Prize time for St Patrick's students

Students of St Patrick's College in Ballymena have been recognised and rewarded for their successes over the past year at the school's Prize-giving.
Prize winners of St Patrick's College, Ballymena, with Mrs B Waide, Dr B Best and Dr M Knox, Principal.Prize winners of St Patrick's College, Ballymena, with Mrs B Waide, Dr B Best and Dr M Knox, Principal.
Prize winners of St Patrick's College, Ballymena, with Mrs B Waide, Dr B Best and Dr M Knox, Principal.

Dr Knox, in his address reflected on the significance of the day.

He said: “Five, or perhaps seven years ago, many of our young people set foot in St. Patrick’s for the first time to commence their journey through secondary school. That would have been a tenuous and sometimes overwhelming initial experience. A big school. Many students. New faces. Lots of staff. And yet, not only did they engage whole-heartedly in that journey, but excelled in it. A journey that brought them here today so that we can reflect on and honour their achievements.”

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At GCSE three pupils achieved 11 GCSEs at A*-C. A further three students achieved 10 GCSE passes, and 12 more students achieved nine GCSE passes, all with a significant proportion of their grades being A* or A.

St Patrick's College students with their prizes pictured with Dr Bernadette Best, guest of honour who is a Lecturer at Queens University Business School and is a former pupil of St Patrick's school.St Patrick's College students with their prizes pictured with Dr Bernadette Best, guest of honour who is a Lecturer at Queens University Business School and is a former pupil of St Patrick's school.
St Patrick's College students with their prizes pictured with Dr Bernadette Best, guest of honour who is a Lecturer at Queens University Business School and is a former pupil of St Patrick's school.

In all, 31 St Patrick’s pupils celebrated seven or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, with 28 achieving eight or more at these grades. There was particular success in English Literature and GCSE Physical Education, where 100% of candidates achieved A or B grades. A further nine subject areas saw A*-C performance of over 70%, while this figure rose to 80% and above for Art & Design, Construction and Polish, and to over 90% for Design & Technology, Child Development and Music. Students who took the Prince’s Trust Programme and the Coaching Academy Award all achieved at Grade B.

Between them pupils achieved 16 A* grades, 36 A’s and 177 B’s.

St Patrick’s had a 98% pass rate across all ofits courses. In total, 60 A or A* grades were achieved by the College’s Sixth Form students, accounting for 56% of the total grades obtained in Year 14.

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Seventy-three per cent of the College’s Year 14 students obtained at least one A grade in their ‘A’ Level results with 43% also celebrating at least one A* grade.

St Patrick's College  Prize winners with Cllr P Reid, Mrs B Waide, Dr B  Best (guest of honour) and Dr M Knox, Principal, at the recent prize giving.St Patrick's College  Prize winners with Cllr P Reid, Mrs B Waide, Dr B  Best (guest of honour) and Dr M Knox, Principal, at the recent prize giving.
St Patrick's College Prize winners with Cllr P Reid, Mrs B Waide, Dr B Best (guest of honour) and Dr M Knox, Principal, at the recent prize giving.

In Art, Construction, ICT, Performing Arts, Polish and PE Departments, 100% of our students achieved grades at A*-C.

The College was joined at the prize giving by guest of honour, Dr Bernadette Best, Lecturer, Queen’s University Business School, former pupil of the school. As she commended the students she spoke warmly of her days at St Patrick’s.