Ballyclare High School Magazine 2012/13 by ThinkFinch

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Ballyclare High School Magazine 2012/13

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from Mr Knox

The School Magazine is a record of the highlights of the year and we are very grateful to Mrs Skene and her editorial team for the time and effort they put in each year to bring news to us of our various clubs, societies and subjects. So much happens during the year that it is difficult to keep track of it all. Recently, the leaders of the Duke of Edinburgh programme told me that the assessors were greatly impressed with our pupils at both gold and silver levels. Their attitude to the expedition and the way in which they had planned the routes and conducted themselves was exemplary, even in they way they left their campsites litter free. I was pleased, but not surprised, because that is what I have come to expect of our pupils, not only at Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, but in all the other trips and activities in which they are involved. It is great when

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other independent observers notice and comment on their positive attitudes and good conduct. When one sees the number of times that pupils represent the school at home and in other countries one realises what important ambassadors they are for us and for Northern Ireland. The other thing that strikes me about the reports contained in the magazine is the tremendous variety of opportunities that our pupils have and these happen not by chance, but because of the enthusiasm of our staff to enter competitions, organise trips, or charity fundraising, or drama and music productions, or science competitions. We are lucky that so many teachers want to be involved outside the classroom, and often in their own time at weekends or in the evenings; and we value the strong relationships in school that result from this commitment. I hope that you will enjoy reading of their many exploits during the year and the many successes that resulted. Mr D Knox Headmaster

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Editorial Staff

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School Events

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Subjects in Focus

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Trips & Tours

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Subjects in Focus

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Art

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Creative Contributions

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Clubs & Societies

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Sport

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Ballyclare High School Magazine 2012 /13

Final Words

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Ballyclare High School Magazine 2013

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Editorial We want to let you in on a little secret. There is something special about our school. You will see it if you walk the corridors, sit in the back of a lesson, practice on the sports pitches, or step into the library. What is it that makes Ballyclare High so special? You. Every person who wears the school blazer, gown or lab coat is part of the community that makes this school unique. Yes, we may be biased, but we are proud to be part of a caring school where there are many opportunities to grow, learn, discover and contribute. In a world which is becoming increasingly customised, individual and perhaps isolated, it has never been more important to recognise the importance of each member of our school community. So we thank you. The school magazine helps highlight the achievements and exciting events which have occurred throughout the past year, yet it also reflects the everyday life and fabric of the school. What you are seeing if you look more closely at these pages is not just the final outcome of success for one individual or team, but the joint triumph of a team of committed, supportive and hard- working family members, teachers, coaches and friends who have played their part in it. There are many people to thank for this publication: the staff and pupils who have written and compiled articles; the student editorial team; our school technical support staff; and the design and printing team. Their tireless effort and support is greatly appreciated by myself and the editorial team.

- CAS-

Editorial team of contributors: Meagan Boyd, Sophie Conway, Lucinda McAuley, Laura Scott, Julia Coulter, Rebecca Wright, Danielle Parkes, Gillian McCloy, Rachel Scroggie, Sarah Lockhart, Katie Cummings, Hannah Daniel, Lauren Stewart, Claudia Kirk, Rebecca Braden, Shelby Walsh, Jay McIlwaine, Julia Henderson, Erin Coulson.

Staff

Staff Farewell To...

Miss Hall printing out numerous A3 printouts of Wilf usually sporting his trademark colourful bowtie. She then displayed these pictures at various points through out the school; including the Systems Room (Mrs Hanna’s room). She left in August 2012 to undertake a teaching post in Portora School to be closer to friends and family. Although she was only at the school for three short years she made significant contributions to life at BHS. I would like to thank her for her hard work, humour and patience over these last few years and wish her the very best in her new post. - M Crampsey (Head of ICT) -

Miss Amanda Hall Miss Hall arrived in Ballyclare High School in September 2009 after completing her teaching qualification at Queen’s University. Whilst completing her PGCE, Miss Hall won a prize for being the best IT student on her course. Consequently, it was no surprise that her tutor thought very highly of her and provided a very impressive reference. It was not long before she settled in to life at our school and she very quickly built excellent relationships with students and colleagues alike. She worked hard to help students realise their maximum potential. An example of her drive to achieve excellence is reflected in the fact that in the summer of 2010 every student in her Year 14 Applied ICT class achieved an A* grade. As well as playing an active part in the classroom, she also contributed to the school’s extracurricular activities. For example, she undertook a hill walking qualification which required her to camp out at various locations over a significant number of weekends. As a result of successfully achieving this qualification she was actively involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. She ran the school’s Girls Only for IT (Go4IT) club. She also assumed responsibility as Co-ordinator of KS3 ICT and completed Online Learning and Teaching for Educators (OLTE) Certificate. One particular quality that will missed by teachers at BHS is related to her skill in making delicious cup cakes. These cakes were produced to celebrate events such as birthdays, end of terms or even every time that some poor individual needed cheered up. Every colour of the rainbow appeared, covered with all types of glitter; I don’t know about anybody else but I will miss those spangly creations. One worrying trait was her infatuation with an eccentric inventor by the name of Wilfred Makepeace Lunn, or Wilf as he is more commonly known. This fascination originated from an acronym that may be familiar to many students: WILF is short for “what I’m looking for”. For those who don’t know, this is a statement of expectation of learning outcomes given by teachers at the beginning of every lesson. This obsession with Wilf manifested itself through

Mr Frank Gault A pupil of Ballyclare High School from 1967 to 1974 and a teacher here from 1979 until his retirement in the Summer of 2012, Frank Gault was as much a part of the fabric of Ballyclare High School as his peer John Whincup, who played on the same Schools’ Cup winning team as Frank and his twin brother. In 1973 Frank went on to coach the 1st XV squad along with Tommy Young, former Head of PE. The pair were a great partnership well known and well liked in rugby circles, Frank having played for North and Tommy for Ballymena. In all my dealings with Frank Gault he was never less than the perfect gentleman, even when we disagreed about something, which was rare. He stayed longer as coach than he had intended for the sake of the boys and the school. Equally important to rugby was Frank’s love of his subject, Chemistry, which he taught with enthusiasm and professionalism throughout his time at the School. It is fair to say that he was loved and respected by many of his pupils as a teacher with a sense of humour and understanding; and as a friend whom they trusted because they knew he had their best interests at heart. During his last couple of years he had to cope with family illness, during which he conducted himself with both courage and compassion. In losing Frank through retirement the school lost one of its own, a teacher, a coach, a former Head of Year and a mentor for newly qualified staff and student teachers. Someone unshakably loyal to the school and someone to whom I would frequently turn for his illuminating analysis of our rugby fortunes, for I admire his knowledge of the Game. He was a member of the Schools’ committee of the Ulster Branch. I will miss Frank for that but also for much, much more. I wish Frank and Beverly a long and happy retirement and I hope they will continue to turn up on those occasions and at those events when the School Community comes together. - D Knox -

Staff

Miss Valerie Johnston Believe it or not Miss Johnston has taught in Ballyclare High School for 34 years – teaching PE in the preparatory and senior school during this time. Wow – you would not think she was that old! Never! She has spent 30 years getting up early on a Saturday morning to ensure the Hockey programme ran without a hitch – and some of you moan! Her enthusiasm has never waned and we all must be thankful for her commitment over such an enormous period of time. Her organisation of numerous hockey tours meant there was never a minute on tour unaccounted for when something special could be achieved. In addition to hockey she was also in charge of girls’ tennis in school and in the last decade has taken over the organisation of Sports Day. She has been in charge of first aid and in helping lots of pupils who face difficulties daily in school. Miss Johnston has inspired both pupils and staff alike and has been at the heart of all the PE department has achieved over this period. She has truly been a friend to this School and displayed an enormous capacity for looking after all of us. We really do not know what we will do without her but wish her all the best for the future in her garden and with family and friends. WE LOVE YOU Miss J!

Tom Stewart,

Frank Gault,

Valerie Johnst

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Mr Tom Stewart Mr Tom Stewart was appointed to the Technology department of Ballyclare High in 1979. He retired from our school in June 2012 in an effort to perfect his golf swing and do a bit more skiing, having been a senior teacher with responsibility for Finance and Buildings for 3 years. Tom had a great breadth of practical skills and subject knowledge and in 2000 was appointed Head of Technology. His own interest and achievement in sport supported his involvement and dedication to football coaching and, indeed, he was important in securing success at all levels for teams and individuals alike. For over 20 years, Tom helped organised the school’s annual ski trip, affording

pupils the opportunity to visit alpine environments all over the world and develop friendships with staff and pupils alike. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Technology department to thank Tom most sincerely for the dedication he showed both to us as his colleagues, and to his pupils, over the years. As a ‘critical friend’ he contributed fully, and most professionally, to our decision-making and initiatives and always ready to tell you truthfully what he really thought. -SB -

Staff

and 9. Pupils of all ages recognised her love for her subject and appreciated the framework of encouragement and support which consistently applied in her classroom. The number of her former pupils who continue to study languages at university or who have forged careers with Spanish testifies to the impact of her unfailing professionalism and unrelenting commitment.

Mrs Lucy Woods Lucy Woods graduated from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh in 1985 and completed her PGCE at Queen’s University, Belfast, the following year. Thereafter she gained her first teaching experience at Ashleigh House Grammar School, Belfast, Belfast Royal Academy and Cambridge House Girls’ School, Ballymena.

Over 8 years in Ballyclare High School Lucy became a trusted friend and a valued and supportive colleague. Her influence is missed but her energy, vision and enthusiasm remain as an example to all of us. We wish her continued health and happiness in her retirement. - M Nutt -

Mr Ian Davies

Having successfully completed a course in Marketing, awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 1992, Lucy returned to the teaching profession in Bloomfield Collegiate in 1993 and was subsequently appointed Head of Spanish there in 1997. The desire to strike a better balance between her professional life and her family commitments saw her move to Ballyclare High School in 2003, where she made an invaluable contribution to the Department of Modern Languages until taking early retirement in 2011. Lucy quickly established a reputation as a committed teacher who aspired to the highest standards in her own teaching and who had similarly high expectations for all of her pupils. Her considerable experience of teaching Spanish facilitated the design and delivery of new, engaging courses at all levels and her previous experience as a Head of Department brought considered judgement to departmental meetings and insight to informal discussions with colleagues. Lucy embraced new technology and was innovative in its application in her classroom teaching while still remaining faithful to the traditional values of a solid grammatical foundation to the study of a foreign language. Her passionate commitment to promoting the study of the Spanish language and an appreciation of Spanish culture, history and society underpinned her classroom practice and led her to organise a very successful trip to Madrid in February 2010. Throughout her time in our school Lucy had a clear vision for the future development of Spanish within the curriculum and it will, I believe, give her great pleasure to know that the opportunity to study Spanish has, in recent years, been extended to include classes in Years 8

Ian Davies joined the school in 1989 as assistant caretaker to George Dodds. When George retired he took over his duties as caretaker until re-organisation when he became chief building supervisor. A keen supporter and active participant in sport, Ian’s interest in the sporting activities of the school was evident during his time at Ballyclare High School. Ian was often found on match days, particularly during senior cup campaigns, on the touchline offering support and encouragement. He was only too willing to travel with supporters to various venues including Ravenhill in support of the school. As a keen and talented table tennis player, playing with Ballyclare Methodist team, he took an avid interest in table tennis in school offering encouragement and exhibiting some of the skills for the benefit of school players. We wish him and his wife Linda, a happy, long and peaceful retirement. -TM -

Staff

Welcome To...

Miss Natalie Fenwick Miss Lyn Brown Miss Brown has been a student for some time before getting a job at Ballyclare High School. She studied BSc Hons Sport Studies at the University of Ulster Jordanstown and graduated in July 2011. She then went on to study a PGCE in Physical Education and specialised in Special Educational Needs. She is currently completing a Masters in Education part time whilst working here. Before becoming a member of staff at Ballyclare High School Miss Brown was happily living the life of a student, playing hockey and working part time as a hockey coach. Miss Brown finds BHS an extremely exciting and busy place to work with lots of opportunities for both the staff and pupils, making sure there is never a dull week. She also enjoys the effort made amongst the staff as everyone is so enthusiastic and willing to help when in need- the office staff being her favourite.

Before joining us at Ballyclare High, Miss Fenwick spent two and a half years studying an HND in travel and tourism at Antrim Regional College. After completing her course she began working in the marketing department in car sales and had her first child, a baby boy named Joshua. When she first started BHS she worked full time in the office, where she was involved in the day to day running of the school. Working in the office allowed her to learn about all the events the school was involved in, as she remarks: “The office is the engine room of the school; I can’t believe how much actually goes on there.” She now spends more time supervising upper sixth private study and less time in the office. In her spare time, Miss Fenwick enjoys spending family time with her little boy Joshua, socialising with her friends and most of all shopping. When asked what she would do if she was invisible for one day, she replied: “I would get my own back on some people in private study, who do not listen and do what they’re told, they know who they are!”

She feels fortunate to be involved in a range of aspects of school life. She coaches hockey, netball and badminton and is also involved in a primary school project for promoting healthy and active lifestyles. In addition to all that, Miss Brown is also a buddy. This role requires her to help pupils manage school life. Miss Brown has very little spare time due to the contribution she makes to school life here at Ballyclare High School. Most of the spare time she has is spent playing hockey for Ulster Elks, socialising with friends and family and travelling around the world at any opportunity. When asked which superpower she would choose for a day, Miss Brown replied saying, ‘This is tough, there are too many I would like!’ After much thought she decided she would like to be able to magically fly to anywhere she wanted or to somewhere amazing in the world like Singapore or Australia. Ironically, she does have a slight fear of flying. Miss Brown described Ballyclare High as friendly, busy and fun! We wish her well during her time here.

Mrs Alex Ward Mrs Ward came to Ballyclare High School in 2011 to join the staff of the Biology department. Having completed both her degree and PGCE at Queen’s University Belfast, she taught in a few different schools across Northern Ireland before finding her home with us here in Ballyclare. Mrs Ward is a self confessed lover of animals and loves nothing better than to walk her two Miniature Daschunds Denny and Tilly. Her other interests include reading and going to the cinema. As well as looking after her pets,

Staff Mrs Ward will soon have her own little Ward to care for as she is expecting a baby in July; something she is really looking forward to - as are we! Within school, Mrs Ward has been teaching junior science and biology while also helping with year 10 games. When she returns from maternity she is looking forward to getting involved with other areas of school life but maintains that the most enjoyable aspect of Ballyclare High is the teaching; she counts the lovely pupils here as the favourite part of her job. Mrs Ward describes the school as “welcoming, warm and friendly”, and having taught in a few other schools, she finds it a great atmosphere to teach in. On a lighter note, when we asked her to choose an animal that best portrayed her she said a Miniature Daschund, replying “people say you become like the dog you have!” We are glad to have her as part of the teaching staff here at school and wish her a happy maternity leave before joining us again.

Language assistant Susana Sánchee Hurtado Susana worked in Madrid and Ávila before coming to Northern Ireland to be a language assistant at our school. She had the opportunity to work with children and adults through teaching and sports. Susana has acquired a degree as a Primary English Teacher and another as an actress of cinema and theatre. Susana was made welcome into Ballyclare High through her contact with Mr Wilson before and after she arrived and has appreciated all the members of staff making her feel at home in a foreign country. Within the school she enjoys working with the pupils the most because they always come to talk to her with a smiley face. Susana has to divide her time between both Ballyclare High and Carrickfergus so she doesn’t have quite as much time as she would have liked to participate in activities in school. However, she helped out with the school musical ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and is keen to get involved elsewhere in school.

Mrs Nicola Ward After completing a degree in Business and ICT and her PGCE at Queen’s University, Belfast, Mrs Ward taught in an all girls’ school before joining Ballyclare High. She describes our school as, “caring, enjoyable and supportive”. Mrs Ward is the newest member to the ICT department and thinks the school promotes a caring ethos, “from the friendly staff to friendly pupils”.

At the weekend Susana loves to go out with her friends and watch ice hockey matches. She is very busy throughout the week too due to her interests in skating, dancing and singing. In addition to all this she also goes to Zumba classes twice a week. As an ice breaker we asked Susana if she had to lose one of her senses which would it be and she told us she could live without her sense of smell because she has to do this almost every summer due to the pollen. Although not technically a sense she said she would never like to lose her memories as they are very important to her.

Aside from teaching ICT, Mrs Ward is the form tutor for 11C and manages an after school club for ICT called “GO 4 IT” which helps pupils develop their ICT skills while having fun! As a break from ICT, she enjoys coaching badminton for Year 11 games and aerobics for Year 12 games. In her spare time, Mrs Ward likes to shop and have lunch with friends. When asked what superpower she would like, she chose invincibility to help tackle tough Fridays! We extend a warm welcome to Mrs Ward and hope she continues to enjoy her time here.

School Events

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stunning performance of Phantom of the Opera 10

School Events One small Northern Irish school. 7 weeks. The greatest musical of all time. This was the challenge that the cast and staff of Ballyclare High found themselves faced with as they started back in September 2012. Ballyclare High is famous for its musical productions and this year the bar was raised even higher as we embarked upon performing the Northern Irish School Premier of The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The cast had been chosen by the end of June so they had time to prepare over the summer for the huge roles they would take on; but the true work (and panic) didn’t appear until early September. Matthew McConnell was chosen for the well deserved role of The Phantom after a great lead performance as Frank Butler in last year’s production of Annie Get Your Gun. Ellen Mawhinney was selected to play Christine Daae, one of the most challenging female leads of all time; she made the role look effortless by always having a huge smile on her face. The entire casting was superb and Mr Moreland and Miss McClelland should be commended for their wisdom. Everyone shone, from the comic duo of Andre and Firmin played by quirky friends Sam Butler and Lloyd Steele-Nicholson, to the role of prima donna Carlotta where Amy Norwood really came into her own.

