opted to study German in Year 13.As a result, we have at the moment a total of 9 students studying German for A-Level. The AS results were also excellent: 67% of students achieved grade A. The results at a2 were particularly outstanding. 66% of candidates achieved the new top grade of A* and 100% of candidates achieved A*/A. In addition Jennifer Clarke, presently reading German and Arabic at Cambridge, was the top A2 candidate in German in Northern Ireland – the second time the German department has achieved such a position.

We maintained our link with our partner school in Dinslaken in Germany, by sending 6 students to do work experience there. The students returned full of enthusiasm for the German language and culture. The return visit from the German partners at the beginning of September was also highly successful, building upon the friendships already formed. We hope to send 4 students on work experience this year. This is an invaluable opportunity not only for our students to improve their understanding of the language but also to experience the world of work in another European country.

We were very fortunate to have an excellent assistant, Kathrin Heckmann. Her contribution to learning and teaching in the department was immense. In September, as part of our school celebrations for the European Day of Languages our students visited 2 local primary schools to give some pupils a taste of German. The feedback we received was very encouraging. In November a combined Year13 &year 14 team took part in QUB German debate against other schools. They acquitted themselves very well. In April year 13 students wrote a play in German which they performed at Holy Rosary Primary School. This was part of the German-UK Connection Project in which the German Department participated. The play was extremely well received.

Irish

The Irish Department comprises two specialist teachers: Mrs Teresa Maguire and An tUasal Ciarán Mac Murchaidh and we are very fortunate to also have two experienced language assistants Mr Dominic Garland and Miss Nathalie Simpson. We would also like to acknowledge the work of Christine Brady who did a teaching placement with us as part of her PGCE training. The department was very pleased with the fantastic results achieved by our students in public exams. We had 100% pass A* – C at GCSE. Special congratulations to two Year 8 pupils, Conal Hartley and Faolan Mc Cambridge - Geraghty who also gained A* grades in GCSE. Our AS and A2 level pupils performed very well in their exams. We were particularly delighted with the results the A2 pupils achieved – 75% obtained Grade A and 25% achieved Grade B. Our Year 10 pupils were awarded silver Fáinnes to mark their pleasing levels of fluency at the end of Keystage 3.

This year quite a number of our pupils excelled in outside competitions. Mrs Maguire took a group of students to Féis Bhéal Feirste competitions in Corpus Christi College. Eimear Magennis took third place in the Year 9 competition and Maeve Colton in Year 12 gained first place in her category. She also won a scholarship at the Féis. Hannah Mc Kegney, Eimear Magennis and Bronagh Murray in Year 9 all won scholarships in Féis an Dúin and Conall Doyle,Amy Hamill, Ryan Hamill and Dáire Magorrian all gained CLG scholarships.


As part of the celebrations for European Day of Languages in September Year 8 pupils watched a special showing of 'Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom'. Some of our form 6 students went out to teach Irish in local primary schools and a group of pupils from Bunscoil an Droichid, accompanied by their teachers, spent a morning with us in Aquinas. They took part in a quiz with our Year 12 pupils. It was an enjoyable experience and our pupils appreciated the opportunity to practise their language skills. Our links with Bunscoil an Droichid continued throughout the year with Síle Leneghan and Bláthnaid Ní Smaolaigh attending the school on a weekly basis to help the children as part of the Community Link Programme. Some of the Form 6 pupils also attended an intensive language course there.

The Irish Department again provided a wide range of cultural activities and experiences for all students. The St. Patrick's Week/Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations were enjoyed by our pupils. A céilí and concert were organised for all our Year 8 students. Particular thanks to those Year 14 students who helped with this event. Also that week there were traditional music and scéalaíocht (story telling) sessions in the Library at lunchtime.

A number of our A-level and GCSE students attended intensive revision courses in Coláiste Mhuire, Loch an lúir at Easter and a number of our junior pupils attended the special course for juniors in Coláiste Bhríde, Rann na Feirste in the Donegal Gaeltacht.

Mrs. Maguire and an tUasal Mac Murchaidh attended all relevant courses provided for Irish teachers. They both also keep abreast of curriculum changes and initiatives by continuing with their work on the CEA examining team for Irish.

Rath Dé ar an obair.

Spanish

The Spanish Department is made up of 3 specialist teachers: Mr Peter Dobbin, Mrs Geraldine Gibson and Ms Seana Maguire. The Department was delighted to welcome Miss Lisa Connolly from the Mathematics Department who made a much appreciated contribution to KS3 Spanish. The Spanish Assistant is Ms Paloma Rivas. We also avail of the expertise of our Mexican Learning and Teaching Assistant.

