There were celebrations at Friends’ School Lisburn recently when the local grammar was named as one of the top five schools in Northern Ireland.

The Lisburn school ranked fifth on the prestigious list, behind St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt, Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School, Belfast, Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock, and Strathearn School.

The top performing schools in Northern Ireland were revealed in Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2023, published online at thetimes.co.uk/parentpower on December 9, 2022 and in a supplement in The Sunday Times on December 11.

The 30th edition of Parent Power identifies the highest-achieving schools in the UK. It is the definitive guide to secondary schools using the first post-pandemic set of results for state and independent schools since Covid-19 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Friends' School Lisburn is celebrating after being named fifth best school in Northern Ireland

More than 1,600 schools can be searched by name, local authority, town and postcode, allowing families to find the best school in their area.

Parent Power is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative survey of the country's best schools. The rankings in the secondary school league tables are determined by the percentage of examination entries gaining A*-B at A-level (which is given double weighting) and the percentage of entries returning A* and A grades, and those graded 9, 8 and 7, at GCSE and iGCSE.

Friends’ School Principal Stephen Moore thanked staff and pupils for their hard work throughout the year.

He said: “We are delighted at the success Friends’ pupils achieved on the return of public examinations in 2022 and would like to congratulate all of them.

"It is to their credit that they persevered in difficult circumstances throughout the pandemic, and these results will allow them to move on with confidence to the next stage in their education.

"I would like to pay tribute to their teachers who worked tirelessly throughout the last three years, adapting to new ways of delivering lessons and providing excellent pastoral support in challenging times.”

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Helen Davies, editor of The Sunday Times Parent Power guide, added: “League tables are not the only criteria a parent can use when choosing a school, but they are a good starting point. We want to champion schools that are doing wonderful work.”

Friends School Lisburn named in top five Northern Ireland schools by the Sunday Times