The commitment of every principal to their role cannot be portrayed enough with each of them staying after school almost every day to try and prepare for this musical in time. Full cast rehearsals also went well, with the tiring challenge of staying until 7pm every Tuesday only made possible by Domino’s ‘Two for Tuesday’ offer! The chorus had a lot to do to as they tried to perfect the large opening scenes for both acts “Hannibal” and “Masquerade”. The importance of an enthusiastic chorus for these numbers could not be over stressed but with the talent and passion of the principals, the rest of the cast quickly followed suit.

After what seemed like no time at all we were already at the point of all day rehearsals and it was here that the real panic set in! Everyone was tired but no one gave up. Mr Moreland continued to go over difficult notes with the patience and enthusiasm he always possesses. Mrs Blair led the way in helping the ballet girls transform into professional dancers. Miss McClelland continually pushed forward towards a perfect staging while ordering, organising and even making countless costumes with the help of her drama class. The sound and light team were always the first there in the morning and last to leave in the afternoon as they also committed to putting on the perfect production. In a matter of weeks the art department had also done its part by transforming the dull stage into 19th century French Opera house with skull imagery galore courtesy of Mr Reid and Mr Coleman. The orchestra also sat patiently day after day as they waited through the many lines for their own role to come round. So after a lot of sore throats and pressurised schedules, the time for the matinee to be performed came. The primary school children were a great audience, sitting patiently and attentively throughout, and encouraging us on. Even after that performance we knew we could do so much better and the children had only been given a taster of what was to come.

As the evening shows approached, it was then everybody really dug in, and completely pulled it out of the bag. After numerous pep talks from teachers and encouragement from peers it all finally came together to become even more than we ever could have imagined. The rumour going round was that it was “the greatest performance Ballyclare High had ever given”, and referred to not only as “good for a school production” but of the same standard as the actual Opera! Each night, a well deserved standing ovation was given. So, to everyone who contributed their talents, time or even money to help put on this 5 star show; thank you!

-Gillian Mcloy Year 14 11

School Events

My role in the School Musical Not many people can say that they have played the roles of both Phantom and Valjean in one year. I was given this honour in my final year at Ballyclare High, Phantom of the Opera was a daring school musical that pushed everyone to their limits of performance but I can easily say that it is one of the best performances of my life. The school’s musicals have always been at a high standard as long as I can remember, but Phantom raised the bar a whole lot higher. Everyone pulled out all the stops, from the music to the staging to all of the performers as well and I will always be proud to have been a part of that experience. Music and performance have been my life at Ballyclare High. Studying Music and Theatre studies for A-level, I have been supported and nurtured in every way, giving me my passion for performance which I hope to pursue in the future, I will always remember Music and Drama in Ballyclare High and they have made me who I am today. - Matthew McConnell Year 14 -

Cinemagic Success for Ballyclare High

‘In Lucem’ was a very moving piece which featured his grandmother who suffers from dementia. Mark’s was centred on the topic of revenge and included superb visual and audio techniques.

Cinemagic is an award-winning organisation that uses the magic of film and all forms of the moving image to entertain, educate, motivate and inspire young people. Cinemagic hosts its annual film and television festival in Belfast every autumn as well as an annual festival in Dublin since 2008 and New York and Los Angeles since 2010. Every year six films are chosen for AS and A2 categories in the whole UK for the Cinemagic Film Festival. This year Ballyclare was very successful with Connor Shearer, who is a former year 14 pupil, achieving third place in the A2 category. Mark McDowell, a current year 14 pupil, received a screening for his film ‘Revenge’. Connor’s film

This was a fantastic achievement for the students, who competed against over 300 entries from the UK. “To have their short films chosen for both AS and A2 categories is a triumph” proudly noted Mrs Todd, the boys’ MIA teacher. “The boys are talented filmmakers and this is shown in their work. With the film industry booming in Northern Ireland, it is exciting preparing MIA students to work in this competitive industry. Every year the work gets stronger and more professional which is what the film industry is looking for”. Both short films can be seen on the Ballyclare High website under ‘latest news’. - Meagan Boyd & Lucinda McAuley Year 14 -

School Events

Ballyclare High: A Fairtrade school Ballyclare High School is to be congratulated on being re-awarded Fairtrade School Status. The Eco Club has spearheaded interest in this initiative and has been working on the theme for three years. In 2012 we were one of the first schools in Northern Ireland to be awarded Fairtrade School Status. It has been very encouraging that the whole school community has become involved in this worthy initiative. There has been a Fairtrade ‘flavour’ to many lessons across the curriculum in Ballyclare High School, for instance English classes had the opportunity to sample Fairtrade chocolates during one very tasty lesson. Pupils in Religious Studies classes examined moral aspects of Fairtrade which helped underpin the school’s commitment to this cause. Meanwhile sixth form Home Economics pupils visited a local supermarket to learn more about Fairtrade and other food related issues. A number of Geography and English pupils participated in a Fairtrade competition which involved designing wrappers and marketing Fairtrade products

Mr Bell and four members of the Eco-Club showing their support for Fairtrade.

- A Witherow -

Safer Internet Day 2013 This year’s Safer Internet Day on 5th February was marked at a national presentation in Westminster. Two of our year 11 pupils, Dylan Beard and Lauren Boyd, presented at the event which was attended by around a hundred delegates comprising of a variety of government and industry stakeholders including a member of the cabinet, Rt Hon Edward Timpson.

Mr Timpson with Lauren Boyd and Dylan Beard

The children spoke along with pupils from seven other schools who together represented the views of over 24,000 pupils who had filled in the ‘Have Your Say’ survey, commissioned by the UK Safer Internet Centre to mark the 10th anniversary of Safer Internet Day. The pupils were invited over by Childnet.

Our pupils each spoke about their top priorities for Internet Safety and gave anecdotal information and suggestions on how to improve safety on the internet. These were based on their own experiences. Their priorities were chosen from Childnet’s published charter.

Earlier in the morning there was a preparation session in which the pupils perfected their lines and had discussions with the other pupils who had been invited from England, Scotland and Wales. Before the main event they were also asked to get some publicity photographs with the charter around the Westminster area of London. After the main event there was just time to be interviewed for BBC School Report before heading for the airport. The pupils, who were accompanied by Mr Farley, took part in everything that they were asked to do enthusiastically and their general conduct was a credit to the school. - M Farley You can find out more about safer internet Day at saferinternet.org.uk 13

School Events

Safer Internet Day at BHS On the 5th February 2013, some MLAs came to visit the school. A few of our Year 11 students presented their ideas on how to make the internet safer as part of Safer Internet Day. Among the audience was Stormont Minister Jonathan Bell MLA. Minister Bell launched Safer Internet Day in Northern Ireland with a speech to an invited audience in the school’s library. Mr Jeff Haslam, of UK Safer Internet Centre, used the occasion to announce findings from the UK Safer Internet Centre Survey. Our students were involved in the research and were also part of a focus group set up by Childnet International. Two of our students, Lauren Boyd and Dylan Beard, impressed them so much that they were invited to act as “Young People Ambassadors” and take part in the launch of SID in London. This year’s Safer Internet Day on 5th February was marked at a national presentation in Westminster. It was attended by around a hundred delegates comprising of a variety of government and industry stakeholders including a member of the cabinet, Rt Hon Edward Timpson. The children spoke along with pupils from seven other schools that together represented the views of over 24,000 pupils who had filled in the ‘Have Your Say’ survey, commissioned by the UK Safer Internet Centre to mark the 10th anniversary

of Safer Internet Day. The pupils were invited over by Childnet (a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children). Our pupils each spoke about their top priorities for Internet Safety and gave anecdotal information and suggestions on how to improve safety on the internet. Their priorities were chosen from Childnet’s published charter. Earlier in the morning there was a preparation session in which the pupils perfected their lines and had discussions with the other pupils who had been invited from England, Scotland and Wales. Before the main event they were also asked to get some publicity photographs with the charter around the Westminster area of London. After the main event there was just time to be interviewed for BBC School Report before heading for the airport. The pupils, who were accompanied by Mr Farley, took part in everything that they were asked to do enthusiastically and their general conduct was a credit to the school. Our students played a significant role in the research conducted by the UK Safer Internet Centre. The findings were released in the form of a Secondary School Charter of online rights and responsibilities aimed at young people.

The top ten Internet rights and responsibilities are listed below: Top 10 internet safety rights and responsibilities • I should feel safe online. • I should not be bullied online, and should not bully others. • I should be able to access films, music & TV online, but it is my responsibility to respect copyright law. • I should support my friends if they need help online. • I shouldn’t have to see unpleasant or hurtful content and I should know what to do if I come across it. • There should be lots of websites that are interesting for people my age. • I should be able to manage who can see the content I post online. • The websites I use should have an easy and effective way of reporting. • I should know what I can and can’t do online and understand that there are legal and offline consequences. • I should be educated about staying safe online. More details of Minister Bell’s visit to our school as part of SID are on the NIDirect website at: www.northernireland.gov.uk/news-ofmdfm-050213-saferinternet-day?WT.mc_id=rss-news - Katie Cummings & Lauren Stewart Year 14 14

School Events

Olympic Days What an exciting time for all of us with the London 2012 Olympics. Over the last 2 years we have been involved in various educational programmes. We have been part of the Olympic Educational Road show and have been successful in obtaining the Get Set Award, from the Educational Arm of the Olympics. Having entered one Get Set competition ‘Design My Break’, collaborating between Home Economics and Physical Education studies, a group of Year 9 pupils won their Northern Ireland Heat and travelled to the UK Finals in London overlooking the Olympic Park. Three of our pupils have already competed in the Olympic Stadiums for Northern Ireland Teams in the Youth Games: Megan Downey and Yasmin Wilson in the Athletics Stadium; and Zoe Wilson on the unusual blue and white hockey pitch. The Olympic Torch was also carried on June 3rd by two other pupils Kirstie Turner and Lucy Camlin. The School has adopted the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship to underpin its planning for the future and to evoke a further level of connected learning for pupils and teachers. Every department within the school joined together in celebration of the games. Year 9 and 10 days have already happened with two guest speakers. Laura Kerr, a GB and Irish thrower, and Northern Ireland record holder at Year 9. Year 10 heard from Kelly Gallacher, a GB Skier and the first Northern Ireland athlete selected for the winter Paralympics, she won a silver and bronze in Vancouver 2010 and is World Champion. After these inspirational words of wisdom, pupils moved around a series of tasks which covered: Athletes’ Health Check (Science and Technology); Tree of Dreams ( Art and English); Athletes’ Diet ( HE and Maths); Challenging Inclusion( RE and Drama); Bricks and Muscle (PE) ; Sponsorship and Sustainability (Business Studies and Geography); Calorie Burner (HE and PE); and preparation for the Opening Ceremony (PE and Music). All tasks were hands on, practical in nature and linked to the curriculum already being covered. They were hugely enjoyable for both pupils and staff and were significantly aided by our Year 11 leaders who were phenomenal. On the 22nd June, we held our last event, hosting our own mini Olympics and Global Village where a mixture of culture languages and activities were played out. Year 8 pupils acted as competitors, selecting an Olympic country and challenging their Year 11 leaders to only speak in this language. A flavour of the Continental Market was also available on site, providing extra educational and career opportunities. The day was a great success as we all pondered the beginning of a very exciting summer and series of events that followed. - AM 15

School Events

Upper Sixth Formal This year the Upper Sixth formal was at Galgorm Hotel and Spa in Ballymena. It was held in December for the first time instead of February so the theme was Winter Wonderland. When we arrived the room was nicely set out by the senior prefects who spent a lot of time and effort decorating it. There were Christmas trees by the stage, candy canes scattered on the tables and our place cards were held by miniature Christmas baubles. Before our meal we got photos taken by the photographer who made us strike some wacky poses. When the teachers arrived even more photos were taken with their classes. This was the most hectic part of the night because everyone wanted their photo taken with their friends! We were called into the dining room and the waiters began to serve our food. For starters we had melon with raspberry coulis, for the main we had roast chicken dinner and for desert we had exotic fruit pavlova. Not that we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t full already but we were given winter themed cupcakes as well! After dinner we began handing out awards such as, the Most Whipped award (Luke McAnee) ,the CafĂŠ Bleu award (Shane Meharg), Rear of the Year award (Rebecca Wright) and The Best Dressed award (Sarah Sefton).

This provided us and the teachers with much amusement. Then Al Bennett and his band came on and performed some of his songs for us. This gave us a chance to boogie with the teachers, especially Miss McConnell, Mrs Carlisle and Mrs Smith who were busting their moves. For the pupils, this was a warm up for what was to come at the after formal. Once the buses came we parted our ways with teachers and scrambled onto the bus to head into Belfast. The journey to the after formal was indeed a memorable one with everyone singing and getting in the mood to party! Once we arrived we were greeted by the owner and the bouncers and headed inside to check out the venue. The music started and everyone rushed to the dance floor. Meanwhile there was a photographer who came taking photos of anyone who wanted them. By the end of the night our feet were wrecked and the taxis arrived to take us home. The night was a success and ended too soon! Thanks to the senior prefects who organised it and everyone who made it such a good night.

- Katie Cummings & Lauren Stewart Year 14 -

School Events

European Day of Languages On Friday 28th September Ballyclare High School had a range of events to celebrate the European Day of Languages. Led by the Modern Languages Department, the whole school was invited to enter our competition ‘Why Languages Matter’. Laura Chestnutt and Matthew McClean 8C were the lucky recipients of a European goody bag. In addition to a special European Assembly, complete with the Lord’s Prayer in French, each Year 8 pupil was served a free continental breakfast with delicious croissants and French jam by the Year 14 language pupils and the language assistants. At lunch time, all of the teachers enjoyed a continental buffet in the staff room. Twelve of our A-level French, German and Spanish pupils also spent the day at Mossley Primary School helping to teach languages to the pupils there through playing games like French “Simon Says” and German bingo! The day helped pupils and staff to focus on the importance of language learning for future career prospects.

Ballyclare High Success at the Irish Schools’ Cross-Country Championships Emma Hutchinson, Year 9, from Ballyclare High School had a brilliant race at the Irish Schools’ Cross-Country Championships at the University of Ulster Jordanstown on Saturday the 9th of March to finish 9th place in the Minor Girls’ race. Ballyclare High Schools’ senior girls’ cross-country team were placed 2nd. Yasmin Wilson finished in a magnificent 4th place and was backed up by Emma Wilson (16th), Anna Lawther (33rd) and Victoria White (52nd), aided by our Year 11 leaders who were phenomenal. On the 22nd June, we held our last event, hosting our own mini Olympics and Global Village where a mixture of culture, languages and activities were played out. Year 8 pupils acted as competitors, selecting an Olympic country and challenging their Year 11 leaders to only speak in this language. A flavour of the Continental Market was also available on site, providing extra educational and career opportunities. The day was a great success as we all pondered the beginning of a very exciting summer and series of events that followed.

Senior Girls’ team : Yasmin Wilson , Emma Wilson, Anna Lawther an d Victoria White.

School Events

Victory for Boys’ Hockey 1st X1 This season proved to be the most successful season for the boys and also the most victorious hockey season in the school’s history for boys’ hockey. The First XI won the Prior Shield - the first Ulster Schools’ boys’ hockey trophy won by the school for over 70 years. Overall we played 8 games this year, winning 6, drawing 1 and losing 1. The only defeat came in the Burney cup where Campbell College First XI overcame us by 3 goals to 0. In the group stage of the Prior Shield, we beat Antrim 3-0, beat Friends 11-2, and beat Regent House 1-0. This left us only needing a draw against Portadown First XI to top the group. We then found ourselves 2-0 down with 5 minutes to go. A drag flick from the Captain, Stuart Todd got Ballyclare back in contention and the comeback was complete when Jonny Frazer found himself 2 yards from goal after the ball came back off the post. The Quarter Final draw saw Ballyclare home to a confident Friends team who took them for granted. Ballyclare comfortably sailed into the semis with a 4-1 win. The semi-final was against Ballycastle but was very badly organised. The boys travelled for an hour in a small mini bus only to find out that they had arrived on the wrong date and there was no sign of the opposition. When the game was finally played, Ballyclare did everything right except put the ball in the net. It was 0-0 after full time and so into extra time they went. The final whistle blew when Ballyclare had a short corner. A drag flick from Stuart Todd saw Ballyclare reach the first final of the Prior Shield in 50 years and a match against Wallace High was ahead. The Ballyclare boys knew that if they played their best then they could win the game. Despite controlling possession and dominating most of the exchanges in normal time, we could not quite manage to apply the finishing touch to any of our attacking moves and the game moved into extra time. The established pattern of play continued with Ballyclare in charge and the deadlock was finally broken as Stuart Todd scored twice giving us a comfortable lead. Then Jonny Frazer added a third goal to ensure that the trophy would go to Ballyclare. All the hard work that the boys put in this year had paid off and showed when Stuart and the team lifted the Prior Shield and made history in the school. Squad: Stephen Dodds, Chris McKee, Jamie Watt, Dylan Ramsey, Jordan Barr, Philip McMorris, Nathan Brien, Jonny Frazer, Ryan McIlwaine, Stuart Todd, Ady McCrea, Joel Woods, Neil McCracken, Calum Carson, Lorcan Speier, Josh Milligan. - E Butler -

Ballyclare High School 1st XI boys’ hockey team made history by winning the Prior Shield for the first time, defeating Wallace High School 3-0 after extra time at Stormont.

