Celebrating success at Cookstown High School Prize Day 2024

Cookstown High School’s annual Prize Day was held on Friday 27th September in the Millar Hall of Cookstown High School. It was a wonderful celebration of the success, achievement and hard work of the pupils and was magnificently supported by prize winners, staff, parents and friends of the school.

The guest of honour at the proceedings was Mr Peps McCrea, a past pupil of the school. Peps is Director of Education at ‘Steplab’ which is an online platform that helps schools implement instructional coaching, and he also writes books for teachers. In the past, Peps has been Dean at Ambition Institute, where he oversaw the design of Masters programmes for teachers and teacher educators, and served as senior Lecturer of Teacher Education at Brighton University.

Sarah Brown from Year 14 performed ‘The Theme from The Mission’ on clarinet as the staff and governors processed into the hall. The Rev M Currie opened Prize Day in prayer and the Chair of Governors, Mrs Dripps, addressed the audience, expressing her sincere thanks to the Governors for their work and support over the last term of governance. Mrs Dripps extended her thanks to Rev T Greer, Mrs I McKeown and Mr P Stewart who are retiring from the governing board after for 15 years of service.

Mrs Dripps outlined the prestigious history of the school and also past alumni who have contributed significantly to society. Past pupils include Ernest Walton who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 for his part in splitting the atom. Sir Allen McClay established Galen, the international pharmaceutical company and later, Almac. Dennis Orme Shaw a very talented artist and the late William McKeown who exhibited his artwork nationally, were also mentioned, along with Rajan Bedi who is the founder of Spacechips. Mrs Dripps continued to list actors, poets and songwriters as well as a long list of sportsmen and women who have played or competed on the national stage like Aaron Hughes, Stewart Dallas, David Ames, Ian Sloan and Jacqui Burns. She reminded all present of the incredible legacy of Maud Kells, the missionary, writer and nurse in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ‘We have thousands who have been successful: doctors, solicitors, teachers, engineers, tradesmen and women, beauticians, nurses, childcare workers, shopkeepers, farmers, gardeners and homemakers – all equally valued but without the fame,’… ‘all at the heart of our community.’

Members of staff were praised for the way in which they ensure that each pupil is encouraged and challenged to achieve their potential. ‘Every child is unique, with their own talents and you help them find out what they can achieve. However, the Cookstown High School experience is so much more than exams and we have staff here who give so much to providing the extensive range of extra-curricular activities. These activities build character and build confidence and help develop the fine young people we need in the community.’ Mrs Dripps encouraged the audience to be involved with the Former Pupils’ Association and the Parents, Teachers, and Friends Association to help support the school, especially as the school prepares to celebrate 70 years in September 2025 on the Coolnafranky Demesne.

Following Mrs Dripp’s address, the Principal, Miss Evans, reflected on the exceptional achievements of grammar pupils and secondary pupils at Cookstown High School. ‘Prize day recognises accomplishments and a range of school experiences from academic ability as well as sport, music, and community involvement reflecting the diverse and well-rounded education provided.’ ‘Despite increased thresholds for grades this year across N Ireland, CHS has been very encouraged with the overall performance of students. At A level, 31% of all grades achieved by pupils in school were A* or A and above the N Ireland average with 7 pupils achieving this standard, and 82% A* - C grade.

100% of Year 14 pupils have gone on to employment, apprenticeships or taken a gap year with the significant majority going to university reading subjects such as Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Law, Engineering, Computer Science, and Education.’ ‘At GCSE, success was equally impressive with 25% A* and A grades across all subjects, and 70% of pupils obtained 5 or more GCSE’s at A* - C including English and Mathematics.’ Miss Evans thanked the pupils and parents for their support and commitment as well as all of the staff who bring their expertise and give time to ensure that pupils can fulfil their ambitions and co-curricular dreams.

Students have had the opportunity to work on STEM challenges as well as Cyber security challenges working with staff from NATO. Co-curricular activities such as the Mini Enterprise company, Super-curriculum, Duke of Edinburgh Award, and Christian Union have all continued this year with a high level of involvement of pupils. Pupils have also benefitted from numerous workshops and visits from local and national businesses and universities. Cultural and historical perspectives have been enriched with visits to Iceland and Budapest as well as visits from schools from Finland and the Netherlands.

The Music Department has continued to have a busy year with auditions, residentials and concerts with the New Irish Youth Orchestra and Youth Choir, the school production, and the Spring Concert showcasing the talents and skills of pupils from across every year group, including ensembles from the pipe band, string group and choirs, and solos from singers and instrumentalists across a variety of styles to a very high standard. In addition, many pupils have been very successful in Highland Dancing competitions.

The High School has a long reputation for performing classic musicals and after six years it was fantastic to revive the tradition. Last October, over 70 pupils staged the Rodger and Hammerstein’s classic musical ‘The Sound of Music’. Many students had never performed on stage, and it was lovely to see students’ confidence and talents in both acting and singing come to light.

‘Sport is a strong feature in CHS life, and fixtures have taken place every Saturday and mid-week throughout the year from the beginning of September and in all types of weather thanks to the enthusiasm from all members of the PE Department, teaching staff and coaches. Last year was a very successful year across a number of sports.’