September 2009 commenced with 11 Year 14 students entering A2 level Spanish and 14 beginning AS level. It was decided to continue with the CCEA syllabus at A Level.

During the year various events took place:

Sept 2009: As part of the European Day of Languages the Spanish Film ‘El Laberinto del Fauno’ was shown to the Year 10 students.Year 13 pupils taught Spanish lessons in our feeder Primary Schools.

Oct 2009: Our Partner Spanish School, IES Val del Tenes arrived for a week long exchange with Aquinas students. This was a very successful and rewarding week for all involved.

March 2010: Annual Semana Santa Competition for KS3. This year the students had to work in groups to devise a Powerpoint Presentation on a Hispanic theme. The participation from all students was excellent and the department was delighted to have as its judge, Mrs Ciara McGurk, St. Joseph’s College and Mrs Geraldine Gibson (Vice Principal).


April 2010: Seana Maguire launched a Spanish blog (http://modernfunlanguages.typepad.co.uk) to promote independent learning, stretch pupils and develop pupil autonomy and motivation. This has proved a worthwhile venture and has been continued for the Department to explore and develop.

June 2010: Peter Norris in Year 13 successfully completed the A2 Spanish course in 1 academic year, achieving an A*.

Amaia Moore in Year 10 achieved A* at GCSE. The Spanish Department strives to ensure it is reaching the needs of every pupil and developing ways of promoting independent learning.

Lisa Connolly developed Spanish task Using Maths for KS3. In collaboration with Mrs Amanda Salt, Head of Spanish, Grosvenor, Seana Maguire delivered training at Grosvenor Grammar School conference on ICT in MFL.

Peter Dobbin, Seana Maguire and Paloma Rivas continued in their role as CCEA examiners at AS/A2 level. This is excellent Professional Development both individually and for the Department as a whole.

Students from A Level worked with the Community Link Programme and delivered a short SpanishCourse to Primary School students in St. Michael’s.

All in all, a very successful and productive year was had and we hope to continue this in 2010/11.

Mathematics

In the academic year 2009 – 2010 the Mathematics Department were joined by a new member of staff, Mr. Mark McLernon. Daily, informal, after-school meetings highlighted the enthusiasm and commitment of staff and reflected the ongoing self-evaluation of the department. These meetings allowed new staff to integrate quickly and regularly led to examples of good practice and successful teaching techniques being discussed and embraced by others. This has ensured a continued high standard of teaching and quality of learning for all pupils, which is reflected in departmental results and in the consistently high numbers studying Mathematics at A level.

The Mathematics department aims to provide stretch and challenge for very able students as well as supporting all students as and when necessary. This has so far been achieved by liaising with the SENCO team, by coordinating the mentoring by A level students of pupils seeking support and by practice by all teachers of an ‘open door policy’, often used at the start of break or lunch by interested students of all years as well as by examination classes during study leave.

This year, in addition, a Year 10 pupil, Calum McIntyre was fast-tracked to complete GCSE Mathematics in June, achieving not only an A* but the top score in Aquinas. Also in 2010, our first student to complete a full A level in Further Mathematics, Gavin Ball, taught by Mr. Noel Savage, achieved a Grade A* to compliment his Grade A* in Mathematics. In addition, for the first time, AS Further Mathematics was taught internally in Aquinas. The Mathematics Department is delighted that we are now providing opportunities which encourage and challenge our most able students and congratulate both Calum and Gavin on their outstanding success. Gavin also sat Cambridge Step Papers with superb results and is now studying Mathematics at Cambridge.


https://mail1.learningni.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://modernfunlanguages.typepad.co.uk

Following on from student participation in a QUB course provided in July 2009, three Year 10 students participated in autumn 2009 in a series of Saturday morning Master Classes aimed at high-achieving students. These provided an enriching experience for our pupils and parents expressed delight at the opportunity provided. In the same term our AS Further Mathematics class participated in, and thoroughly enjoyed, a team challenge run by Queens University.

At KS3 the Mathematics Department continues to contribute to whole school assessment of Using Mathematics through their own teaching and assessment. This year, liaison with the Use of Mathematics Coordinator and the Head of Art resulted in the development of a very effective Art task for Year 9 and a Spanish task was developed and piloted by a member of the Mathematics department. Mr. Hamilton is the new Using Mathematics coordinator and we are delighted that he brings his wealth of experience to this role.