School Events

Ballyclare High School’s Evening Classes How did the evening classes come about?

Have you had any feedback from the community?

The Evening Classes were introduced when Ballyclare High School became an ICT Specialist School in 2007. There was a huge effort on the part of staff to provide a wide variety of ICT related initiatives in school for the five years or so. Part of this effort involved work with various aspects of the local community. When the Specialist Schools Programme (along with the funding) ended senior staff decided to keep on some of the more successful initiatives, of which evening classes was one.

The classes are very informal and a variety of people of different ages attend. I’m convinced that some attend mainly for the social aspect but everyone from pensioners down to some of our older pupils in school mix well together and have benefited. Here are some of the comments from this year’s classes taken straight from the feedback forms:

When do they take place? They usually take place in October/November and February/March and this year they lasted between two and five weeks. Most of the people who come to the classes are busy and over the years we have found that a few weeks at a time is a good duration for them. They start at 7:30pm and go on until 9pm. Each year a course list is available at the end of September and this is e-mailed to everyone on our mailing list (see below) and advertised on our web site ballyclarehigh.co.uk.

Who takes the classes and what are they about? A variety of teachers take the courses. The most popular man in school, Ziqh, has taken beginners classes this year, ably assisted by Ben Robson. Ben actually won an iPad for his work with evening classes last year, thanks to a BT competition. Mrs Taylor (who actually used to be a programmer) took a very well received class on web design this year and Miss Boyd (a highly skilled web designer who completed her student placement here) has again agreed to take a web design course in February/March using a different package. Mr Moreland’s daughter, Lauren is a teacher in another school and has been running a very successful class on Photoshop for years now, to great acclaim.

“I have enjoyed the course immensely -both Ziqh and Ben were excellent teachers.” “Really enjoyed the course. [Miss Taylor] was very helpful and gave me a lot of confidence which enabled me to produce a site I was quite pleased with, but one which I now know how to change to suit my needs.” “Time well spent.” On top of this, 100% of the people attending indicated that they would consider taking a course next year.

I would like to go to a class. How do I sign up? If you send an e-mail to info@ballyclarehigh.co.uk saying that you would like to be added to the evening classes mailing list then you will get a copy of the class list sent to you at the end of September each year. Details of how to sign up online are on the sheet, although it is also possible to sign up over the phone via the school office. - M Farley -

Each year the classes are reviewed and new possibilities are investigated. For the first time this year Mr Wallace (who was Vice Principal here before Mr Martin) ran a class on “Finding your Relatives” in which he shared a wealth of information detailing how to trace your relatives back over several generations

School Events

Chamber Choir: All Island School Choir Competition 2012 For the first year ever the Chamber Choir managed to reach the 2012 Regional Final of the All Island School Choir Competition. This was the fourth televised series of the competition, which is organised by the Co-operation Ireland and RTÉ to bring young people together throughout the island and encourage the tradition of choral music in second level schools. The whole choir were delighted to be selected as one of the five best choirs to represent the north and compete in the Regional Final in the Braids Arts Centre, Ballymena. After months of practising, both after school and at break time, the Chamber choir set off to Ballymena at 12 o’clock on Monday 15th October, excited and nervous about what lay ahead. With a quick stop at Pizza Hut for lunch, we made our way to St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland to begin yet more rehearsals. When the time came to make our way to the Braid centre the excitement was building. The lights were shining, the cameras were rolling and before we knew it, it was our turn to make our way onto the stage to perform; although we had competed in lots of competitions before, none of them were anything like this one.

We gave it our best shot but unfortunately it was not enough with Methody taking the prize of regional winners. After a long day we arrived back at school slightly disappointed but proud of our achievements, ready to start preparation for the Christmas carol service. - Meagan Boyd Year 14 -

Erin Fowler, Judith Clarke, Luke Holm es, Laura Scott, Jordan Bloomfield and Katie Watt were invit ed to speak to Nick and show off their skills on the water.

The Apprentice visits Ballyclare High On Sunday 21st April, six Year 14 pupils had the opportunity to meet Nick Hewer. Nick, who is Lord Sugar’s advisor on The Apprentice and presenter of Countdown, was at Tildarg Fishery filming for his new series ‘The Farm Fixer’. The owners of the Fishery at Tildarg are expanding their business to include opportunities for canoeists and kayakers to use their facilities. The pupils, who take part in Outdoor Pursuits 20

as their Games option in school, demonstrated their canoeing skills to Nick at Tildarg Fishery. He was impressed with the opportunity that pupils have to do such varied activities during games at Ballyclare High School.

School Events

Shoebox appeal A phenomenal 92 boxes were collected this year by our Year 8 pupils. In association with Blythswood Care, they are sent each year to children in Romania in time for Christmas. Well done to all our Year 8s who carefully selected, packed and wrapped their boxes as presents for those in need.

Celebrating Success at Prize Night 2012

Lana Robb Aaron Fleming & Winners ion Brann Medall

ers

GCSE Prize Winn

rP Terrington and M Special guests Mrs Mr Knox n, ille cM M R Dr Terrington with and Mrs Knox

AS Level Prize Winners

Past Pupils Lynsey McCullough and Sophie Heaton

Victoria White

GCSE Prize Winn ers - Megan Down ey - Dr H McNeilly Prize, M egan Tweedie - JH Lindsay Cup, Cathy McC almont - Grainge r Prize & Aaron McCalmon t - Russell Prize

Prizes awarded for music Alexander Aiken Ryan Greer and Ro ss White

Year 9 Form Prize

Winners

School Events

Peter Corry’s Music Box This year the Chamber Choir were given the opportunity to perform at Peter Corry’s Music Box. This is an annual production and the venue this year was the Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey. It provided the perfect opportunity for the choir to get into the festive spirit and have a bit of fun. With some difficult pieces to tackle such as ‘What Sweeter Music’ by John Rutter, a lot of work was needed to meet the level of the Ulster Operatic Company who would also be performing. The event ran for 14 nights and featured other choirs from across Northern Ireland. The Chamber Choir was photographed in early November and with the 30th November rapidly approaching, we were given the chance to rehearse with Peter Corry and his assistant - the addition of choreography was a new concept for the Chamber Choir. On the 30th November the Chamber Choir met at the Mill Theatre at half past five in order to fit in a quick rehearsal before the show. After much anticipation it was time for us to open the show, alongside the Ulster Operatic Society, some very talented children, ballet dancers, boy trebles and Peter Corry himself. Before we knew it the night was over and the curtains were closing. It was a very exciting experience and one which no-one in the choir will forget. - Meagan Boyd Year 14 -

QUB Professor of French visits Ballyclare High School On the 28th February, Professor Margaret Topping from the school of modern languages at Queen’s University Belfast was welcomed to Ballyclare High School. She spoke with Year 12 and 13 students who currently are studying modern languages. She informed them about the career paths available to linguists and what courses QUB offers for these, highlighting the long term benefits for students experiencing an academic year abroad as a language assistant, on work placement or as part of the Erasmus programme.

AS level French pupils with Prof. Margaret Topping and Head of Modern Languages Mr Wilson

She also spoke with the students about their opportunities to combine their languages with subjects such as law, business, traditional art subjects and sciences, which will help increase their employability skills in the competitive world of work.

Caroline Leitch, a Year 13 French student told us “We found it very beneficial because we didn’t know what careers we could do with languages. Professor Topping was very welcoming and encouraged us to take on languages at university level.

This was overall a beneficial experience for the pupils and for language teachers to be educated on their language career opportunities.

She told us about the Erasmus programme and it sounded like a very valuable experience for our academic studies and also gaining personal skills.”

School Events

Primary School Science Project For the past few years, Year eight pupils have been involved in a cross community science project involving local primary schools. This year the schools involved were Ballyclare High school, Tildarg Primary school and Tir na nOg Primary school. This year we studied a healthy body. To introduce the project, Miss Brown held a superb sports morning for primary 6/7 pupils from Tildarg and Tir na nOg Primary schools which taught them all about exercise and a healthy heart rate and lung capacity. All of the pupils really enjoyed the morning and said they came away with a greater understanding of how their body works and their fitness level. A week later the pupils came to Ballyclare High School to learn the science of how their body works; they studied a healthy diet, heart and lungs. Various experiments were carried out including dissecting the heart and observing the smoking machine. Our Year 8 pupils were in charge on this day and portrayed our school as a welcoming and enjoyable place to study. The primary schools then presented the project at Andrew’s Memorial School in Comber with Ms Supple, the science technician Jane Miller, and year 8 pupils. Everyone agreed that it was a special day to attend and their presentations were excellent. - E Supple -

Open Night This year open night occurred on the 7th January 2013 to show all prospective primary school students what Ballyclare High School has to offer. The Upper Sixth Prefects acted as tour guides showing the pupils and their parents around the different facilities. Each department throughout the school had set up individual activities relating to their subject to help engage the primary school pupils’ interest. The Outdoor Pursuits students set up their equipment which included kayaks and paddles to show the wide range of opportunities that Ballyclare High has to offer. The cafeteria also had stalls set up for Scripture Union, Ethiopia, Duke of Edinburgh, table tennis and show jumping. Geography brought in live snakes to excite the pupils and history set up a World War 1 experience. Religious Studies stuck to the classic Doctor Who theme and brought in the famous blue tardis so that the guests could travel back to the time period of Jesus. English had a ‘Hunger Games’ theme with word puzzles and interactive computer games all linked with the famous novel; whilst HE had live cooking taking place so that everyone could try the delicacies of Ballyclare High School.

SU stand at Open night Luc y Esdale, Laura Murray, James Logan and Luke McD owell

The night lasted approximately 3 hours from 6 o’clock to 9 o’clock and was a huge success. The whole school worked together to ensure that everyone had a memorable experience and encouraged as many children as they could to enrol with us. - Shelby Walsh & Rebecca Braden Year 14 -

School Events

Interview: Head Girl & Head Boy 2012/13

Head Girl Esther McNeill

Head Boy Jack Irvine

Q. What primary school did you attend?

Fairview Primary School.

Templepatrick Primary School.

Q. What activities have you taken part in over the last few years?

I have had the great privilege of playing hockey whilst honing my music skills through membership of the Chamber Choir and Orchestra. Science competitions have also played a big part in my school life and this year I had the opportunity to travel to London to represent Northern Ireland at ‘The Big Bang Fair’. In addition I completed my Gold D of Ed award (a physical and mental accomplishment) and have been part of the pupil peer mentoring programme.

I’ve played lots of rugby, been part of the senior tennis team, completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and helped with the ASPIRE boys’ mentoring scheme.

Q. What advice would you give to a new pupil at Ballyclare High School?

To get the most out of the Ballyclare High experience: involve yourself in school life as much as possible; work hard; make friends; and most of all enjoy your time here!

Get involved as much as possible. The school provides amazing opportunities and the more you try the more you will get out of it. Be honest, work hard and enjoy yourself!

Q. Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?

Hopefully in ten years’ time I will be leading a happy, fulfilling life as a successful paediatric surgeon.

Hopefully, I will have completed university by that stage and working towards being a doctor in a warm country, treating rugby super stars.

Q. Do you have anything to say to next year’s Head Girl? Most importantly enjoy the experience which will be best served if you keep organised and stay on Mr Whincup’s good side.

Q. Describe yourself in three words: Bubbly, outgoing, hard-working.

Q. Describe the Head Boy in three words: Trustworthy, helpful, friendly.

Q. If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? My great love of history has me leaning towards time travel; I would relish the chance to meet the people who have shaped our present. 24

Q. What are your duties as Head Boy? My duties involve setting an example for the younger pupils, organizing prefect duties, organizing the formal, lots of assembly readings and the scary Prize Night speech.

Q. Do you have anything to say to next year’s Head Boy? I know him well and he’ll do a top class job. Stay on top of things, don’t be afraid to ask for help and enjoy the experience.

Q. Describe yourself in three words: Happy, ambitious, considerate.

Q. Describe the Head Girl in three words: Organised, chatty, genius.

Q. If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? I’ve always wanted super speed, plus it would be pretty useful on the rugby pitch.

School Events

Prefects Team Building Day 2012

School Events

1st X1 Hockey Schools’ Cup Semi- Final Result: Victoria -1 Ballyclare – 1 Ballyclare went out on flicks: 5-3 The game started off slowly, Ballyclare took a while to warm into the game however they still dominated much of the play with the ball constantly staying within Victoria’s half, minus the odd break through which was successfully dealt by Ballyclare’s defence. The first half finished 0-0, which was extremely nerve racking for both of the teams, however in the second half Ballyclare came out fighting and managed to score a one on one with the keeper. Frustrated and desperate to get another goal, Ballyclare fought. Unfortunately it just wasn’t in the cards for Ballyclare as balls flew past the net on numerous occasions without crossing the line. As the game ended emotions and adrenaline were running high however in extra time during the golden goal it was crucial that they remained calm. Desperate to win, Ballyclare struggled to score, regardless of being the better team during the game. As the hail started to fall down extremely heavily, visibility lowered and the play became slow. Unfortunately extra time finished 0-0. Both teams were forced to go to flicks. Going into flicks isn’t easy for any team, especially for the keeper. Unfortunately the luck was on Victoria’s side as they won 5-3.

Nicola McMillen with Vanessa Surgeoner and Emma Patterson

Victoria worked for their victory and came out on top. Ballyclare however should keep their heads held high for winning the schools’ cup and making the semis two years running.

Interview with player Nicola McMillen Q. How have you felt your team has played this year?

Q. Why do you think the other team won?

I feel that the team have done very well to make it to the semi final of the cup and that’s something we should commend ourselves for. I also feel that the team this year had a really strong bond and worked together as friends rather than team mates.

They came out fighting for it and had nothing to lose, they were the underdogs. They also took advantage of our weaknesses and exploited them to the best of their ability.

Q. What were your general feelings on the match? It was extremely frustrating because I feel like we should have won it and instead we played at their level when we should have beat them. However, we must commend Victoria for fighting to the last whistle and we wish them the best of luck in the final. Q. Who do you think deserved player of the match? Emma Wilson, left midfield, for never giving up and constantly giving it her all. Q. Where do you feel your team could have improved? We could have put in more effort, wanted it more, winning every 50/50 ball, fighting for it as much as they fought for it. 26

Q. What were the other team’s strengths and weaknesses? Strengths were that they came out fighting for it; weaknesses were that they didn’t match us for skill. Q. What is your most memorable moment in hockey overall? Winning the Schools’ Cup last year and then receiving silver medals for runner up in the Kate Russell ‘All Irelands.’ Having the school host the All Ireland’s last year was also incredible to be playing against teams across Ireland on our home turf. Q. Why do you think you reached the final last year? Because we had nothing to lose and we were the underdogs. Every game was like the final and we never gave up.

School Events

GCSE Mock Results Day In what is believed to be the first event of its kind in Northern Ireland, Ballyclare High School organised a trial results day in which all Year 12 pupils gathered to collect the results of their recent mock GCSE examinations. The pupils would usually have been given their results by their subject teachers during normal classes, but on Tuesday 29th January the students queued up in the sports hall to receive a replication of what they will find when their official results are issued in August. Head of Year 12, Mr Nutt, commented that the mock results day was “a successful, whole-school event, which encouraged and motivated year twelve pupils in their studies for the rest of the year.”

The event was a strong team effort from all members of staff involved, as the results day took place only four days after the final exam. Needless to say, staff members had a busy weekend! Their diligence and hard work was greatly appreciated. After receiving their results, pupils had interviews with one of the 30 members of staff involved and benefited from hearing about the recent experiences of GCSE success from some Year 13 and 14 students. The pupils say it was a positive experience, saying the event was an incentive to be as prepared as possible for their GCSE modules at the end of the summer term. Regardless of the grades that the pupils obtained, they all now have a clear indication of the work they need to do in order to attain the grades they want in their GCSE examinations, as well as a good idea of what to expect in August. Headmaster Mr Knox quoted “This has been a whole school event which underlines the academic and pastoral encouragement and support which is offered to every pupil in Ballyclare High School. It is anticipated that this innovative event will have a considerable impact on pupils’ level of application and motivation for the remainder of their GCSE courses.”

Subjects in Focus

Subjects in Focus Juvenes Translatores On Tuesday 27th November five pupils of A-level French, German and Spanish joined school pupils from all over Europe to take part in the two hour advanced translation competition Juvenes Translatores. Ballyclare High was one of only nine schools in the province chosen to take part. The competition raises awareness of translation methodology, translation studies and the growing need for translators to support Northern Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global economy. The texts for translation were set by the EU Commission in Brussels and were drawn from a range of authentic sources, all focusing on conflict between generations. Teachers from the Modern Languages Department at Ballyclare High School are united in saying that the level of difficulty was far beyond A-level standard, but our pupils rose to the challenge and translated with flair and imagination. The competition is part of a range of strategies to stretch and challenge our pupils, which include taking part in the NI A-level French and German Debates and developing pupil leadership capacity to promote languages throughout the school as part of the prestigious Language Leaders Programme.

