St. Patrick's College Prizegiving
19th October 2018
Prize-giving St. Patrick’s College 19th October 2018 Friday, October 19th, was one of the most important days
in the school calendar. Dr Knox, in his address reflected
on the significance of the day:
‘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. 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. Students who took the Prince’s Trust Programme and the Coaching Academy Award all achieved at Grade B. Between them our pupils achieved 16 A* grades, 36 A’s and 177 B’s. A tremendous outcome I’m sure you will agree. In Art, Construction, ICT, Performing Arts, Polish and PE Departments, we saw 100% of our students achieve grades at A*-C 73% 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.
Over their years in St. Patrick’s College, the students have shown courage, determination, commitment and a selfless regard for others. I hope these attributes serve our students well in the years ahead.’
We were honoured to be joined by our guest of honour, Dr Bernadette Best, Lecturer, Queen’s University Business School, former pupil of the school and wife of one of our esteemed members of the Board of Governors, Mr Colum Best. As she commended the students she spoke warmly of her days at St. Patrick’s and reminisced about her teachers and their colourful nicknames! She also reminded the students of the importance of hard work and self-discipline. Her many accolades are a testament to her diligence as she has achieved success at every academic level from first steps in St. Patrick’s College to her PhD at Queen’s University. The students benefited greatly from meeting this inspiring role-model.