Senior netball players won the Northern Ireland Bowl competition defeating Enniskillen Royal Grammar School. The Seniors also finished runner up in the NI League final losing to Friends School Lisburn. The Minor Netballers also won the Year 9 Final.

Lucy McClenaghan won Silver in the Senior 100m Athletics Championship and qualified for the Ulster Championships. Six junior pupils also qualified for the Ulster Championships. They are:

Sophie McNickle was awarded (Gold) High Jump & Triple Jump

Christian Fejkiel ( Gold) High Jump

Skye McNickle (Silver) Triple Jump & (Bronze) High Jump

Yara Lopes (Silver) Shot

Marcus Gillis ( Bronze) High Jump

Vasco Russo (Gold) Long Jump

At County Sports level 6 Gold, 12 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals were won on the day. There was special mention of Year 8 pupil, Lily Cahoon who set a new County record in the Year 8 Girls High Jump with a jump of 1m34.

Last year saw the return of golf to Cookstown High School with Ellie Costello and Noah Cuddy representing the school at the under 16 Irish Junior Schools qualifying tournament and the individual schools golf championships. Archie Hall came second in the UK tournament. In June 2024 the school held its first ever House golf competition at Killymoon Golf Club.

Last week, at the U16 Junior Irish Qualifiers, Ellie came 2nd taking her through to the national finals which takes place in April.

CHS Footballers won the under 15 Football trophy this year against Limavady Grammar School who have beaten CHS in the finals in the previous two years.

There has been another successful season of Rugby at Cookstown High School with teams showing exceptional commitment throughout. The Under 14 team started the season strong winning the U14 Regional Bowl Qualifier and came third in the U14 High School Bowl Tournament. Matthew Allen was selected for the Ulster U16 training squad. Oran Kennedy was selected as Ulster U18s captain against Munster.

The Cookstown High School community is especially proud of past pupil, David Ames, who captained the GB Olympics Hockey Team. The success of hockey in Cookstown and the High School is well known, and the school has had another exceptionally strong year. There was much excitement as CHS pupils won the West of Ulster League and also the Henderson Cup again. The under 14s had a tremendous season winning all matches of the Junior Super League and despite a very tough match against Strathearn in the semi-finals in the Junior Schools Cup, unfortunately it wasn't to be.

The 1XI Girls hockey team had a very successful season with excellent sportsmanship and a faultless work ethic. The finals were held at Stormont Park against Kilkeel High School. Despite a back breaking performance the girls finished as silver medallists with a 2-nil loss.

CHS secured the Junior Cup Schools triple for Cookstown in securing victories in the Bannister Bowl (u13), Ferris Cup (u14) and Richardson Cup (u15) with such an achievement previously accomplished only by one other school in Northern Ireland, reflecting the rich heritage of hockey, boys’ talent, and the excellent coaching within school. The 2024 edition of the John Waring all Ireland school boys’ championship was played in Lisnagarvey. The championship features six of the top schools at under 14 level for boys with finalists from Leinster, Munster and Ulster and the High School are the Irish champions this year.

Modelling compassion and a mind to be kind and generous is central to the Christian ethos of the school. This year, well over £5,000 was raised to support a variety of charities including MS, CAP, Mary Meals and The Shoe Box Appeal.

Miss Evans reminded the audience of the challenges within education given the current financial situation across all public services. ‘Schools are expected to do more with less. It is clear that those challenges will continue for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, it is imperative that whatever the challenges, our young people receive the highest standard of education possible and that we support and nurture them in the process. Our pupils deserve to be invested in, they are after all, our future.’

Miss Evans offered her sincere thanks parents, governors, staff, and senior prefects for their tireless support ‘without whom the changes, developments and progress would simply not have been possible.’ Our collective work serves to shape the future for students and community, and there is no better investment of our time, energy, and resources.

Miss Evans concluded with Stephen Hawking’s words: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

After the singing of ‘In Christ Alone’, prize winners were acknowledged for their success and achievement in the previous academic year and their accomplishments were recognised with individual awards. The audience then sang, ‘Crown Him with many Crowns’ after the distribution of awards. Megan McKay and Kaitlyn Hood sang ‘Changed for Good’. This was immediately followed by a beautiful solo by Sarah Fulton, who sang ‘The Prayer’ accompanied by Annabelle Davidson on the violin.

Mr McCrea’s address opened with his memories as a pupil at Cookstown High School and stated to the audience how the high-quality educational provision at CHS sets pupils up for success in later life. He also reflected on key lessons from his experience and career to date, encouraging pupils to realise that they know more than they are aware of and with practise they can achieve whatever they set their mind to. Throughout their learning experiences, pupils should remember to thank those who have helped them along their journey and that in time they will have a good story to tell.

Louis Donnelly, Head Boy, thanked Mr McCrea for his very engaging and motivating speech and Sophie Dornan, Head Girl then made a presentation to Mr McCrea. The Rev M Currie closed the afternoon in prayer and the ceremony concluded with the singing of the school anthem. It was a wonderful afternoon of celebration and it showcased the incredible and diverse talents and successes of the pupils who attend Cookstown High School.