Ashley Lynn (Year 14 ), Matthew Brolly (Ye ar 13) and Caroline Leitch (Year 13)

- I Collen , Jayne Duff (Year 13)

Jennifer Hutchinson (Year 13)

Language Leaders Award The Language Leaders Award was an extra-curricular activity provided by the department of Modern Languages as a means of increasing pupil voice and leadership skills within languages. Ballyclare High is the only school in Northern Ireland to offer this prestigious award, accredited by Sports Leaders UK. This year twenty-eight enthusiastic Year 10 pupils signed up. It helped to develop our skills in languages, communication and teaching with a series of graded activities completed independently as well as in groups. Some of the activities included making PowerPoint presentations and showing them to the class. Overall, the award helped to develop our team working skills, different methods of communication and our overall teaching skills. All of these are useful both now and in later life. We also got to teach languages to younger pupils. We all valued the opportunity to do more on languages outside the conventional classroom setting. It gave us a 28

Year 8 pupils Year 10 pupils working with der Award Lea ge gua as part of the Lan

chance to meet new people as well as gain the qualification itself. I had a great time participating in the award and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone else who is given the chance to participate. - Christy Grattan Year 10 -

Subjects in Focus

Ballyclare High Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Dimension

-Jepsen

Brith Kyhn and Tanja Kehling

Student Teachers from Denmark We recently welcomed Brith Kyhn and Tanja Kehling-Jepsen from Denmark to observe classes in school as part of their studies at Stranmillis University College. The girls are both training to be English and art teachers at University College Sjcelland in Vordingborg, Denmark. They are studying in Northern Ireland as part of the Erasmus programme, which enables student mobility throughout Europe.

The girls explained to pupils and teachers that schools in Denmark are for pupils aged six to sixteen and all classes have their own classroom and teachers come to them, rather than moving from room to room as in Ballyclare. They were impressed with our high use of technology in the classroom and have learnt a lot which will be of use to them in their future careers in Denmark.

Subjects in Focus 29

Trips & Tours

German Exchange Trip to Dorsten

Trips & Tours

Dorsten Exchange In September 2012, twenty-five pupils accompanied by Mr Collen and Miss Conlon travelled to Germany to visit our partner school in Dorsten for one week. This was the 22nd trip between the two schools, making this the longest running continuous German exchange in the province. We flew from Belfast to Amsterdam, where we were met by Mr SchĂźring from Gymnasium Petrinum. We travelled by bus over the border into Germany and were met by our host families. (German phrase books at the ready!) The weather was lovely, it was really sunny throughout.

After getting to know our host families over traditional German dinner, we went to bed to get ready for an action packed week of practising our German. We visited the Moviepark Germany with its roller coasters, rides and animals. We also went to the outdoor swimming pool, and Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest shopping centre. In addition, we spent time exploring Dorsten and spent a day attending classes in school. We had a fantastic time and look forward to welcoming the pupils from Dorsten to Ballyclare in the near future. - Laura Scott Year 14 -

Year 8 Woodhall Trip At the end of September all of our Year 8 pupils embark on a trip to Woodhall Recreational Centre in Kilrea, accompanied by their form tutors, Head and Deputy Head of Year and their buddies. It helps the Year 8s to build up their confidence and settle into school life a bit easier, giving them the chance to get to know each other better and make new friends. Two Year 14 buddies are assigned per form class to provide help and advice to the Year 8s, a scheme which the Year 8s really appreciate. Lucy McCammond is in 8R and her form tutor is Mrs McQuoid. On the morning of setting off to Woodhall she was really excited about all of the activities that the day had to offer, although she did admit that she was slightly scared that she would have to jump off something that was really high. This didn’t stop her from participating in a game of human jenga. The aim of the game was to build a tower made out of milk crates with three team members on top; Lucy said that it was the best thing about the day and that it was so much fun.

Coming from Templepatrick Primary School Lucy knew a few people in her class and had made one or two new friends before coming to Woodhall, however when the day was over she had made lots of new friends saying that, “they are all really nice”. She really benefited from learning about team work and really enjoyed her two buddies being there, commenting that they made the day so much more fun by participating. Lucy had a very enjoyable day at Woodhall, loving every bit of it. As a Year 8 buddy I was given the opportunity to go to Woodhall with my class, so as to get to know them better and help them to develop their old friendships and make new ones. Woodhall gave the children a great opportunity to build up their trust with one another during many team activities. I enjoyed the day thoroughly as I got to take part in lots of the activities offered. I had to put my trust in my team of Year 8s throughout the day especially when they had to lift me over a very high wall which was a very nerve racking experience! It gave me a better understanding of what my class have to go through in order to build up strong friendships with one another. Overall, I felt that Woodhall was a very worthwhile experience as it allowed me to build a bond with my class and become a better buddy. - Meagan Boyd Year 14 -

Trips & Tours

Cinemagic Trip to L.A. Last year I was fortunate to become part of Cinemagic, an organisation dedicated to helping creative young people fulfil their visions in the fields of Media and Film making. I first found out about Cinemagic whist browsing the internet for a residential that would apply for my Gold Duke of Edinburghâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Award. They had a summer camp coming up in the next year which would consist of a week working with industry professionals making a short film. I applied and was picked out of many candidates to be one of the lucky few able to take part in the week. I arrived on day one not knowing any of the others who had also been picked and we were given the script of the film that we would make. We were all given roles on the basis of what field in film making interested us the most. I was given the role of director. Throughout the week I encountered many aspects of film making that I had never experienced before; working with strangers, giving clear directions to a crew, working with a script that was not my own; all of these aspects boosted my confidence both as a film maker and as an individual. I made new friends with the others who were part of the project and we grew close over the week which made me realise that the film making process can be very rewarding not only via the finished piece, but with the bonds you make with people behind the camera. I came out of the week with new knowledge of film making, new skills and new friends and this only increased my interest in becoming a director more. A few months passed after the trip and word came up about a possible follow up trip, not a week making a film

in Northern Ireland this time, but a week in Los Angeles visiting the sets and meeting people who directly influence some of the biggest films that come out of Hollywood. I signed up instantly and awaited the reply. I was chosen, and in a few months I was heading off to L.A. Throughout the trip, we went around some of the studio lots such as: Fox Studios; Warner Brothers; Jim Henson; and HBO. We met many famous stars such as Billy Crystal, Briana Evigan, Julian Sands and even the legendary composer, Hans Zimmer who worked on the Dark Knight soundtrack and the Inception soundtrack. The trip was phenomenal as it allowed me to experience life in L.A, meet people who worked in the film industry and find out how they got involved in the first place and what their life is like. We even got to go to the New York Film academy and learn some more technical details about film making and when we were invited to the animated Oscars, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe how close I was to famous directors such as Tim Burton. The trip was a fantastic experience, covering nearly all the aspects of film making and even letting me see what life would be like in L.A. Cinemagic is a fantastic organisation that has given me countless opportunities to gain more knowledge and skills in the many fields of film making and thus I have grown as not only a Director, but as a person as well, meeting new people and gaining confidence along the way. - Paul Crawford Year 14 -

Trips & Tours

SU Trip to Tollymore On Friday 31st May, members of the Junior SU started their GLOW weekend in the Tollymore National Outdoor Centre. I was very excited about the trip and I was even more excited when I saw the high ropes course, it looked amazing! When I went into our room, I could only see two beds but there were three of us? Then I looked up and saw a really high bed, close to the ceiling. That was the bed for me! Luckily my room mates didn’t mind because the whole room was great and we had super views of Tollymore. Later that night, we listened to a talk on the Beatitudes. Lights were out at 11.30pm. The next morning we had an early start. The breakfast was a very tasty fry which everyone really enjoyed. Then we had a meeting to explain the first activity. Bouldering was first and once kitted out in my wet suit, I just couldn’t wait to start. We got very wet and cold but it was still great fun. We all wanted to get back and have a nice, warm shower. We still had another activity planned that day – the high ropes. I was in the harness and had to climb higher and higher up the tower of milk crates. It was scary and brilliant at the same time. Then I got to go on the high ropes course and it was my favourite because I found it challenging but didn’t get cold. :) The dinner was very tasty (so good in fact, that I got seconds!) Then we had another talk about how to work out our strengths and weaknesses. When lights were meant to be out everyone talked for a while but eventually did go to bed at 1am! Sunday morning came and after another delicious breakfast, I found myself in waterproofs, sitting in a canoe and getting soaked in a huge water fight. Fantastic! We started to pack for the journey home and then had lunch. I was sad that the weekend was over and would definitely go again. To sum up the weekend in one word-awesome! Thank you to Mrs Kennedy and all the teachers who looked after us. - Alex Archbold Year 8 -

Trips & Tours

Ballyclare welcomed our French exchange students from Colmar in a visit to Northern Ireland

Trips & Tours

French exchange On 12th November 2012, a group of French pupils came to live with students of Ballyclare High for a week. They attend a school called Lycée Camille Sée in Colmar, France. Most of our guests were involved in last year’s exchange to Colmar so were excited to be reunited with their friends again. During the week, we brought the French pupils to school with us, where they met their teachers to go on daytrips. On Tuesday they visited Stormont, the Ulster Museum and the Botanical gardens. On Tuesday evening we all met up at The Sports bowl in Glengormly for some bowling. Everyone seemed to have a really good time, even though many of us weren’t very good at it! On the Wednesday, the pupils of Colmar had a reception with the Mayor where they had the opportunity to ask him questions. They also visited the historic Carrickfergus Castle. That night we took them to Belfast for dinner. This coincided with the lights in Victoria Square being turned on, so it had a nice Christmassy atmosphere for our guests. On Thursday, the French pupils presented Power Points on the Alsace region to the Ballyclare High students. It was interesting to find out about the culture of their town and the differences between our school and theirs. They spent the rest of their day in Belfast completing a research project. The French pupils don’t have formals or proms in their school so we took them to a formal so they could see what ours were like. They had a great time dancing and seeing all the dresses as it was something so new to them. The Ballyclare High pupils joined the French students on a trip to the Giants Causeway on the Friday. Many of the pupils from Colmar enjoyed taking photographs; they loved the beautiful scenery at the causeway and took some lovely pictures. The French pupils spent the weekend with their host families, getting a real feel of family life in Northern Ireland. I took my exchange partner, Marguex, into Belfast for some shopping and we met up with everyone that night, for one last get together, before Sunday which was mostly spent packing. We had to get to bed early on Sunday night because we had a very early start; the French pupils’ flight was at 5am. The week flew in and for some it was a very sad goodbye at the airport. The French pupils all seemed to have enjoyed their time in Northern Ireland, everything except for the constant rain which I’m sure they were glad to escape! - Sophie Conway Year 14 -

Trips & Tours

The Magical Berlin Christmas Trip On Saturday 8th December 2012, five A-Level German pupils and two teachers from Ballyclare High School joined fifteen P7 pupils from Ballyclare Primary and Fairview Primary Schools for a trip to the German capital. This opportunity arose when our very own Mr Collen submitted an application to the UK-German Convention, a bilateral initiative between the British and German governments to promote the learning of the languages. Our school managed to win one of the two fully-funded trips that were on offer. The purpose of the trip was primarily to strengthen the existing links between the three Ballyclare schools, but also to bring them together in the learning of German. The trip helped Ballyclare High support Ballyclare Primary School and Fairview Primary School in developing international links with Germany and in promoting German language learning and culture. The pupils from Ballyclare High School were also encouraged to improve their leadership and intrapersonal skills while helping the P7 children with translating and speaking German. As it was almost Christmas, a trip to Berlin wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to the famous markets at Unter den Linden. This is also where our pupils managed to persuade Mr Collen and Mrs Kennedy to go snow-tubing with them! Aside from the markets, the pupils visited the FEZ Youth Centre to make Christmas crafts, the GDR Museum and a local German Primary School. The pupils benefited a lot from this experience. They gained more confidence in speaking German, as well more knowledge of the country’s history and culture. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and they would love to get the opportunity to return. The highlight for many was the fact that the trip was so close to Christmas, as the snow, markets and festivities made the trip even more magical, despite the freezing cold! - Sarah Lockhart & Hannah Daniel Year 14 -

Trips & Tours

Year 8 French Trip 2012 In the last week of June 2012, I travelled to Normandy in France, with forty other year eights. It was my first trip away with Ballyclare High School and it was a great experience as I made many new friends. It was a very early start; we arrived at the school and began travelling down to Dublin. We got a morning flight to France and arrived there before lunch. We travelled on a coach for the week and had a lovely bus driver called Jean Pierre. On the first day, we stopped off for lunch in a little town where there was a lovely French Patisserie and crepe shop. As we travelled further down the coast, we visited a war museum which was largely about the Second World War. We then drove down to our hotel which was situated beside the beach. We were given the key to our room, and I shared it with two new friends, Lauren and Holly. After dinner, we went out to the beach and played some games. Most nights we walked down to the harbour to get an ice cream. On the second day, we gathered a lunch and went for a picnic. Afterwards we walked to the Bayeux Tapestry, where we were given the touristâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handset which talked us through the tapestry. It told us about the history of the tapestry. We then had some free time to go shopping around the town and again I bought a tasty French crepe. Next, we visited a cathedral and then we made our way back to the hotel. That night we walked around the small town where our hotel was located. On the third day, we had an early enough start and visited a market nearby our hotel. We were given a quiz to complete which involved attempting to speak French to the locals. We then drove to a small chocolate factory where we nearly bought all the chocolate in the factory! 40

After, we went bowling and then went to a large shopping centre nearby. We had yet another chance to buy a lot of chocolate at the Lindt chocolate store. On the fourth day, we visited the American Second World War graves. We had a really good tour guide who told us great stories about some of the soldiers and the history of the graves. The lawns around the graves were incredibly well kept and manicured. There were thousands of white crosses and stars in perfectly straight lines every way you looked. This was an amazing experience to see the scale of damage in one small area from the Second World War and it really brought history to life. Later on, we visited bunkers, where we also had a great tour guide who travelled with us for part of the bus journey telling us about the area we were travelling through. She also brought us to Omaha beach where the Americans suffered 2,400 casualties in one day. After dinner, we had a quiz and a disco as it was our last night. On our last day, we were up early and stopped off for some lunch then went shopping as we had some money to spare. Later on, we arrived at the theme park where we stayed for most of the day. We got on nearly all the rides and there was an amazing water slide there. I remember this being so good as it was very warm and many people got burnt. We had to have a snack under the trees because it was so warm. That night we got the plane home, travelled from Dublin to school where we were greeted by our parents. This was an amazing trip although there was a lack of French spoken by some! - Evie Flynn Year 9 -

Trips & Tours

1st X1 Hockey tour Everyone had to arrive at Belfast City airport for 10.15am with Mrs McCullough’s greatest fear being that people turned up to the wrong airport, however this was not the dilemma on the morning. Instead Megan, Rebecca and Victoria arriving without their hockey sticks when going on a hockey tour seemed too astonishing to be true. Even Mrs McCullough was shocked, which takes a lot after the year we have had! Luckily Emma Patterson was on hand to step up to one of her last duties as Captain and turn back to collect the sticks. Soon we were on the plane making as much noise as we always do. Once the plane had landed in Heathrow everyone was hungry and looking for food. Mrs McCullough thought there was a Burger King to be found but after a lot of hunting none were found to Nicola’s disappointment as she had vouchers to use. After a short mini-bus ride we arrived and got checked into our rooms. With 11 hungry girls Mrs McCullough’s only option was to send us to McDonalds where she finally got some peace and quiet. Next, we were on the hunt for the train station to see an Ulster rugby match at Twickenham. With the masses of people heading to Twickenham it was easy to find our way there and soon we were sitting waiting (with our flags waving) for the match to start. With Saracens supporters in front, the rivalry was kept up between us; unfortunately Ulster lost. When leaving the stadium fighting to keep up with Mrs McCullough was difficult, but soon we were on the train heading to the centre of London making many friends along the way. We arrived at Wagamamas and were seated at a table and soon the food began to arrive. After a quick sight-seeing round London we realised we needed to make a quick dash back to make the train. Nicola and Emma decided to get a bike and trailer ride back to the train station whilst the rest of us walked. After yet another noisy and eventful train ride home everyone was tired from travelling and once we got to the Travel Lodge we went to our rooms (with some staying up later than others) to end the first day of the hockey tour. We woke up tired and exhausted to find a breakfast box delivered to our rooms. We got showers and ready for the day ahead while eating our breakfasts (and thinking of the Frankie and Bennies we could be eating). We all met up and we were happy to see that Amy Jones and Dr Rainey had now joined us looking tired already from their journey. We all decided to go to Bentalls Shopping Centre which was the closest and this meant we got the

most time to shop. Everyone went their separate ways when we got there as there were hundreds of shops and 14 eager females ready to go. Staying in one group would have been impossible. We had to be back for 4.15pm to go and play our match so we all rushed off. After a lot of hard work we arrived back at 4.15 where we showed off our purchases with Rebecca taking especially longer than the rest of us because she seemed to have bought the entire Gilly Hicks and Hollister shop. We got taxis to Subiton Hockey Club where we were greeted by Phil with our kit bags we had packed in the morning. We got changed and got ready for the game ahead. After the warm up the match started with everyone wanting to put in their best efforts for the last match of the season and for Amy Jones, Nikki, Emma and Hannah it was their last match in BHS shirts. The match was tough to say the least as the team consisted of many international players but goals from Nikki, Emma, Jonesy and Megan secured us a draw against the Subiton side. We were all eager to get inside for some pizza and to get a chance to talk to the other team. Julia was nominated as player of the match and she got a prize from the other team for how well she played. Even after the pizzas everyone decided that going to Nandos or dinner was a must. We went back to the Travel Lodge where we got showered and changed into nicer clothes and headed out to Nandos. All in all it was a great trip and one we will all remember for a long time! - Emma Patterson Year 14 (Captain) -

