We recently held our annual Prize Giving. We are immensely proud of all our students who did so well in their recent examinations.
Ms Mc Laughlin, Principal of St. Mary's High School said
" It gives me great pleasure to deliver my address to you today as your new principal. I know, from long experience, that this an outstanding school steeped in a unique history and tradition with the Sisters of Mercy who established St Mary’s in 1957. I follow in the footsteps of the 6 other principals who had the vision to lead this school to where it is today. A school - that sits at the pinnacle of success. A school that has close links with our community, local businesses, the Patrician Youth Club, Careers and Youth Services. A school where we have partnerships with our parents that are the envy of many. A school where a very nurturing atmosphere permeates all aspects of life in our daily work.
How did we get here? It has been a journey and the culmination of hard work especially over the last few years. Determination to succeed and not give up. ‘A Can Do’ attitude. Resilience in the face of adversity. A mindset to succeed. All these words are common parlance in the vocabulary used by St Mary’s girls and their teachers.
Henry Adams has said, ‘A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.’ Girls, your parents were your first teachers, your primary school teachers nurtured you in the very early stages of your educational journey. I know that your primary school principals and our staff are very proud of you today as you receive your awards for hard work, dedication to your studies, for service to our local community, for achievements in sport, music and for making a difference in the lives of others.
In St Mary’s we provide an academic and vocational curriculum that meets the needs of all our students and the wider community. Both pathways lead to success. As 21st century learners our students study coding, entrepreneurial skills and there is a strong focus on the STEM subjects – all are areas of growth in the Northern Ireland economy. We also make a huge contribution to the health service in the local area. We want to ensure that our students develop the skills they will need in the workplace; recognising the contribution that such skills can make to the local economy. We thank our local business community for generously giving up their time to come into school to conduct mock interviews and for accepting our students to undertake work experience to gain a valuable insight into the world of work."
On the outstanding set of results St. Mary's students achieved this year she said
"Today is a celebration of your achievements. The results at GCSE and A Level are once again outstanding. Our GCSE results are the best in the history of our school
- 100% of the students at GCSE, AS and A Level have gained their qualifications
- 93.2 % of our GCSE students have achieved 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C
- An amazing 80% of our GCSE students achieved 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C including English & Mathematics
- 25 students in the Year 12 cohort achieved 9 or more GCSEs including English & Mathematics
- 11 of the 25 achieved 10 GCSEs including English & Mathematics
- This is a phenomenal set of results for any school "
Our Guest Speaker, Mrs Gemma Morgan is a former pupil. She spoke very fondly of her time in St. Mary's and how certain teachers gave her the inspiration to achieve her dreams. At present Gemma works for SureSkills, a company that was established in 1993 with its headquarters in Dublin. SureSkills has stated that they are 'a world leader in delivering sophisticated technology, knowledge and learning solutions to complex and challenging client requirements.' Gemma is currently the Sales/General Manager.
Gemma is very proud that her daughter will be following in her footsteps by attending St. Mary's High School in September 2019.
Please download our Celebration of Achievement booklet for the names of the individual awards winners.
Well done to all our students, whether you picked up a trophy or not. Your achievements in 2019 will follow you throughout your life and we hope you will always hold your head high and be proud of them.