Staff continue to seek out courses and experiences which provide the opportunity for professional discussion and development and directly or indirectly enhance classroom teaching and hence the learning experience of our pupils. As well as courses run by the BELB and information days provided by CCEA, this included liaison with Wellington College to provide interview experience for Oxbridge students from both schools, involvement of a member of staff in the delivery of the QUB master classes and marking of examination scripts.

Departmental results overall continue to be of a high standard, reflecting the dedication of staff and students and we were delighted to once again have a 100% pass rate at GCSE, of which 60% were A*/A, as well as excellent results in GCSE Additional Mathematics, in which 45% of pupils achieved A*/A. Our performance in the AS and A2 examinations was again pleasing with 90% of students attaining grades A to C at AS Level, of which 48% were grade A, and 76% achieving grades A to C at A2 Level, of which 50% were grades A*/A.

MusicSeptember

2nd: 5 students got into the CBSM Youth Orchestra – Dario Angelone [yr 12], Maria Fury, Coirle Magee and Eoin McCrossan [yr 13], and Olivia Lucas [yr14].

6th: started our Sunday rehearsals for Calamity Jane 14th: all ensembles resumed their rehearsals in preparation for the Carol Service on December

9th. Monday: Junior and Senior Choirs; Tuesday: Chamber Choir and Guitar Ensemble; Wednesday: Jazz Band; Thursday: Boys Choir; Friday: Trad and Folk Groups.

17th: By this date we were giving peripatetic music lessons to 164 students.

October 11th: Dress rehearsal for Calamity Jane 13th: Matinee performance for local primary school students and our year 8’s. 14th-16th: Production of Calamity Jane with 3 Full House audiences – a tremendous success!

November 2nd: rehearsals for our Carol Service on December 9th got underway. 5th: Orchestra first rehearsal with 78 members, grade 3 and above! CBSM Youth Orchestra travelled to London to perform the final slot, with fireworks and

cannons, at the Junior Proms in the Royal Albert Hall with 5 Aquinas students – Dario Angelone, Maria Furey, Coirle Magee, Eoin McCrossan and Olivia Lucas.


Week beginning 23rd: year 11 GCSE students did first Solo Performing assessment. Week beginning 30th: year 12 GCSE students did solo performing assessment.

December 1st: 13 students did external ABRSM practical/theory exams, including Cormac Mee sax grade

6, Niamh Brownlee Merit in voice grade 7 and Brian McAlea Merit in voice Grade 8. 3rd: JG attended CCEA course on ‘Exemplification of AS standards’ in Corrs Corner Hotel. 9th: Carol Service featuring Aquinas ensembles and soloists. 11th: Shakespeare Festival 16th: Celebration of Achievement – music performed by top GCSE student Eoin McCrossan

with year 13 choral and Pop ensembles. 17th: Carol Service in Nazareth Care Village with music organised by our year 14 music

students.

January 5th: Received results of ABRSM exams which took place on December 1 st. All candidates

passed, and 9/13 gained a Merit. 11th: AS Module 2 [am and pm]; JG attended CEA afternoon on Controlled Assessment in

Music. 20th: JG attended AS Listening and Appraising Standardisation meeting at CCEA at 5pm. 22nd: submission of Composition 2 by yr11 GCSE students, evaluated by students themselves. 23rd: Open Day featured the stars of Calamity Jane, the String Quartet and Trad Group. 25th: all extra-curricular activities resumed after the Winter break. 26th: visit and concert given by 9 members of the RAF Concert Band Soul Central in our

Assembly Hall with 180 young musicians as the audience.

February 4th: Rehearsals resumed for Orchestra 7th: Matthew Nixon performed a gig with Dan Forshaw!

March 1st: Year 10 ID of need after school. PGCE student from University of Ulster, Jenny Crotty, on placement up to May 21st. 1st-5th; Solo Performance 2 by yr 11 GCSE students. 3rd: external Grade 3 Jazz exams [matt Nixon alto sax Distinction and Cairbre MacAibhstin

flute] and ABRSM Grade 7 successes; [Anthony Bergin piano, Niamh Leneghan violin Merit, John Gillen voice Distinction and Eoin McCrossan violin Distinction].

4th: ABRSM Grade 5 theory exam- 11 candidates. 10 passed, including 3 Distinctions – 90% plus.

1st-5th: Fortwilliam Musical Society put on a production of Meet me in St Louis starring our own Sinead O’Kelly in the role made famous by Judy Garland!