Trips & Tours

Balmoral Show On 15th June 9B enjoyed a class visit to the 145th annual Balmoral Show. They had the opportunity to admire some prize-winning livestock, sample some of Northern Ireland’s finest produce, and learn about the latest developments in agriculture. There was also time to cheer on the show-jumpers and enjoy some musical entertainment courtesy of Hugo Duncan and friends. Displays of vintage farm machinery alongside state-ofthe-art vehicles provided interest for the engineering enthusiasts; and budding bakers (who had taken part in a cupcake decorating course earlier in the year) were impressed by the entries in the WI Pavilion. Despite a late arrival, due to traffic delays, time was still found to enjoy the delights of some funfair rides before a weary bunch returned to school. - AMC -

Drama Trips In November, Year 13 and 14 Theatre Studies students visited the Grand Opera House to see the National Theatre’s award winning touring production of One Man, Two Guvnors. As a follow-up to the highly entertaining show students had the opportunity to participate in a practical workshop with a leading National Theatre practitioner. Christopher Hawes of Slingshot Theatre taught the basic principles of Commedia Dell’arte, with everyone having the opportunity to hone their clowning techniques and try out the famous Commedia masks. Year 14 also saw local company Replay’s unique version of Lady Windermere’s Fan. Their use of music, multi-role, and dynamic staging inspired one group to create their own lively comic adaptation of Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Belgravia for their A-level Devised performance. Another group took their inspiration from history and adapted stories of the first female inmates at Broadmoor Hospital. History was also at the heart of Replay’s The Lifeboat, which the Year 11 GCSE Drama class saw at The Mac. The piece, based on the true story of the survival of two young girls whose ship was attacked en route to Canada in 1943, inspired this class to create their own TIE (Theatre in Education) piece on WW2 evacuees. They

also had the chance to admire the Mac’s popular Andy Warhol exhibition. Year 12 pupils were able to see one of their scripted performances in action in Larne’s McNeill Theatre. Ladies Day was one of a selection of short pieces which the class showcased to parents and friends in March. - AMC -

Trips & Tours

Junior Hockey Tour We woke up on Friday morning to see a blanket of snow covering the ground which made us all panic in case we weren’t going to make our trip! Thankfully everyone did except Lucy Robinson who was unfortunately snowed in because of snow drifts and Jasmine Walker was sick. We really missed both of these girls on the trip. We all started to arrive to school to be greeted by Miss King and Miss Brown. Then we all piled onto the bus and started talking away continuously for 2 ½ hours straight with a quick break at Apple Green service station along the way. We topped up on sweets and drinks for the rest of the journey. After another hour of talking we arrived at Mount Sackville to play our hockey match. Unfortunately, the rain picked up and had started to flood so the pitches were unplayable. We waited it out for a while to see if it would clear up and we went up to their library and had a Dominos pizza. After about an hour it hadn’t cleared so we went down to the school gym and did the Harlem Shake with the other school. From there we headed on to Kildare Shopping Village. Some of us had to get shopping as somebody (Rachel Kerr) forgot her shoes! We had a great time shopping around and playing in the park. Shopping tires you out so by the time we had finished we went out for a big feed. After dinner and ice cream we headed to the hotel to get checked in. We had

approximately 30 seconds to get ready and out to the bus again to go bowling. The competition was fierce in bowling as every team wanted to win, the teachers took an early lead but Claire Lorimer, Ellie Nugent, Ellen Curley, Sophie Charlton and Rachel Kerr’s group closed the gap. It was tight the whole time but the girls’ group came out superior! We were the Champions of Bowling. After bowling it was fair to say that we were all so tired and were happy to get back to the hotel where we slept well despite our excitement for the next day. The morning soon arrived, awakening to a beautiful breakfast buffet provided by our homely hotel. After consuming a good amount of fried food and fresh juice Mrs. McCullough was keen to get us moving and attempting to motivate us to actually play some hockey. However her attempts were unsuccessful because of the weather and as dedicated hockey players, we decided it would be much more beneficial to go shopping at Dundrum shopping centre instead! We visited a lot of shops, spent some money and had a McDonalds before we moved on to the Fantasia Activity Centre. It was amazing! Most of us went to the water park, although adventurous Mr. Butler went on the zip line! After eating a burger in a box! Overall we enjoyed our trip and would like to thanks all the staff who organized it.

Trips & Tours

Ski Trip 2013

This year’s ski trip ventured out onto the Austrian slopes of Ehrwald from 23rd to 30th March. Leaving Belfast International airport on Saturday morning, we flew into Salzburg before embarking on a five hour bus journey to the gorgeous Sonnenburg Hotel where we would be staying for the week. However, for me, the adventure started long before our flight to Austria. Extremely heavy snow the day before had left my house buried under drift higher than 6ft! With the lane up to my house looking quite the same, my concern turned from the weight of my suitcase to whether or not I would actually make the trip at all! Saturday morning brought an early and unwelcome 4am start. Dressed for the slopes, albeit the County Antrim slopes, I embarked on my journey towards the airport, but not in a car, not even a 4X4 but none other than a tractor! Nothing but a John Deere would have transported my brother and I through such treacherous conditions. After nearly a two and a half hour journey, driving through several fields, dodging fallen power lines and digging at snow, we managed to reach the International airport safely and on time. And this was only the start of the week’s adventures! After checking in and finally getting some breakfast I joined the rest of the Sleepy Skiers as we boarded our flight for Austria. Reaching Salzburg by lunch time and with (what I thought to be) all my troubles behind me, we queued up for our luggage. Several bags similar to mine went past and it wasn’t until close to the end that mine came around. But as we lifted it off the carousel to my horror (and embarrassment) the seam of my bag had ripped and some of the contents (including my underwear) had fallen out and was now being tossed through the crowds towards me! With the adventures of the morning coming to a close, we managed to get my bag taped up and ready for our bus journey to the hotel. And a big thank you goes to Jack Magee for carrying my bag around the airport! After our long journey and a quick stop at McDonalds, we arrived at the Sonnenburg Hotel- great location, great staff and great food! Our week’s skiing activities included two hours of skiing in the morning and another two hours after lunch. Our instructors were fantastic and really pushed us on as our confidence and ability grew. On Thursday we had a change of location as we visited and skied over the Zugspitze glacier where the snow was a fantastic condition. On our last day’s skiing, all the groups took part in a slalom race which was very competitive throughout the ability groups. Our medals and certificates were presented on our final evening at the awards night. Our other evening activities included swimming, a night at Lermoos ski show, a bingo and quiz night, target shooting and my personal favourite - tobogganing! Ski Trip 2013 was definitely one of the best experiences of school life! I’ve made so many great memories with so many great friends. - Isabella Hutchinson Year 13 44

Trips & Tours

Literature trip to Londonderry At AS English Literature as part of your coursework you are required to complete a creative writing task in the style of a playwright from the plays that you study. In our class, we studied the work of Brian Friel, an Irish playwright who writes about rural and religious divides in Ireland, drawing closely from his own life experiences and family relationships as a source of inspiration. We studied the well renowned plays “Dancing at Lughnasa” and “Translations” and were lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to the City of Culture itself in order to watch a performance of “Translations” at the Millennium Theatre. The outing, arranged by our teacher Mrs Skene, took place on the 14th March and the performance was given in Londonderry/Derry, which in itself is significant as, in the play, the basis for the meditative exploration of the power and necessity of language is represented through the colonisation of Ireland and the process by which the names are Anglicised for the creation of a new map. The play sensitively explores the possibility that there is a correlation between a loss of cultural heritage and a loss of hope, but also considers the perspective that perhaps the introduction of English culture and language would in fact provide new opportunities, explored through the ambitious and romantically inclined character of Maire. However, the play ends in classic Friel style on a bleak cliff hanger and is fully infiltrated with symbolism that runs continually throughout the whole play, standing as the only continuity within the diverse plot.

Translations was first performed at the Guildhall in Londonderry/Derry in 1980 in which the now famous Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea starred. The adaptation that we saw was directed by Adrian Dunbar, another local, famous face! His interpretation was simple yet effective and the portrayal of the characters seemed accurate. What was most striking about the performance was perhaps the simplicity of the use of props given that Friel’s stage directions are very detailed, however I feel the bareness of the stage made the focus of viewing far more poignant. Theatrically, the play is interesting to watch as it employs the most effective dramatic device - the audience’s imagination. Stimulated and engaged throughout, it is the audience’s job to determine between the characters who are supposed to be speaking the King’s English and the characters who are supposed to be speaking Irish, as the whole play is presented in English. Ironically, this furthers the symbolism of the play in that if the play was to be performed bilingually, it would have rendered the majority of audiences confused, as the characters are within the play. The experience was really enjoyable as it provided the perfect opportunity to further both our Literary understanding to help with our written coursework, but also our friendships. Of course the trip to McDonalds didn’t hurt either! - Caroline Leitch Year 13 -

Subjects in Focus

Subjects in Focus Choosing Moving Image Art Choosing A levels was an easy process for me as I’m naturally creative. Moving Image Arts (MIA) stood out. Mixing the love of film and art into one subject is a dream for any one aspiring to join or know more about the film industry. I went into the subject not having much knowledge about how to evaluate films, however over time I acquired these skills. Looking back over the past year, it is clear to see that MIA was nothing I expected it to be. It made me think outside of the box, pushing me out of my comfort zone. The most important skills I gained from the past year are organisation and the confidence to ask people for help when needed. Ultimately these skills were put to the test in the short films we produced. The final film we individually directed and edited was the most challenging. In order to create a successful 3-5min film, there had to be time and patience put in. Researching the genre of film we were planning to make, looking and studying our influences and being persistent with people in order to get props and actors. Creating my own film, Pest, was a long process; things would be changed, bouncing ideas back and forth with my teacher in order to make it better, testing and experimenting with different shots in order to end with a film I am happy with. My other classmates were brilliant to work with; it was great to hear their input and we gave each other ideas in order to benefit everyone’s film. Not only are we taught how to direct a film, we are also given the opportunity to edit our film on Mac computers specifically designed for MIA students. Using Final Cut Pro, we are given a quick introduction on how to use it; however like everything in MIA it is better to experiment with it, teaching ourselves through trial and error, that way learning quicker. There is always help available however from the teachers and computer technicians. As a part of our course, we are taught film language, how to break down a film into elements such as; sound, mise-en-scene and cinematography. The information we are taught from the teacher is extremely beneficial for the films we create. For example, what are the names of the shots used and how to not only focus on the visuals but

A camera mounted on car, experimenting to get a shot.

Editing package used on the Mac computers.

, looking Low Angle e down d si p u at up eating cr , st breakfa . ing feeling a intimidat

also the sounds used. In my own short film, I focused on how the shots worked to create a certain feeling in the audience. The feeling of fear and tension was important in mine as it was a horror. I do not regret picking Moving Image Arts at all. It is a big step to take, picking an A level that you have never studied. It is perfect for anyone who enjoys film or art. Art is not required; however, I found it very helpful when it came to the sketchbook. The teachers are great to work with, full of brilliant ideas and help when needed. Moving Image Arts is not an ‘easy’ subject like many people say, but through hard work and preparation, it is possible to be successful. - Tiffany Lytle Year 13 -

Art

- Emily Esdale Year 12 -

- Bethany Stewart Year 12 47

Art

- Gillian McCloy Year 14 The Room -

- Gillian McCloy Year 14 Through The Keyhole 48

Art

- Katie Jackson Year 12 Flower Head -

- Kerry Boyd Year 14 Not Waving, but Drowning 49

Art

- Laura Scott Year 14 Lost -

- Leah McLarnon Year 12 Self Portrait -

Art

- Louise Lapsley Year 13 Wild Wood Flower -

Art

- Matthew Snoddy Year 12 McSplat -

- Shannon Morrow Year 12 Wartime Self Portrai -

- Rachel Woodside Year 13 Better Than Damien 52

Art

- Sarah Lockhart Year 14 Station to Station 53

Creative Contributions

Creative Contributions Brothers

Anger

You and Paul walked in, planning your day out, Ran to Mum to look for money. I heard You groan as she said you had to take me. Not the worst thing you did, that summer’s day.

Shall I compare you to an ocean storm? The anger and spite as you come to shore. This awful weather cannot be the norm, I thought storms like this were just lore. With abhorrence you crash to the beach Nothing escapes when your waters lash out. You prey on ships as they leave land’s safe reach, When you consume people their lives are in doubt. The lightning strikes the surface like a knife, The rain hits the boat with a mighty punch, The wind and the waves they cause a great strife. When you will ease nobody has a hunch. As you have heard your anger bitter, You hated, spiteful, nasty wee critter.

We walked across the golden fields, talking About the football. But your face, your words, They said it all. You didn’t want me there. Not the worst thing you did, that summer’s day. Then I put my hand in my pocket. I Stopped, told you and Paul. You said to run back And get some money, but you wouldn’t wait. Not the worst thing you did, that summer’s day. I ran. As fast as I could, I ran. But As I reached the gate, I saw you and Paul Turn and sprint away. I trudged back crying. That, the worst thing you did, that summer’s day.

- Ryan Armstrong Year 12 -

We’ve grown since. Smarter, stronger, faster. But As you sit across the table, I know No matter how fast I run, I’ll never Catch you. The worst thing you would ever do, That summer’s day. - Aaron Fleming Year 12 -

The Win

Sonnet

The starter steps up, his gun in the air. To white lines all I can see is the end. People are talking but I couldn’t care All I think about is what’s round the bend. Everyone’s waiting for the starter’s call, Patiently, nervously, silently, Finally he shouts ‘On your marks’ to all. We go to our blocks, careful not to fly, Everyone is steady, he says ‘Get set!’ We rise from our blocks, waiting for the gun. The rain starts to fall, we’re now getting wet. At last the gun sounds, ready for some fun? Legs are like jelly, the lactic kicks in, It’s worth it though as I dip for the win.

Why do you watch the stars throughout the night? That great curtain stretching across the sky. Do you awe at its glory or its might? Why do you stare at it so? I ask, ‘Why?’ The sea rolling over all of our heads, Continuously lapping at the edge. Watching over while we are in our beds, To stay there eternally it does not pledge With the ribbon of stars dotted throughout. The majesty of that chilly bright light, Up there forever while here we are out, While I wonder, how did the stars take flight? Seaming horizons that dark sea of black A sense of wonder I sure do not lack.

- Lydia Mills Year 11 -

- Blake Fowler Year 11 -

Creative Contributions

Food Chain

Hope

Once when I was younger my heart lay widely open; I would lift worms from the swollen earth and sing to them: ‘Good morning and look at the sunshine! It has risen for you.’

Ice burns, Fire soothes. Light is dead, Darkness rules.

And when winter arrived and magic fell with the snow, I’d dance in the dusk carelessly; but not without thought concerned for my friend Robin Red Breast, who would not eat that night.

Dreams crushed, Before they start, Creative gone, Torn apart.

But it was that year in class when my eyes were opened To carnivores, herbivores; predators and victims. I cried, mourning, for the hungry bird and the wakened insect.

One small flame, Burns bright. Not going down, Without a fight.

For the way it had to be.

Stamped out, Its ember grows. Gone unnoticed, Till it grows.

And from then on I’ve been stuck in my purgatory Learning with age and time, nothing is as it should be, That nonchalance is the key to power, not love, like they tell you. - Rachel Scroggie Year 14 -

Arsenal How do I describe this love of my life? With the mighty Wenger in the dug-out, Cazorla splits the defence like a knife. We don’t even need the player Kugt, Podolski is now leading from the front, with Vermalen as our mighty skipper. RVP left the club last year, the runt, Oxlade Chamberlain stand up and rip’er. Wojeich Schezny best keeper in the league, Assisted by our fantastic defence. With our new season filled with great intrigue, You would bet on us if you had some sense. And it’s Arsenal, Arsenal FC, By far the greatest team the world’s ever seen. - Scott Gault Year 11 -

Brighter and brighter, Stronger and stronger. Darkness hides, Rules no longer. What is this flame? That shines so bright? Hope, for hope, Shines brightest at night.

- Ruth Hyndman Year 10 -

Morning Haiku Everywhere it drips. Webs beaded with jewellery Morning is still new. - Adele McCafferty Year 9 -

Creative Contributions

A Night at the Gallery Florence is, for all its glory in summer, a drab, miserable place in the off peak months. Il Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce, they were all still there, but somehow without their grandeur beneath the veil of the winter mizzle that so often afflicts the city in the winter months. It was in the month of January, in that period of depression that follows Christmas through to the New Year and beyond, that Jane and Peter Weatherfield travelled there. They first met during an Art History course at Oxford, where they grew together almost as one, and upon finishing their course, were inseparable. The evening of the twenty second of January provided them with an unseasonably dry period for the time of year. Jane had opted to stay at Caffe Rivoire, hoping to make headway with her novel, a dream she’d held since childhood but subverted in order to focus on her education. The Uffizi Gallery, (or Galleria Degli Uffizi as Peter liked to call it) was open in the evening, and Peter was relishing the chance to see again Botticelli’s famous Adoration of the Magi.

watch. His entire appearance seemed oddly anachronistic. “A pleasure to meet you Mr. Weatherfield,” the man smiled. “May I give you a tour?”

