St Patrick’s College prides itself in offering a warm welcome to all students, especially those who are coming to Northern Ireland for the first time.

 At present we have 68 students for whom English is an additional language and we pride ourselves in being able to ensure that each of them is in receipt of the highest standard of education as well as being offered appropriate  support to help each of them settle in a new Country and a new School system. In order to acheive this we:

• have set up structures and procedures to provide a welcoming environment for new students, with an appropriate Induction Programme
• organise meetings with parents and other professionals when necessary to ensure effective communication is established
• provide support both in class and through withdrawal to ensure students are being given every opportunity to improve their knowledge of English.
• ensure that all staff both teaching and support have access to appropriate in-service training
• promote inter-cultural awareness throughout the School
• provide all Year 8 students with a Home School Journal
• participate fully in the Common European Framework of Reference in order to formally measure students’ progress in English
• access support from the Inclusion and Diversity Service in order to ensure we are continuing to develop expertise in the pastoral, curricular and language needs of new pupils on a whole School basis
• employ a full time teacher (Mrs Izabela Dowrzycz) and a full-time Classroom Assistant (Mr Michael Karpinski) who assist us in ensuring that we offer an inclusive environment for all our students
• are continuing to offer every opportunity for overseas students to participate fully in College life, both in class and through involvement in extra-curricular activities and pride ourselves in the inclusivity of the College