And Chris McGuigan, another past pupil, starred as Curly in Oklahoma at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London’s West End!

8th-12th: Solo Performance 2 by yr11 GCSE students 11th: Anthony Bergin won the EPTA piano class at the Belfast Festival. Other competitors

included Maria Furey and Niamh Leneghan 16th: concert of Irish Trad music in Library at lunchtime, and yr 8 Ceilidh. 17th: Year 12 students submitted finished recording and score of Integrated Assignment. 17TH; Trad Group played at St Patrick’s Party at Willowfield Parish Centre. 23rd/ 24th: external ABRSM exams - 22 candidates and past pupil Richard Gault let us know he

had got through to the final of the EPTA piano competition in Manchester in April. 19 students passed, including 4 at Distinction level – 130/150 plus.


24th: Richard Gault received an entrance Scholarship OF 1,500 pounds from QUB 29th-31st: revision days for yrs 12-14.

April Easter; St Peter’s Scola performed live on RTE featuring soloist Brian McAlea Brian McAlea gained a place, and a sponsor, in the Ulster Youth Choir. Submission of GCSE coursework 24th: Sinead O’Kelly, past pupil, won the grand final of the prestigious Catherine Judge

Memorial competition which carries a bursary of 5,000 pounds to help with 3rd level music education.

May 5th: AQA GCSE evaluation exam and submission of Integrated Assignment [worth 25%]. 10th: collection of CEA A level coursework. 12th: a2 external Performing assessment 14th: 18 students did external Trinity Guildhall exams: 8 Merits and 1 Distinction – Eoin

McCrossan Grade 7 Singing. 17th: AS external Performing assessment 28th: external CEA A2 Module 2, Aural Perception and Written Examination [am and pm]

June 3rd: external CEA AS Module 2 , Aural Perception and Written Examination [am and pm] 11TH: external Musical Theatre and Pop singing exams. All 7 candidates passed, and there were

Merits for Joseph O’Sullivan, Ben McDaid and John Gillen. 14-18th: Animation Project with year 10 15th: JG Chaired cluster group for music for BELB [Arthur Webb]. 16th: JG AS Standardisation meeting at Stranmillis 17th: collation of Peri summer reports – 145 students currently in receipt of music lessons 18th: external AQA GCSE Listening and Appraising [pm] and recording of year 11 ensembles 21st: External ABRSM exams – 16 candidates who all passed with several Merits and 1

Distinction [Anna Linden grade 2 flute] 22nd: Junior Celebration featured music by the Jazz Band conducted and directed by Mr Dan

Forshaw. 23rd: received notification that Calum McIntyre [10M] achieved a Distinction in Trinity

Guildhall Grade 8 piano! He was awarded 92/100. 24th: Year 8 Mass of Celebration featured music from the Year 8 Choir and soloists Dara Burns

[harp], Conor Taggart [psalm], Anna Linden [Take Our Bread] and Kate Monaghan [Ephesian Prayer].

28th: An Aquinas student, Brian McAlea, travelled to Rome with St Peter’s Cathedral Schola Cantorum, under the directorship of Nigel McClintock, to sing in the Pallium Mass in the Vatican on the Feast of St Peter and St Paul in the presence of his holiness the Pope.

Anthony Bergin was awarded a Thomas Devlin bursary of 500 pounds which he used to travel to Chethams music school in Manchester to attend a summer school specialising in piano.

GCSE and A level results were super once again this year with 70% gaining an A or an A*


P.E. Department

BASKETBALLThe 2009/10 school basketball season proved a highly successful one for all Aquinas teams and also for players gaining international representative honours. Aquinas continues to play at ‘A’ grade basketball – the highest standard across Ireland. There are 4 teams within the school all competing successfully at this level.

In February 18 players along with Mr McAufield and Ms Curran travelled to New York, Connecticut and Orlando where we played five games as well as seeing some NBA games, the highlight of which was standing on the court as the Orlando Magic team came through our team tunnel. The team was sponsored by Medicare for the trip stateside.

Ben Horner played for the U18 Irish team in the USA during July adding another 10 caps to his already impressive collection. Along with Ciaran Ashe, Ben is spending this year at Prep School in the USA.

The U19 team travelled to Dublin for the All-Ireland play-offs. We eventually lost 57-54 in the quarter final to St Fintan’s Sutton who went on to win the All-Ireland title.

The U16 team also travelled to Thurles winning one game from three. However, Joe Shields had a fantastic tournament top scoring for Aquinas.