Piazza della Signoria was completely deserted; a warm glow from the ring of restaurants offered a soft light to the square under the imposing, castellated tower of Palazzo Vecchio. Peter began to make his way up the long, shallow staircase into the gallery, the walls and grottoes on both sides adorned with almost animate figures of neo-Classical sculpture. Reaching the top he passed into the famous corridor of dark wood walls and ceiling, rich with carvings and home to numerous sculptures. Peter walked across the black and white parquet floor and turned into the Botticelli Gallery, a small, plain space that housed many of the master’s finest works. Finding the painting he wanted, Peter stopped to take it in. “Breathtaking, isn’t it?” a man said from behind. “Yes,” Peter managed, startled. “Yes it is.” “I’m sorry if I frightened you. My name is Doctor Julius Wicker,” the man replied in the sort of quintessential English accent you only hear now on Pathé news reels. “Peter Weatherfield,” Peter replied. The stranger smiled. He was around sixty years old, dressed in tweed and loafers and wearing a pocket

“Peter, who are you talking to?” asked Jane, who had wandered from the cafe to meet her husband.

“By all means,” Peter replied, failing to find a reason to turn down the kind, if unexpected, offer. The pair spent hours moving between galleries, taking in some of western art’s finest pieces; The Birth of Venus; The Portrait of Cosimo I de’Medici (‘that tireless patron of the arts in Florence,’ as the doctor explained). This man’s giving me a better Art History course than Oxford! Peter mused. At last they moved to the door to say their goodbyes, orange spotlights illuminating the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio above them. “Thank you very much for a fine evening,” Peter said, shaking his guide’s hand. “The pleasure was all mine,” Doctor Wicker replied with his warm smile.

“Oh this is...,” Peter turned to where he’d left Dr Wicker but he was gone – or at least no-one was there. “Nevermind, just a kindred spirit,” he replied. Peter put his arm around Jane’s shoulders and they made their way through the eerily empty streets. But back at their hotel, he could not settle; who was the mysterious Doctor Wicker, where had he come from, where had he gone. He tapped a search into his Mac. What he found shook him deeply. J. Wicker: Born 17th January 1845. Died 24th July 1915. Art Historian and patron of the Uffizi Gallery. Death – heart-attack in the Uffizi Gallery. - Christy Grattan Year 10 -

Creative Contributions

Selfish at Heart? Every man and woman born into this world inherits a generic weakness of some type. Selfishness? I agree that it is the main essential weakness that all mankind possesses as in every newspaper article selfishness seems to be the root. This is whether their selfishness is for money, popularity or power.

ignoring Piggy’s pleading to not reveal his nickname. Instead, Ralph tells everyone at the expense of the Piggy’s feelings. By this Ralph has become more popular in front of his fellows followers. This shows even the good people in the world have the capability to show their weakness in the act of seeking popularity.

For example in the recent horse meat scare the only reason for blatantly lying on the packaging is to use much cheaper meat and so to gain as much money as possible through selling it as beef. The many leaders of these companies that consciously allowed this to happen must have let this essential weakness to take over them. The fact that there are newspapers everyday containing scandals shows us that selfishness is a common weakness with little cure.

The recent news of Chris Huhne illegally giving his three points given for speeding to his ex-wife Vicky Pyrce supports that seeking popularity can be a weakness at the expense of someone else. He wanted people to vote for him and he knew that if everyone knew he had points on his licence they would think he was a ‘bad’ person. His weakness shone through and eventually caused him his career.

The school boys in the novel, Lord of the Flies, emphasise this point. Jack is the most selfish character; he would rather hunt for food than be rescued, meaning he would rather care for his hunger than everyone’s freedom. He doesn’t listen to any of the others, such as Piggy and Ralf, not contributing his ideas. He then wants everyone to be in his tribe, he doesn’t care for the other’s safety and only his own appetite and fun. Is everyone selfish? No. Selfishness depends on the situation and especially your own decisions and morals as a human being. We all have the potential to do evil, and to be selfish, it only depends on our choice to release it or not… Simon in the Lord of the Flies chose not to be selfish in his actions and picked the unreachable fruit on the top of the tree that the little’uns couldn’t reach; proving that not everyone is selfish all the time. As it nears the time of Comic Relief, the time of the public giving of millions for the less fortunate it shows that the British are not as stereotypically stern and selfish in reality. Is it just selfishness though? Evidence shows that there are many more weaknesses that are programmed into man besides selfishness: greed; the seeking of popularity, recognition and the power over others. Ralph in the Lord of the Flies seeks popularity by

Greed. This dominant weakness in everyday society is also portrayed in Lord of the Flies. Lance Armstrong, the so called ‘great’ ex- Olympian and world class cyclist was taken over by his greed of winning so much that he decided to use doping drugs to give him the advantage. Recently all of his gold medals, yellow jerseys and pride have been stripped from him, destroying his reputation and his life. Similarly Jack is greedy to have the power of as many people on the island as possible. In chapter 1 he says, “choir stand still” – the choir boys can’t even sit down without Jack needing the power to control their actions. There is no reason for this other than he is being greedy as he wanted to control as many people as possible. Everyone has different types of weakness within but these can only be accessed if you allow it. With the right morals and views these can be avoided. Selfishness is the main weakness but greed, power and popularity also contribute. Exploiting these weaknesses can have monumental effects. Lord of the Flies portrays these ideas and the fact that everyone can be evil but they instead choose to be good is the only remedy. - Simon Wilson Year 11 -

Creative Contributions

Year 9 Creative Writing - Katie Herron Year 9 ‘But you’re Only 15.’ A common phrase heard by Tyler Jones. Tyler was a 15 year old boy from Northumberland who lived in a penthouse in London. Jones was staring at his reflection in the mirror. He could easily pass for someone in their early 20s. But he was only 15. He had accomplished so much, so soon. But he was only 15. When people said that he would never make it in politics he laughed. He was only 15. Not that he ever dreamed that he would become the head of the Labour Party because after all he was only 15. His apartment was a tidy place, smart and minimalist. He was a perfectionist. Everything was in place and everything was clean neat and tidy. He made sure that where he lived reflected his personality. He, himself, was a contemporary young man who liked today’s minimalist style. His hair was different each month to keep up with the trends. The ladies always swooned when he walked past because of his sweet, captivating cologne. He always wore a suit. His wardrobe was a variety of different blazers, shorts and trousers. Jones fixed his tie and reached for his phone to talk to his personal driver. He was ready. Today was election day. Surrounded by people from television companies and radio stations, Tyler began to answer their questions. A variety of the questions used that overly common phrase, ‘but you’re only 15,’ but it didn’t bother Tyler any more. He had accomplished much more than people even in their 30s and he took it in his stride. The results for the election were in and everyone could tell who would get it. The hall was big, the carpet red, the walls wooden. It was an old hall. Jones pursed his lips. He knew what was coming. He had been waiting for it ever since he decided to go into politics. The votes were being counted and were nearly ready to be read out. Tyler was on a podium alongside the heads of the other parties. Then it was over. The results were read out and of course he got the most. He knew he would. Tyler Jones always got what Tyler Jones wanted, even if it meant other people were going to get hurt. There was silence in the hall and when it was announced that he had just become Prime Minister, there were gasps of shock all round the room. He was now expected to make a speech. Of course he had one already prepared. He knew what people wanted and he used that to get what he wanted from them. Few people could see through his dashing smiles and polite comments. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak and then – bang. An explosion. Screams. Yells. Blood. Then a loud burst of laughter followed by darkness. It was all over.

- Courtney Crawford Year 9 ‘You’re not my real Mum! You can’t stop me!’ No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I regretted them. My mum Hillary didn’t deserve that. I know she had been trying to keep me safe and happy my whole life but still, I was furious. ‘Jane. What if you find her and she’s not what you want?’ I could tell she was hurt by what I had said but she was trying to ignore it. That ‘she’ was my real mum. Hillary had adopted me when I was one and I hadn’t known until now. I found the papers under her bed. I loved Hillary. I had been with her for the past 13 years, but now I wanted to find my real mum. ‘I don’t care!’ I screamed. ‘I will find her whether you want me to or not.’ With that reply I walked out the door. It was cold outside with the wind howling past me. I began to run fast towards the bus stop. I sat down waiting for my bus. While I sat I thought about my situation. I was Jane. I had been for 13 years, but now I don’t know who I was, whether my mum wanted me or not or if she had been pressured into giving me up. I had friends and a life but what was I now? Who was I? The bus filled up and I got on. It was a short journey to the adoption agency. I was there in 10 minutes. I stared at the dark and miserable building, dreading what was inside. I walked in shaking. I approached a lady sitting at the front desk filing her nails and was asked what I needed help with. ‘I’m Jane Burke, and I was wondering if you could tell me something about my birth mother?’ I began to choke on my tears and the woman shot a glance at a door across the room. ‘What age are you?’ she asked quietly. ‘Fourteen years old.’ She typed something into the laptop and I heard a printer go off in the back room. She glanced towards me. ‘Look, I’m not supposed to let you have this information for another 2 years but I’m feeling sorry for you and you seem responsible enough.’ She handed me the paper. I thanked her and ran out of the agency. I sat down on the bench outside with my fingers trembling as I opened that package. I scanned through the information quickly. My heart lurched. She was in London. She only lived 30 minutes away by train. I started my journey to the train station. I then felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It was Hillary. I had missed 6 calls from her. ‘She could wait’ I thought to myself as I clicked the buttons on the phone to end the call and begin a new journey to find out who I really was.

Creative Contributions

The Maths Test It was a horrible day. Today we had a maths test. The maths test is the epitome of hell on earth. I was the general template of everyone in our class; holding a façade of confidence and gentle worry while inside, my mind was a nervous train wreck and all the ‘revision’ I put my time into seemed a farce. Once we had filed into the classroom, we assumed our places and listened to the usual pre-test festivities. I was constantly reassuring myself that the test would be easy. I had meticulously revised all the aforementioned topics our teacher gave us. What could possibly go wrong? I turned over the paper and while everybody began with frantically writing their answers like it was a simple test, I for one, was in complete dismay. Firstly, the questions were like hieroglyphics, another language. I was already panicked, and to make things worse the ‘maths test mind vacuum’ had been switched on, sucking away all hope of me completing this monstrosity before me. Differentiation, integration, fractions, enlargements. What is this? What does it do? How do you do it? These questions had replaced the ones that adorned the page, and before long my concentration had wavered. The class was silent except for the scratching of pens, the tapping of calculators and the clocks’ dull voice that uttered one word repeatedly: tick, tick, tick. My mind had failed me. It looked at the test and recoiled in fear.

to my brain. Every question had a dead end and the confidence I displayed last night and before the test was now a ludicrous pipedream. I was finished. A piece of paper had beaten me. I could already see it laughing at me. Then my mind cycled as to what would happen if this or that occurred. Then I looked at the clock: 40 minutes had elapsed. My thinking had relapsed and all hope was lost when those 40 minutes replaced it. Then I showed my courage; I stopped working (not much of a change, I admit) I dropped my pen and stared into nothingness for the remainder of the test time. Trying had failed. Pretending to work was futile and all hopes of passing had nose-dived. I waited for the announcement ‘pens down’ the realisation of what had just happened cut through me like a perpendicular bisector. I tried as calmly as possible to feign confidence as I handed my excuse for a test to my teacher. My eyes darted towards the door, where my body would soon follow suit. It was over. For now. But the horror wasn’t over; I had my results to look forward to. The page covered in red, citing my every miscalculation as if it was signed in blood. Everywhere I thought I could turn I would receive no sympathy. I shot a cold look towards my teacher wondering what possessed them to set such a test. They had won this round, and I would need a lot more courage to brave what was coming next.

It was hopeless. I tried to at least work something out; tried to salvage a few marks and make it seem like I had tried, but to no avail. Anxiety had sewn up every channel

- Warren McKeown Year 12 -

Art vs Science Science is about exploring probabilities. Art is about endless possibilities. Science is about understanding the world, what’s in it, what’s beyond it. Art is about searching within, expanding the world, and determining perceptions. Art is human expression of emotion, thoughts, ideas, and feelings. Art has been around for thousands of years. Think of how empty our lives would be without any form of art. No music, no paintings. No photography. No dancing. No singing. No films. No plays. No fiction writing of any form, since that can easily be considered as art. Life without all of these things is nearly impossible. Sure, we stay alive because of science, but we ENJOY being alive because of art. If you stripped the world away of all art right now, this world would be a very non-human place. Music and paintings and films and fiction connect people in the human experience from all over the world. We have an innate need to create art, as well. It is as natural

as scientific curiosity in the human condition. To say science is more important than the arts is to deny how significant this part of humanity truly is. Humans might need science for medicine in order to keep living, but what’s the point of living in a world without anything human that you can share? Sure, maybe one day I could live to 150 with the help of science, but I would rather live to 50 WITH art in my life than live to 150 without it. What I think though overall is that as a society we value popular art, sneer at bad art, and value science in our education. - Matthew Jamieson Year 8 -

Clubs and Societies

Clubs and Societies Junior Science Club The Junior Science club has been especially well-supported this year. The children have carried out a range of activities from the world of chemistry, physics and biology and in so doing, they have gained valuable experience in using scientific apparatus and have enhanced their practical and problem-solving skills, along with their powers of observation. This year a number of new projects have been added which included: designing the best glider – this resulted in a keenly-fought competition; work on analytical chemistry (which afforded a glimpse into the world of forensic science); making paints and cosmetics; and finding ways to increase the strength of electromagnets. The informal, pleasant atmosphere and variety of ‘fun’ experiments have given the opportunity for pupils to make lasting friendships with children from other year groups. Once again, we are grateful for the help extended by previous members who have willingly given up their time on Wednesday afternoons. At the end of May 2012, a team of four Year 9 pupils: Niall Boyce; Aaron Coleman; Matthew Dawson; and Jonathan Rainey, successfully represented the school at the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry held at Queen’s University. The boys were placed first in the University Chemistry challenge competition and won individual prizes along with school prizes which included a water-testing kit, several model kits for building molecules and an illustrated scientific dictionary. The prizes were presented by Professor Gary Sheldrake who commended the pupils on the accuracy of their work and their logical approach to the problem. This year the school was represented by Victoria Glenn, Emma Neill, Erin Spence and Tara Whitcroft. This excellent and enthusiastic team was awarded second place in the same competition, and this means that the school has now won prizes at this event for the last three years. We hope to recruit a large number of new members from our Year 8 pupils in September to carry on this trend in future years. - A Spence -

Clubs and Societies

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Group 12 and I are just back from the Bronze Duke of Ed expedition and I can honestly say that I and the rest of the group thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I started Duke of Ed back in September last year; this is when you have to pick your Volunteering, Skill and Physical Activity. You have to do two of your chosen activities for 3 months and the other one for 6 months to qualify for your expedition. These activities can be good however the really enjoyable part of Duke of Ed is definitely the expedition. For your expedition you go in groups of seven and my group included Jamie Trew, Craig Moore, Daniel Stewart, Luke Mairs, Calum Carson and Stewart Wilson. Group 12 went out on expedition on 17th May and returned home the following day. Day one’s walk was really good and we didn’t make too many navigational mistakes, we couldn’t have asked for better weather, the sun was splitting the trees and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We arrived at camp at around 5pm where we put up our tents (which is interesting when you can’t remember how!) in Ballyboley Forest. Camp was brilliant fun, the tents were spacious and you get the whole forest to walk around and play games with your group and with all the other groups that are there, after you have set up your tents and had dinner. The food

our group made was pretty basic but it was nice enough to survive on for two days. For day two our group woke rather early and we were ready to go from 8:30am which was spot on time. Unfortunately, the weather was not so kind on the second day and it poured for the whole day without a break, however that doesn’t mean that we didn’t enjoy it. Over the two days we experienced very different weather conditions but that made it interesting. We were soaked but it was still good fun. We arrived at our pick up point at around 13:30 which was Robin Young’s Car Park. Group 12 and I would definitely recommend doing Duke of Ed to anyone who gets the opportunity because it’s a good chance to get to know your friends better outside the classroom and you will also really enjoy the whole experience of being self-sufficient for two days.

