Principal's Welcome

Dear Pupils and Parents,

As Principal of St Patrick’s College, I am delighted to introduce you to the College and give you an insight into the opportunities we pride ourselves in being able to offer.

I am pleased to report continued academic success for the College and its students. We offer a wide range of GCSE and GCE courses and are fully compliant with the Entitlement Framework. In recent years, our students have performed in many cases above the Northern Ireland average for similar schools in all public examinations and continue to do so.

Such results are only achieved when students are placed in an environment where they are taught by true professionals who value the worth of each student; nurturing talent and taking a personal interest in every pupil. Any young person or parent considering St Patrick’s should feel secure in the knowledge that pupils leaving us, either at the end of Year 12 or Year 14, are equipped to compete at the highest levels in further or higher education and in the job market.

We are conscious in the College that not all our students follow a purely academic route and we are delighted with the success of those who follow a range of vocational courses. A number of these courses are facilitated through our involvement in the Ballymena Learning Together learning community. The students are motivated by the opportunities offered to them to explore new challenges and develop new skills.

Our website will give you a flavour of the good work which goes on in St Patrick’s. I would urge you to visit us on our Open Evening when you will be able to see us as a school community, looking forward to the future with confidence. Like all schools we face challenges, but we see these not as obstacles, but as opportunities which we continue to embrace, with the belief that the welfare and well-being of our pupils is our main priority.

As we watch our overall enrolment increase year on year, we know that with your confidence in what we do, we are ensuring that all the young people who come to us are offered the best provision in an environment where each is valued and provided with a sense of worth, based on our strong Catholic ethos.

Mr Paul Fitzpatrick

Principal