Once again the Year 9s travelled to Limerick over the May Day weekend Holiday for the annual All-Ireland play-offs. Considerably outsized by Southern Schools Aquinas showed great spirit and determination in all three games with some memorable performances by George Horner. The following weekend in the same venue he continued his shooting streak as the Year 10 team finished in tenth place.

REPRESENTATIVE HONOURSBASKETBALL

Ben Horner Ireland U16 (12 caps) Has also played for Ulster at U14 & U16 level

Joe Burns Ireland U18 (12 caps) Has also played for Ulster at U14, U16 & U18

Ben Scullion Ulster U14Ciaran Ashe Belfast Youth Games team 2005Ciaran McFarland Ulster U14Conal O’Neill Ulster U14Conall Devlin Ulster U14 & Ulster U16Emmet Loughrey Ulster U14 & Ulster U16Jack McConaghy Ulster U16Michael McAlister Belfast Youth Games team 2005Michael McGarry Ulster U14 Charlie McGrath Belfast Youth Games team 2005Rory McCormick Ulster U16Ryan Magee Ulster U14 & Ulster U16


BASKETBALL ACHIEVEMENTS(Regional & National level)

U19 Bank of Ireland National Cup runners-up (2003)U19 Cadburys All-Ireland League bronze medallists (2003)U19 Ulster Cup runners-up (2001)U19 Ulster Plate winners (2002)U19 League runners-up (2008)U19 League runners-up (2007)

Year 9 All-Ireland League Bronze medallists (2005)Year 9 All-Ireland League 5th place (2006)Year 9 All-Ireland League 7th place (2007)

Year 9 All-Ireland League 8th place (2008)

Year 9 Ulster Champions (2007)Year 10 Ulster Champions (2008)

U16 Ulster Champions (2006)

Year 8 Vince Halloran Memorial Tournament r-up (2007)Year 8 Vince Halloran Memorial Tournament r-up (2006)Year 8 Vince Halloran Memorial Tournament r-up (2005)Year 8 Vince Halloran Memorial Tournament r-up (2004)

Aquinas Girls’ Basketball Club

The girls’ basketball club was set up in Aquinas in September 2008, with coaches from the local Queens Basketball club.

We started with a few girls in Year 8 & 9 and played games against local schools.

We are now in our 3rd season with teams competing successfully in Year 11, Year 10, and Year 9 & 8 Ulster competitions.

Last season the Year 9 team made it through to a regional finals day held in Lisnaskea.

This season, the Year 11 team will play in a final on Thurs 9 December in Antrim Forum, followed by the Year 10 team in a final in February 2011.

We hosted a very successful Year 8 tournament in Queens PEC in January 2010 with 9 teams competing.

Due to popular demand, we are hosting this again on Mon 20 Dec 2010 and this time hope to reach the finals.


GAA

Aquinas entered six competitions in football. This year we entered three B competitions. They were senior competitions, the Treanor cup (year 11), the Herald Cup (year 12) and the McLarnon Cup (senior).

In the Treanor cup we were knocked out by a strong Edmund Rice team

In the Herald cup we came up against three very strong country schools, St Eunan’s Letterkenny, Holy Cross, Strabane and St Columb’s, Derry and although beaten in all three the team competed well.

In the McLarnon Cup we put up some excellent, brave performances losing narrowly to St Louis Ballymena, La Salle and St Louis Kilkeel. Aquinas received a walk over against Ballyshannon. Aquinas did themselves proud in the group stages holding their own against some of the top teams in Ulster. In the quarter-final Aquinas played St Michael’s Lurgan, the eventual winners. Aquinas held the Lurgan boys to two points at half time but Lurgan pulled away in the last 15 minutes to record a ten point win. This however is deemed a success in my book as it has provided good experience for us for future years.

In the BT Ennis Cup (Year 9/10) Aquinas were pipped at the post for qualification for the quarter finals by St Joseph’s Crossmaglen and Our Lady’s Castleblaney. Aquinas came third in a very tough group which also contained St Joseph’s Donaghmore

In the Mallon Cup (Year 8/9) Aquinas lost to Edmund Rice and Corpus Christi, then we beat St Colm’s Twinbrook and Glen Road CBS, unfortunately we did not qualify for the Quarter finals due to Corpus Christi having a better points difference. This team was very unlucky.