“Do not follow where the path may lead go instead where there is no path and make a trail.” Ralph Waldo - Jonathan Rainey Year 10 -

Clubs and Societies

Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Expedition Day 1 On Thursday 13th June 2013, we set off on our Silver expedition in the Mournes. We were in group 10 which also included Scott Lawther, Mark McIlwrath and James Ewer. We started at Fofanny dam and began at 11 o’clock. Our route included walking up Hare’s gap and handrailing Ben Crom and Silent valley reservoirs. We got to camp at around 7 o’clock and we were feeling tired but happy that the day was over. Day 2 We woke up on Friday at around 5 o’clock, which was tough getting up so early and put us in a bad mood. The weather was cloudy in the morning but we walked through a lot of showers throughout the day. We had a few tough climbs in the day, such as Pigeon Rock Mountain and Slieve Muck; the latter being particularly steep and difficult. Then came the rain that never seemed to stop- the “big ol’ fat rain”. This meant that we had to put our tent up in the rain, and were not able to have a hot meal. Day 3 We felt refreshed on the Saturday as we were happy it was our last day and we were motivated to complete it. The route therefore didn’t seem as difficult as previous days, with another climb up Pigeon Rock Mountain and Slieve Carn. However, by the time we reached Carn we were all very tired, making it the toughest climb of the whole expedition. We arrived at the finish at Fofanny Dam exactly on time at 16:05. This experience taught us a lot. We learnt how to work as a team, and also realised how much we take for granted. It was truly a great experience with a lot of fun memories. - Andrew Brolly and Philip Lowans Year 11 -

Clubs and Societies

Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Our Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition was an extremely challenging and mentally draining experience, but well worth it (it’s easy to say, now that we are off the hills!). We spent the first night in a youth hostel, where we were still excited about the days ahead. We tried to really appreciate the last night we would have in a nice warm bed before the three nights we knew we would face in the wilderness. We left the hostel early in the morning with high spirits, which quickly diminished when we saw the dark clouds coming our way. Many a lunch was spent cowering together under any shelter we could find, trying hard to keep our lunch dry. Our ‘waterproofs’ soon became defenceless against the relentless rain. Survival Sophie came well equipped with a book, killing two birds with one stone – boredom, and dry feet (stuffing the pages into our shoes at night to dry them out).

Mr. Farquhar ensured we updated our diaries on a very regular basis, rain or snow, the diaries were updated. The worst day was probably the third, when we were attacked by midges whilst battling against the elements, struggling to see through the mist and rain. Camp that night wasn’t much better-everything was drenched, and we had to set up camp in the rain. Luckily that was our last night, and the end was in sight and for the first time since we left the hostel, we set off in good spirits, with the thought of a Chinese and a nice warm bath keeping us going. The day dragged on however, and our finish line didn’t seem to be getting any closer. However, when we finally finished, and had a proper meal in Donegal, the whole ordeal didn’t seem so bad. We felt proud. Pride was soon overcome by the smell of feet on the 2 hour bus journey home… bed had never felt so good. - Danielle Parkes, Rebecca Wright & Sophie Conway Year 11

Clubs and Societies

Model Railway Club In September 2012 we moved our meeting day from Thursday to Wednesday afternoons. Over the last year we have continued to make slow but steady progress on the new model. The autumn term was spent largely constructing the raised tunnel section at the back of one of the larger baseboards. Chicken wire was covered first with papier-mâché and then plasterers’ scrim cloth soaked with Polyfilla. There was plenty of scope for mess with both these activities but we managed to get most people home with both pupils and staff (and their clothes) clean! Having painted the white hulk a suitable green base colour, we covered it with “grass”. This was made from the fine wood shavings collected from Technology’s circular saw (thanks to Mr McMaw); the fine particles were then soaked in clothes dye of appropriate colours and mixed to get an

acceptable look (more scope for mess – especially when we splashed some paint to get the buttercup effect!). The result is a fairly acceptable hill with a flat section on the top where a small town scene is planned. To that end we have recently spent many Wednesday afternoons putting together cardboard kits of low relief buildings. These basically have a frontage and small sides, but no rear as that will be against the backboard. Let’s just say some kits have been easier than others! It is hoped that the model can further progress before the P7 Open Night in January 2013.

- B Griffith -

Clubs and Societies

“Authors Anonymous”: Creative Writing at Ballyclare High “The library door crashes open. Lightning flashes. Thunder roars. A mad-eyed English teacher rampages in, dragging an intrepid visitor with her. The venturesome young heroes and heroines leap forward to meet their fate…” It can only be Authors Anonymous - we are always ready to encounter a writing challenge! The wide variety of activities that we do at creative writing has this year included visits from professional writers. These writers, and now our friends, are Dr Emily DeDakis from the USA, Dr Cyan Abad-Jugo from the Philippines and Kelly McCaughrain, a home-grown talent from Ballyclare High School! Dr DeDakis has worked at the Seamus Heaney Centre at QUB, is now a playwright for a new theatre company, and is a very interesting and talented writer. She stayed with us for a few weeks, and was a great help to us, giving us advice for improving our writing. She played little creative games with us, which also improved our imagination. She offered great feedback on our stories, and overall, was a wonderful temporary edition to AA (Author’s Anonymus). One week, we had a Skype session with Dr Abad-Jugo, Miss McConnell’s friend who lives in the Philippines and also happens to write Manga novels. She doesn’t draw them herself, but she hires artists to capture her ‘artistic vision’ of what she thinks her characters would look like. We emailed her our writing for her to read: she also gave us wonderful feedback. Unfortunately, in her country, it was midnight, so we had to hang up (and apologise for keeping her up so late). We were asked to read a completed novel, called Zack in the Making, of which Kelly McCaughrain is the author. We all thoroughly enjoyed reading about Zack (and his hilarious antics) and his attempts to enter the world of fame, and were all able to give a response to Kelly on what we thought about her book (which was extremely helpful for her; as her target audience is preteen-teens), and in return, she too did the same for our stories. She was also an extremely nice and interesting person. We were intrigued that some of the events in Zach had been inspired by her time at BHS… We wish her all the best with the publication of her novel. It has already been shortlisted for The Times/ Chicken House new writing competition. Having all these talented writers was a fantastic way to get feedback and constructive criticism on our writing, and definitely left us with a lot to think about. Our own writing has covered several genres this year. We started with drama. It took us a few attempts to get a good story, but after cherry tomatoes, mystical babysitters and a magic polar bear we finally had our storylines sorted out and ready to go. Then came the writing. This took patience, determination and stick figures - and whatever a SHAZAAM was - to complete but we got there in the end.

We teamed up with the Junior Drama Club to see our plays in performance. Our theatre colleagues were so enthusiastic; it was great! The plays were a success with people paying to see them being acted out (yes paying, actually paying, with real money), and gossip girls, evil managers and some rather weird Santas meant that the audience was thoroughly amused. While Dr. Dedakis was visiting, we had a go at what has to be the most ridiculous and frustrating writing game that was ever invented. It starts with a pineapple in the middle, then, working both backwards and forwards you make a story. Well, ours went wrong somewhere along the line. Between swords and Hawaii, we were all pretty surprised pineapples managed to fit in. We even tried poetry (it was SO much harder than it sounds). This took a lot of sheer willpower, and a fair amount of table whacking as well. Who knew that in poetry there had to be the same number of syllables a line, and structure? Never again. Short stories were more our thing! In around December 2013, our creative writing circle will be publishing a set of short stories on Kindle that people can purchase (all proceeds will go to charity). It will most likely be entitled Like, as this seems to be an extremely popular (and grammatically incorrect) word that people all over Northern Ireland seem to favour. We will have content from all of our writers and even a few graphic novels! There will also be posters around the school, encouraging people to “like” us on Facebook (we will probably be making a Facebook page). So please “like” Like, like! If you’re a fan of writing, or are just interested, please feel free to come along after school every Tuesday - it’s definitely worth it! - Megan Erwin and Hannah Scullion Year 9 65

Clubs and Societies

Public Speaking The pace of advancing technology can be breathtaking and modern life would certainly be very different without it. However, for one of our senior pupils the impact of technology on reading was one area where there is room for us to consider slowing down for a more old fashioned approach. Caitlyn Clarke represented the school in the Soroptimists International public speaking event in November 2012 speaking on the benefits she saw in going back to books rather than downloading text onto a reader. Her lively and entertaining approach won over many of the audience present on the evening but sadly she missed out on progressing to the national finals on the night as the regional winner. Caitlyn has been involved with many of our public speaking events in school over the last number of years and we wish her every success in the future.

Edgar Graham Memorial Public Speaking competition Lauren Hill and Regan Robinson, year 12, represented the school public speaking team at Stormont earlier in February this year, as part of the Edgar Graham Memorial Public Speaking competition. The girls were commended for their speeches and both have been invited to shadow Ulster Unionist MLA Joanne Dodson next year.

My experience of BHS Music Having been involved in school orchestra and choir since Year 8, I was sad when it came to my last year, but it definitely has been a year to remember. In October, the Chamber Choir entered the RTE All Island School Choir Competition and was one of six schools in Northern Ireland selected to go through to the Regional Final. After singing Howard Goodhall’s arrangement of ‘Love Divine’ and an energetic performance of ‘Every time I feel the spirit’, the choir was disappointed to narrowly just miss out on a spot in the final. Later in the month, I was excited to be involved in the school production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. Everyone was exhausted after the all-day rehearsals before the week of the production, but before long it was the last night and we were wishing it could start all over again. Christmas was quickly approaching, and so were various events for the Chamber Choir. At the end of November the choir took part in the professional production of the Music Box with Peter Corry at Mossley Mill. This featured a range of Christmas music and I found it one of the most memorable events from the year. 66

December was another busy month, with the Chamber Choir having performances at St Anne’s Cathedral and St John’s Church Donegore. These were followed by the annual carol services which included the traditional Christmas sing-a-long. The Spring concert finished off a very eventful year for the music department. Some of the A-level music students in Year 14 gave excellent performances on their various instruments including Matthew Brown on the Marimba, Kathryn Orr on the Piano and Paula Halliday on the Harp. My favourite part of the evening was of course the Year 14’s performance of ‘Reach for the Stars’ by S-Club 7, changing the words to include some of Mr Moreland and Mrs Doherty’s catchphrases that are well known in the music department. Overall it really has been a brilliant 7 years to be involved in the music department of Ballyclare High and I will look back on it with good memories. - Judith Clarke Year 14 -

Clubs and Societies

Junior SU Weekend The Junior Scripture Union weekend took place on Friday 31st May until Sunday 2nd June. We arrived at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre at around 7pm, and we went into our rooms and got unpacked. We had the top floor rooms 23-29. The rooms were great and there were big sloping wooden roofs, a double bed, single bed and a bunk bed on top of a wardrobe! When we had unpacked or thrown everything on the ground (as most of the boys did) we had a chance to look at the other rooms which were mostly the same. Later that night we went down to have a talk, on this trip we were focusing on 3 of the Beatitudes, tonight’s talk was presented by Mrs Kennedy. Then we played some games to get to know each other and then started to talk about the serious stuff. When the talk was over we had a chance to buy some items from the shop unluckily the sweets didn’t arrive, but we will hopefully be able to enjoy them at S.U over the next few weeks. At around 10 o’clock we started to watch a movie Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted! We got about half way through then we made crowns then went to our rooms for the night. Although many people didn’t get to sleep until the early hours of the morning everyone was up in time for a cooked breakfast then a talk from the instructors. We found out our first activity was bouldering which is basically when you walk through a river but it is so much

more fun than it sounds. We all got our wetsuits on then headed through the forest to the river. The bouldering was great especially when you got to jump in at the end! We went for a shower and had lunch after. For lunch there was lots of lovely food cooked by the equally lovely kitchen staff. Next we found out that our next activity would be high ropes which I think was many people’s favourite activity we did crates, races and the high ropes obstacle course which were all so fun. We had dinner and then another talk this time by Mrs Skene. We had a talent show after this with two brilliant acts ‘TJ’ and ‘Better Direction’ - they were both dancing acts but in the end ‘Better Direction’ won! We finished watching the Madagascar DVD then enjoyed some buns that Miss McClelland kindly brought down. In the morning we had another lovely breakfast then went and completed our final activity, canoeing, which was super! We had our next talk led by Miss Dickey and after a tiring weekend we went home on the bus where many people fell asleep. The weekend was excellent and we want to say thank-you to all the staff at Tollymore, the teachers: Dr Millar, Miss Dickey, Mrs Skene, and most importantly Mrs Kennedy for organising it all! - Lucy Sproule and Rachel Todd Year 8 -

Clubs and Societies

Senior Scripture Union If you happened to walk past the lecture theatre on a Wednesday lunch time last year you may have noticed an odd collection of senior pupils there. What on earth was going on? Why, Senior SU of course! Each week a group of loyal 4th-6th years would meet to study God’s word and have a lot of fun doing it. Last year’s scripture theme was “UNKNOWN” and most of the talks focused in on lesser known bible characters and the important roles they played, and how that related to our lives as Christians. Many speakers from the local area joined us throughout the year to give their take on unusual characters with even more unusual names, from Onesimus to Phineas. Worship occurred regularly throughout the year, led by our very own SU band of Gillian McCloy, Rebecca Teeney, Matt McConnell and Matt Brown, with the aim of getting everybody involved in singing together. You quickly learn in SU that there is no such thing as shame as you blast out a Christmas carol or partake in the actions of some surprisingly funky children’s songs! Small groups were also a key part of SU, giving us a chance to get to know people in different years, talk about the big issues and pray for one another. But SU is not all about spiritual growth; it’s also about having a lot of fun together! And the more themed the better! In September we had an awesome barbecue and “races” night where the competitive nature of some people was shown. In October we had a great movie night, as we mourned Mufasa’s death and “felt the love tonight”, watching The Lion King while raising £60 for the Stand by Me team.

Throughout the year we had many intriguing games, like bible verse Chinese whispers and even our own bible verse Easter egg hunt, which was much harder than it looked! The highlight of the year for most people though was the SU weekend at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. The weekend was pirate themed with videos from Captain Ben Sparrow, treasure hunts for team leaders and a great photo challenge in Bangor where the pirate walking and fighting talents of David Griffith and Connor Ravey were revealed. Even the March rain didn’t dampen our spirits as the pirate water games transformed into a late night water fight. In our fellow”ship” meetings Phil Howe was leading us in the book of Romans, sharing how “truth transforms” us, which both enlightened and challenged us. It was an amazing yet tiring weekend but luckily we all survived on the energy from the old fashioned sweets. The whole year was a great success and of course couldn’t have happened without the support of many patient teachers, including the faithful Mrs (Jolly) Rogers, and the organisation of the devoted SU committee who put together the programme every week (even if it was sometimes at the last minute!). SU is a great chance for the Christians of BHS to grow closer to each other whilst also strengthening their faith in God. We will definitely miss last year’s Upper sixths as they move on from the family but are excited to welcome the new 4th years and have another great year growing together. - Gillian McCloy Year 14 -

Helping out at Glow This year I had the opportunity to help out with Junior SU (or Glow) on Tuesday afternoons with some other senior pupils. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be as much fun as it turned out to be; all the junior pupils were great fun and weren’t too shy to take part in all the games and activities. I loved getting to know them all. It was so good, as a senior pupil, to get the opportunity to get to know junior pupils and be a positive influence on them. We’ve all been their age fairly recently and probably been in their position at some point too so it is easy for us senior pupils to give them some advice. I felt that they did usually listen because they knew we’d been there too and it felt great to know I was able to give them the advice that I would have wanted to hear when I was that age. Halfway through the year, youth workers Johnny Farrell and Terry Kirkpatrick began to lead a young Alpha course for the pupils. Alpha is a course that’s run in many churches where people can come together and ask the big questions about life that they’ve been too afraid or embarrassed to ask before. At Alpha, people get a chance to talk those questions over with Christians whether they themselves are Christians or not. So the course that Terry and Johnny led was just like that, except they broke things down more and

made things easier to understand when they went through big questions that people generally ask. At each meeting Johnny or Terry would lead a talk at the front of the classroom based around questions that people always want to know the answer to and then we would break into smaller groups and talk it over with the junior pupils. The senior pupils got to lead these small groups and I really enjoyed it. I loved getting to know all the girls in my group and I think it was really beneficial for them all to have someone they could talk to and ask questions to without being worried about what anyone would think. The Youth Alpha course made such an impact at Glow. As well as having somewhere they could ask all those big questions on life and receive answers, the course seemed to draw everyone in Glow closer together. I personally felt like I knew a lot of the pupils much better at the end of the Alpha course. Also, we as pupil leaders have built up good friendships with the pupils in Glow and I can’t wait to go back next year to get to know them all better and watch them grow as Christians; or if they are not, then maybe even to see them come to faith. - Rebecca Teeney Year 12 -

Clubs and Societies

First Lego League

This year a team of seven pupils got the chance to compete in First Lego League, and before you screw your nose up and flip onto the next page, you’ll need to know it’s not all about Lego. Each year the points you can earn are put into four sections each worth 25% of the overall score. The sections are: ‘Robot Performance’ (how your robot completes the challenges on the obstacle table); ‘Robot Design’ (how you have built your robot, your tactics and how robust it is); ‘Core Values’ (how you have performed as a team and kept to the competitions values); and the ‘Project Presentation’ (which is how you present your research and answer the questions about it). We split our team into 2 groups, so Helen Watt, Ruth Hyndman and Zoe Cheshire worked on the project and Peter Gordon, Emily Lecky, James Gillespie and Nicole Caskey worked on the robot. The project this year was ‘Senior Solutions’ and asked us to come up with solutions to help over 60s with daily problems. We came up with three products and were especially proud of two of them, the tablet alarm/ pager and the sensored step lift. Then for our presentation we presented them in a Dragon’s Den style sketch (except the dragons were senior citizens). The judges seemed to enjoy it and we were hopeful that they liked the products. We didn’t really know what to expect when it came to the core values section as the teachers don’t stay around for this bit so Dr Wilson and Mrs Craig couldn’t advise us on this like they normally could with the other sections of the competition. But we were fortunate enough to have a very nice judge who smiled and laughed along with us. We thought that this section had gone quite well as we hadn’t hesitated with any answers for the questions, such as ‘If I was to nominate you for an award for one of our values, which one do think it should be?’ We were especially nervous for our Robot Design interview as we knew that there were many ways we could lose marks

in this section and it was the first thing we did on the day of the competition. We all answered a few questions on the attachments we had used for the robot challenges. There were some mishaps, though, such as one of us forgetting the name of one of the challenges (it was called ‘Similarity, Recognition and Co-operation’, not the easiest thing to remember). But in moments of stress we looked at Mrs Craig and Dr Wilson who were in the corner, who always gave a knowing nod and calmed us down. We left the judging room just hoping we’d done enough. It then came to our Robot Performance, you get three chances at this and the one that earned you the most points counted, you also got three practises for this part of the competition; but we had a problem before we even started, we only had two robot performances on our timetable and our first performance was before our first practice! We went to talk to a judge about it and they scheduled in another performance but there was nothing they could do about the timings and so we hoped we had the robot in good enough shape, and we definitely did, our first run was the best one with 220 points all in all, which got us into the semi-finals for the ‘just for fun rounds’. Then it was time for the prize giving and as the awards for core values, robot design, team spirit, and the project were handed out we started to lose a bit of spirit, but then it was time for the main prize and they called out the top 3 schools we were delighted to find we had come third over-all. We have learned so much from this experience and it was brilliant to just be part of the team, we hope to do this again next year but improve on our result. We would also like to thank Queen’s University Belfast for sponsoring us and paying our entrance fee, W5 for holding the competition, and of course the teachers that helped us through the whole experience, Dr Wilson and Mrs Craig. - Zoe Cheshire and Emily Leckey Year 10 -

Clubs and Societies

Eco Club

To the Waterworks! In our recent trip to the Belfast Water-works we learnt a lot and saw what it takes to supply the city with clean water. It was a real eye opener! Did you know it takes 270 litres of water to have a normal bath compared with only 30 litres for a 5 minute shower!