In the Ulster Colleges Year 8 blitz the team beat Edmund Rice in a highly successful blitz at St Genevieve’s. This was the second time that we won this prestigious year 8 competition and the team deserve lots of credit for their hard work and dedication. This year 8 team was our team of the year and this bodes well for the future of Gaelic Football in Aquinas.

Special thanks must go to our coaches Mr Deazley, Mr Douglas, Mr Quinn, Mr Savage and Mr McGlinchey who have put in an enormous amount of time in after school.


Religious Studies

Examination Results A LevelThe department was delighted to celebrate our students’ examination results at all levels, especially at A-level, with all students, both AS and A2 achieving 100% A – C Grades.

GCSE It has been a demanding year for our Year 12 students but they have been rewarded with an excellent set of results. Again, this year, feedback from the AQA Examination Board complimented the pupils on their excellent standard of work and presentation.Candidate results AquinasA* 56.2%A 89.3%B 98.3%C 100%

The Year 11 students should also be congratulated, having achieved 100% grades A*-C in their modular one paper of their GCSE course.

SIXTH FORM RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMEAs in previous years, the programme was delivered on a modular, rotational basis. In the delivery of this programme we have chosen topics which will hopefully enable us to prepare our students morally and spiritually for an increasingly secular world. This programme has been enhanced with the use of guest speakers.

EDUCATIONAL VISITS & EVENTS The department continued to support the spiritual life of our students with daily Mass, Advent services, Christmas celebrations, Penitential services and other liturgies.

Both Years 10 and 14 tutor groups went on retreat to the De La Salle Pastoral Centre. All our students found their experience very positive and worthwhile.

The department hosted one student teacher from St. Mary’s University College during the year.

Fr Gary Toman, Chaplain to Queen’s University, visited our sixth year students and gave a talk on student life. He also hosted a revision session for our year 13 AS students in May which proved to be very successful.

Science Department

The academic year 2009-10 was a very busy and productive year for the Science department as all staff commenced teaching the Modular GCSE Double Award Science specifications and the new specifications at A2 Level.

Once again the hard work and quality teaching was reflected by the excellent results achieved by our pupils in the GCSE, AS and A level exams in June 2010. At GCSE level, 92.2% achieved grades A* to


C in Biology, 95.2% in Chemistry, 95.0% in Physics and 98.3% in Double Award Science. In addition, the level of achievement was very high, with 45.1% (biology), 47.7% (chemistry), 52.5% (physics) and

32.8% (Double award science) attaining grades A* or A. At A level, the achievement was equally high with 87.2% (biology), 100.0% (chemistry) and 82.6% (physics) achieving grades A to C. We are pleased that, for the third year in succession, a science student has been accepted to study at Oxbridge. Congratulations to Conn McGrath on gaining entry to Medicine at Oxford and we wish him every success.

In September Dr Magill attended a program for A-Level Biology teachers titled “Can I Blame it on my Genes?”. This was aimed at improving the teaching and learning of genetics for A level students.

In October a team of four Year 14 students recommenced the Sentinus Team R&D Scheme. In a collaborative project between the Physics and Technology departments, Julie Coulter, Niall Gallagher, Lorcan Gallagher and Matthew Murray worked with Stephen Hanna, an engineer at Harland and Wolff, to carry out research on methods for monitoring energy consumption at the Harland and Wolff site. Professional development was also enhanced during October when Mr. Duffy attended a Curriculum Changes program at the University of Ulster at Coleraine and Dr. McHugh attended a Rocket science course at Mountcollyer. Dr. Rea resumed our participation in the British Council sponsored Conversations with Africa initiative at W5. The year 12 pupils who participated produced poster resources for classroom display.

The challenge of the Lego league was to the fore in November, when pupils from years 9 and 10 participated in the N Ireland competition atW5. This was the culmination of another joint project with the Technology department in which Mr Sames and Mrs O’Brien worked with the pupils to build and test a prototype robot. Mr Sames and Dr Dowling attended the Chemistry at work program at QUB with a group of Year 11 Chemistry pupils. Finally in November, Aquinas had the honour of hosting teachers, technicians and Education board advisors for the “DNA in a day” course. Dr Rea and Peter Cullen participated in extracting DNA, a method which will be relevant for A level students.

In December we said goodbye to Ms. Nicola Byrne, Head of Physics, who took up an appointment with the Inspectorate. The Science department thank Ms Byrne for the work and contribution she made to the Science Department over the past fifteen years.

In January, as part of our careers guidance program, the Science department hosted twelve organisations at our STEM careers workshops initiative. We were honoured to have Almac Pharmaceuticals, Norbrook Laboratories, I-Path Diagnostics, Bombardier, The School of Engineering at UUJ, Northern Ireland Biotechnology and Engineering Centre, The Royal Society of Chemistry, The Institute of Civil Engineering, CAFRE (Loughry College and Greenmount College), The School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at QUB and Sentinus participating. Representatives from each organisation shared their expertise and enthusiasm by making a presentation to year 10 pupils and their parents from Aquinas and our neighbouring school, St Joseph’s College. The afternoon was very informative and enjoyed by all with unaminous positive feedback from parents and pupils and provided a great help in making subject choices for GCSE.

Also in January, we welcomed Mrs. Teresa Quinn as our new Head of Physics. Mrs. Quinn was previously Head of Physics at St Dominic’s Grammar School and has many years experience delivering GCSE and A Level physics.


Sociology

Academic year 2009-2010 was another highly successful year for the Sociology department.

The subject continues as one of the most popular A Level subjects and most returning students chose to continue their studies through to A2 Level.

Once again the examination results were excellent at both AS and A2 Level with 88% A2 students achieving grades A*-C and 100% achieving grade A-E.

The AS students were also very successful with 100% achieving Grade A-E and 92% achieving Grade A-C. 50% of AS students achieved Grade A which is particularly pleasing.

Once again, this year also saw many students decide to study the subject in more depth at degree level highlighting the enjoyment and value they found in their A-Level studies.

Technology and Design

This academic year proved busy and rewarding for the Technology & Design department both in terms of curricular and extra-curricular activities. The results from the summer 2010 GCSE and Advanced Level examinations are above average and all members of staff and pupils are to be congratulated for their efforts. Several of our Advanced level students are now pursuing undergraduate courses in the field of engineering, technology & design, product design, architecture & computer games design.

GCSE Technology and Design continues to be a popular option at Key Stage 4 & A Level. We continue to attempt to address the gender imbalance at GCSE through our work with the Young Engineers Club. Advanced Level Technology & Design is strong with sixteen students in Lower and Upper Sixth.

Engineering Education Scheme 2009/10This was the sixth year Aquinas participated in this scheme and the year got off to a good start with a visit to Harland & Wolfe our link company. The programme was a joint initiative between Technology & Design & the science department. The group worked exceeding hard on an interesting project and everyone was awarded a Gold Crest Award.

Staff MembersAs Head of Department Mrs Mary O’Brien was on maternity leave. Mr. McNeill ably led the department joined by Mr Gavin McErlean & Mr. Kevin McKenna. We were also joined by Mr. Richard Morrison from the South Eastern Regional College who worked with our A2 students on a practical course in building A2 electronics circuits. We look forward to 2010/11 and another exciting year of hard work and participation in competitions.


Saphara

In October 2009 7 Aquinas pupils, Eimear Devlin, John Doherty, Ben Lambon, Elizabeth Murphy, Ciara Power, Dermot Sharkey and Peter Stewart were selected to represent Aquinas on the Saphara Belfast team which went to India in July 2010. Saphara is a charity which has been set up by Methody College teacher, Dr. Christine Burnett. Saphara teams give young people the opportunity to engage in issues of justice and global citizenship through working with educationally disadvantaged children in India. Saphara is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organisation which welcomes young people from all backgrounds, races and religions. The Belfast team was a cross-community team which brought together pupils from Aquinas Grammar School, Methody College Belfast and Sullivan Upper Hollywood. The pupils spent the year fundraising for their 16 day trip. This is the second year that Aquinas has taken part in the Saphara project. They were accompanied by Miss Seana Maguire as a group leader and their journey included working with disadvantaged children in India through Irish-linked charities. The location was Dehradun and Mussoorie in the foothills of the Himalayas.The trip consisted of a weekend in Delhi – orientation, sightseeing, shopping with trip to TajMahal; a week teaching children in hill village school in Mussoorie; a Global Awareness Weekend with trekking in Himalayas; A Week in Dehradun teaching in school for children from a marginalized urban community. The Belfast team was hosted by the Deputy Irish Ambassador in Delhi and they got the opportunity to discuss the work they had been engaged in and the issues they had learnt about during their visit.The pupils involved their Aquinas peers in their preparations by getting Key Stage 3 pupils to create postcards depicting images of Belfast and N Ireland which were brought out and used as teaching tools and given to the Indian pupils. The wider local community also supported the young people who spoke in their local parishes and were generously supported by their parishes and local primary school. On return from India the pupils have gone back to thank them for their support.This has opened up the pupils’ eyes to issues such as poverty and social justice and has without doubt help to shape their future career decisions as it was a most rewarding opportunity which has enriched not only the lives of the pupils they taught, but they too as individuals have learnt so much from the whole experience.

Delhi

Fundraising

As usual, the fundraising efforts of the staff and pupils for the 2009/10 year were outstanding. The Macmillan Coffee Morning kicked the year off. This morning is designed for the senior pupils of the school, along with the staff to raise funds for the Macmillan nurses looking after cancer patients. The fundraising committee organised tea and coffee for this event. The event ran for a break time raising a total of £744.15. This year we welcomed guests from Wellington College and St Joseph's College. Year 13 and 14 Students helped as volunteer street collectors to assist with the NI hospice Flag Day collection in Belfast City Centre. This Flag Day raised a total of £6061.10 for the hospice. Coming up to Hallowe'en, the Shoebox Appeal was launched. Each class within the school was invited to prepare at least two shoeboxes that could be sent to disadvantaged children throughout the world. Each box must contain a toothbrush, toothpaste, facecloth and soap. We also encouraged extra items such as toys to be included. These boxes were then sent on to communities living in poverty via the Samaritan's Purse Charity. In October, Aquinas students collected and sent 310 boxes along with £420 In November, The annual 'Aquinas Christmas Appeal' was officially launched. This campaign is designed to aid people living closer to home. Pupils work together with SVP, Bryson House and the Salvation Army to bring Santa to those less fortunate than them. Hampers were prepared for families and gifts provided for 69 children. Food hampers and gifts were also given to Social Services and the Morning


Star hostel. In early March, as Lent was fast approaching, the Trocaire campaign was launched. At the Ash Wednesday services, members of the fundraising committee presented a PowerPoint to the members of the school, making them aware of the impoverished conditions in which some children live. We had the Smartie Appeal where local shops donated tubes of smarties. Students filled the empty tubes with 20p coins. A massive £10,717 was raised which was split between Haiti and Africa project. Three Year 14 students were awarded Trocaire Gold Award Solidarity Pins for their commitment to fundraising projects, Una Lavery, Christina McCloskey and Claire McKenna.

Community Link

The Community Link programme has continued to thrive with eighty-six Lower Sixth students participating. Our students thoroughly enjoy this opportunity and gain a wealth of experience from working with disabled students, Primary School pupils, the elderly and the general public.

Students travelled to their respective placements on a weekly basis, committing an hour of their private study time to do so. In schools, they engaged in a wide range of activities such as paired reading, language classes, art, drama, music and games. Our students also took part in a Side by Side project organised by the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative with Class 17 from Glenveagh Special Care School. This project introduced music; playing and making instruments, painting, drawing and making 3d objects, through the visual and sensory interpretation of music and visual art. The outcome of the project was the unveiling of two pieces of artwork which are on display in Glenveagh School. The project was enjoyed very much by all involved from a creative, social and learning perspective.

In partnership with the Languages Department sixth form students attended the local primary schools to deliver language classes in French, German, Irish and Spanish for the European Day of Languages and many of our young people used their languages skills to help deliver language classes through out the year in some of the local primary schools.

Within Nazareth House Care Village, students were involved in a wide variety of activities, visiting the residents and organising and performing at a Christmas Carol Service. Our links have continued with the local charity shops Action Cancer and N.I Hospice. Throughout the year students organised collections of clothes, toys and books. Positive feedback from each of the placements was a clear indication of the enthusiasm and dedication of our students.

Our sixth form students have continued to take responsibility for recycling within the school in partnership with Bryson House Recycling. This has proved to be a real success with pupils promoting awareness and sacrificing their break time on a rota basis to collect recyclable paper.

I would like to acknowledge the help and support we receive from the many organisations who provide the opportunity for our young people to undertake voluntary work. We are most grateful to Mrs. M Jamison (Glenveagh), Mr S. Merick (Holy Rosary P.S), Mr. H. Venney (St. Michael's PS), Mrs M. Dolan (St. Bernard's PS), Mrs F. O’Rafferty (Bunscoile An Drohead), Mrs S. Dickson (Nazareth HouseCare Village), Mr. A. Wilkinson (Action Cancer), Ms J. Kane (N.I Hospice) and the staff of Bryson House Recycling. We thank them all for their co-operation and encouragement throughout the year.


board of governors designation - aquinas diocesan...

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