Our hour-long guided tour of the entire facility was very interesting especially when compared to the way the plant operated a few decades ago. - Blake Fowler & Callum Gourley Year 11 -

We now recycle clothes, shoes, paper, cardboard, batteries, plastic bottles, plastic bags, batteries, pens and mobile phones.

Can you help us to further promote BHS as a fairtrade school? Ballyclare High School is to be congratulated on being re-awarded Fairtrade School Status. The Eco Club has spearheaded interest in this initiative and has been working on the theme for three years. In 2012 we were one of the first schools in Northern Ireland to be awarded Fairtrade School Status. It has been very encouraging that the whole school community has become involved in this worthy initiative. There has been a fairtrade ‘flavour’ to many lessons across the curriculum in Ballyclare High School, for instance English classes had the opportunity to sample fairtrade chocolates during one very tasty lesson. Pupils in Religious Studies classes examined moral aspects of fairtrade which helped underpin the school’s commitment to this cause. Meanwhile sixth form Home Economics pupils visited a local supermarket to learn more about fairtrade and other food related issues. A number of Geography and English pupils participated in a Fairtrade competition which involved designing wrappers and marketing Fairtrade products.

New Wildlife Garden! The Eco-Club has recently utilised a small area of the school grounds and are beginning to convert it into a wildlife garden.

If you have any unwanted clothes or shoes for recycling please deposit in the large yellow bin at the rear of the school building

Upon completion of refurbishment work to the Business Studies and Music wing of the school, a small outside garden area was created. Members of the Eco-Club saw this as an opportunity to create a quiet area where wildlife can flourish.

We would like to add a special thank you to all those who

A special butterfly house and insect ‘hotel’ have already been put in place. Plans are underway to build a giant wooden insect haven from waste materials before the end of the school year.

donated items to help us establish our new wildlife garden.

Clubs and Societies

Junior Choir

Chamber Choir

Sport

Sport Athletics 2012 Nebssa Athletics This year we can record fantastic achievements by our athletes again. The girls won the Overall Best School with the U12, U14 and U15s winning team events, the U13 coming runners up. The boys’ Year 9 team were runners up in their team competition.

Nebssa Girls’ Athle

tics Teams U12, U1

3, U14 and U15

3 athletes set new records: Lydia Mills in the Triple Jump, blowing away the old record by 80cms; Jack Magee in the Javelin; and Elliot Crothers in the 100m, reaching 11.68 beating the previous record 11.69 set in 1999.

Nebssa Boys’ At

hletics Teams

Lydia Mills and

Jack Magee wh o set new Nebs sa Athletic Reco in Triple Jump an rds d Javelin respec tfully

Sport

District Athletics Qualifying at District level means you have won through to the Ulster Athletics Finals. From this event 21 individual girls qualified; 12 of these girls qualified in 2 events and all 4 age group relays: Minor; Junior; Inter; and Senior. Minor competitors were Emma Hutchinson, Rachel McClements and Tara Whitcroft. Junior Competitors were Lydia Mills, Lucy Eppleston, Jaimie McCowan and Kara Wallace. Inter level competitors were Megan Downey, Emma Wilson, Beth Shannon, Yasmin Wilson, Anna Lawther,

Katie Jamieson and Hannah McAuley. Senior competitors were Laura Douglas, Jessica West, Tori Wallace, Emma Patterson, Nicola McMillan, Emma Cathcart and Lindsay Martin. In the team events Minor and Senior Girls were runners up with the Juniors and Intermediate Girls winning. On points we again are the best School in the District retaining the Hubble Cup.

Ulster Athletic Championships 18th & 19th May What a fantastic start to their athletics careers as the Minor Girls become Ulster Champions 2012. The Junior Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Team were runners up, the Intermediate Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; team also runners up and the Senior Girls were third. This means the girls were placed second overall school for athletics in Ulster, having been Ulster Champions for the last 2 years.

The Results: Emma Hutchinson and Rachel McClements won gold in the High Jump. Emma Hutchinson was also 4th in the 800ms. Tara Whitcroft was 9th in the shot and the Relay Team of Lauren Hilman, Lauren McKee and Rachel McClements was 4th. In the Minor Boys, Ben Sempey was 7th in the High Jump and Josh Young 8th in the Shot. The relay teams just missed out on a place in the final. In the Junior events Lydia Mills broke the Triple Jump record with an amazing 10.44cm, collecting gold in this event and also in the Long Jump. She also formed part of the Junior Relay team with Sasha Lawther, Rebecca Dawson and Kirsty McBarnet who also became Ulster Champions, winning by a huge distance. 73

Sport

Jaimie McCowan came 5th in the Discus and Kara Wallace 4th in the Javelin. In the Junior Boys, Elliott Crothers had immense opposition in the 100ms and finished a fantastic 6th in the final. Jack Magee claimed gold in the Javelin throwing an amazing 49.47ms to the delight of the large crowd gathered to watch him. In the Inter Girls, Megan Downey won silver in the 100ms and Bronze in the 200ms with committed performances. She was also part of the wonderful relay team of Beth Butler, Alex Graham and Lia McKenzie who won bronze medals but once again just missed out on Irish qualification. Emma Wilson won bronze in the 800ms with Anna Lawther finishing in a creditable 6th place. Yasmin Wilson carried on form winning the gold in the 3000ms on Friday evening and added a silver in the 1500ms on Saturday. Beth Shannon gave an amazing performance on Friday evening when she finished 6th in the 3000ms have stayed with the medal winners for most of the race.

Katie Jamieson was 5th in the High Jump jumping close to her personal best. Hannah McAuley was 5th in the discus and won a well fought bronze in the Javelin. In the Inter boys, Stewart Gault battled the pain barrier to finish 4th in the 400ms. Johnny McKeown faced stiff competition in the Shot and just missed out on a medal placing. Nico Surgeoner against a huge field in the javelin finished 8th. In the Senior Girls, Laura Douglas won bronze in the 1500ms: a fantastic achievement in an extremely talented field. Jessica West finished a credible 8th in the Long Jump. Emma Patterson, the reigning Ulster Javelin Champion at inter level, finished 5th in the senior field and went on to win a bronze medal in the Triple Jump. Tori Wallace continues to work well in the Javelin finishing in 5th place. She was extremely busy as both events ran at the same time. In the senior Shot, Lindsay Martin finished 5th and Nicola McMillan finished a great 8th place.

Athletics 2012- 2013 Athletics Season Report June 2012-June 2013 As always we must praise the commitment of our athletes and their determination to improve their personal bests. This focus on improvement of personal bests is the underlying cornerstone on which we build great performances on the track and in the field. Thanks must also go to all the staff involved: our valuable parent Mr Snoddy; Dean Adams from Athletics NI; Megan Downey our superstar pupil; Mr Soper; Mr Whincup; Dr Rainey; Miss Brown; and Mr Butler.

older athletes and afforded all the opportunity to select the events they were interested in and compete in these for our school.

We have had an overwhelming attendance at athletics this year and on some days 120 pupils per training day. This has generated fantastic enthusiasm and challenges in terms of competition. However the weather has not been helpful throughout this period.

The finals day took place on Tuesday 14th May at Antrim Forum and was a successful day for Ballyclare High School. Our athletes collected 26 gold medals, 7 silver and 8 bronze.

The first outside training sessions began just before Easter and continued the good work started indoors at Jordanstown on Monday nights 7-8pm during the winter. We must continue to use this facility with greater commitment from all years.

Saturday fixtures Saturday fixtures began the week after Easter where we had meets against BRA, Coleraine Inst Regent and Friends. This gave our younger pupils the opportunity to compete and become accustomed to the demands and organisation of athletic events. It further developed the performances of our 74

Nebssa Heats and Finals This competition began on the 3rd May 2013, yet again with athletes facing difficult conditions at Carrick. 100 athletes from school, both boys and girls, competed. From this event 50 athletes and 7 relay teams qualified for finals day.

The individual stars were: Emma Hutchinson who won three individual gold medals and a relay silver; Lydia Mills who also won 3 individual gold medals and a relay gold; Sasha Lawther, who won 3 individual golds and a relay silver; Josh Young, Sasha Kirk and Rebecca Dawson who won 2 golds. In the team competition the girls won at U12, U13 and U15 level and became runners up at U14 level. As a result they became overall Nebssa Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Athletic Champions. The boys won the U12 age group and were runners up at U13 level. Well done to all the athletes who competed at the area heats and the finals.

Sport

Yr 11 Girls’ Athletics Team

Year 9 Boys’ Athletics Team

District C Championships This Championship affords the opportunity to qualify for the Ulster Schools’ Finals. Competitors must finish in the top three places in each event to win through to the finals. Our district area covers from Donegal down to Ballyclare. Again weather-wise, this was not a helpful day for competition and it was great to eventually get 29 athletes and 5 relay teams through to the finals. During the day Jack Magee in the Inter Boys’ Javelin came very close to throwing the Youth Olympic standard but due to the conditions there were more measured performances from other athletes. A team competition also runs alongside this to determine the best school in the district. The girls compete for the Hubble Cup and the Boys the Blackmore Cup.

Yr 10 Girls’ Athletics Team

In the girls competition Ballyclare High won at all age groups; minor; junior; inter and senior titles. This affords them the title of Best Girls’ School in the District.

Year 9 Competition

Year 9 Nebss a Girls’ Athletic s Team

The Year 9 competition is a unique format and affords an opportunity for Year 9 who missed out to their Year 10 counterparts at the Ulsters to compete in an Ulster level competition. Events include the 100ms, 800ms, High Jump, Long Jump, Javelin, Shot and now this year 4 x 100ms relay. Ballyclare High organise this area’s heats which were held at the Antrim Forum. Our girls qualified - winning all but one event. The boys were on course to also qualify but were narrowly beaten on the last event. The girls progressed to the District Finals held at Coleraine. Unusually for athletics this season it did not rain however we finished just out of the team medals in 4th place. Some of our girls have been selected to represent our District in this Ulster Finals.

Year 9 Team Competition Squad

Sport

Ulster Schools’ Championships The most horrific weather ever known in the history of the competition occurred when it lashed all day and made it very difficult for all the athletes. It was even more difficult to accept as the competition had commenced on a Friday evening which had blistering sunshine.

Shannon Clarke gained valuable points in the inter girls 3000ms. On Saturday we had some fantastic results which led to the girls becoming Ulster Schools’ Champions again for the third time in five years: a truly fantastic achievement.

In the sunshine Yasmin Wilson had an outstanding run in the 3000ms winning the title by a clear 100ms and

Seniors Yasmin Wilson Megan Downey Emma Wilson Katie Jamieson Johnny McKeown Victoria White

3000 and 1500ms Double Ulster Champion Silver in the 100m Hurdles Silver in the 400m Hurdles and Bronze in the 800ms 4th in the High Jump Bronze in Shot Putt 7th in the 1500ms

Inters Jack Magee Hannah McAuley Lydia Mills Anna Lawther Sophie Bottomley Shannon Clark Lucy Eppleston Kara Wallace Matthew Robson Girls’ Relay Boys’ Relay

Ulster Javelin Champion Triple Jump and Discus Champion Double Ulster Champion Triple Jump Silver and 4th in Long Jump Bronze in 800ms 4th in semi finals of the 100ms 8th in 3000ms 6th in High Jump 9th in the Javelin 9th in discus 4th place 4th place

Junior Emma Hutchinson Sasha Lawther Jasmine Walker Jack Lewis Josh Young JG Relay

Bronze in 1500ms and 5th in the High Jump Bronze in the 200ms and in 8th in100ms Bronze in the Discus and 5th in the Javelin 7th in high jump 9th in the discus 4th place in semi final

Minor Minor Girls’ Relay Minor Boys’ Relay Sam Ross Connor Archer Rebecca McCullough Taylor Beggs Sarah Irwin Ben Hamilton

Bronze 4th place 8th place 4th place in semi final 6th in the 100ms 5th in Shot 9th in High Jump 9th in High Jump

Sport

All Ireland Schools’ Championships Athletes and staff had the best day of the season with dry weather. There were numerous excellent performances. Congratulations to Jack Magee in Javelin and Hannah McAuley in Triple Jump who became Irish Schools’ Athletics Champions. Yasmin Wilson won silver in the senior 3000ms and 7th place in the 1500ms.

Lydia Mills won bronze in the Inter triple Jump. Jonny McKeown was 6th in the Senior Shot. Emma Patterson was 5th in the Senior Javelin a competition setting a PB where the top 5 distances were within 30 cms of each other. Anna Lawther was 8th in the Inter 800ms. Emma Hutchinson was 4th in the Junior 1500ms setting a new PB. Jasmin Walker was 6th in the Junior Discus.

Year 8 Girls’ Athletics

Year 8 Boys

’ Athletics

ing the Irish Inter

Jack Magee winn

Schools’ Javelin titl

Hannah McAuley and Lydia Mills at the Irish Schools’

Sport

Ballyclare High Sports Day 2012 Ballyclare High held their annual sports days at the Antrim Forum on 12th June. Weather remained good throughout the day and allowed many records to be set: 8 in total. Competition between Houses was fantastic and the lead changed many times until finally Brann were crowned winners in the Boys’ competition and Russell in the Girls’. New Records Set. Name

House

Event

Old Record

New Record

Lydia Mills

Russell

L.Jump Yr 10

4.87m

5.0m

Lydia Mills

Russell

L.Jump Yr 10

9.22m

10.55m

Hannah McAuley

Brann

L.Jump Yr 11

9.73m

10.49m

Hannah McAuley

Brann

Discus Yr 11

23.60m

27.86m

Sasha Lawther

Russell

100m Yr 9

13.07sec

13.05sec

Eliott Crothers

Brann

100m Yr 9

12.36sec

12.20sec

Eliott Crothers

Brann

200m Yr 9

25.42sec

24.94sec

Jack Magee

Brann

Javelin Yr 10

39.13m

50.93m

Sports Day Trophies. Trophy

Runner-up

Winner

U12 Girl Champion

Rachel Black

Georgia Lyttle

U12 Boy Champion

Tim Moore

Josh Young

U13 Girl Champion

Sophie Patterson

Sasha Lawther

U13 Boy Champion

Hannah McAuley

Elliott Crothers

U14 Girl Champion

Jack Lewis

Lydia Mills

U14 Boy Champion

Kirsty McBarnet

Jack Magee

U15 Girl Champion

Scot Gault

Hannah McAuley

U15 Boy Champion

Anna Lawther

Jonny McAteer

Senior Girl Champion

Matthew Robson

Emma Patterson

Runner Up Senior Girl

Laura Douglas

Best Performing Boy

Jack Magee

Best Performing Girl

Hannah McAuley

Year 11 Boys’ Relay Boys’ House Cup Girls’ House Cup

4th Russell 3rd Dixon 2nd Aikin 4th Aikin 3rd Dixon 2nd Brann

Brann Brann Brann

Sport Elliot Crothers setting a new Ballyclare High School U13 boys’ record in the 100m. The old record stood at 12.36 seconds – Elliot ran it in 12.20 seconds. He also set a new record in the 200m U13 boys’ race. The old record stood at 25.42 seconds and he completed the race in 24.94 seconds.

Hannah McCauley throwing the discus to smash the previous U15 girls’ record set. She threw a distance of 27.86m beating the old record of 23.60m by over 4m! She also competed in the U15 girls’ triple jump and jumped an impressive 10.49m beating the previous record of 9.73m.

Lydia Mills in action during the U14 girls’ Triple Jump. She jumped a remarkable 10.55m blowing the former record of 9.22m out of the water! She also competed in the U14 girls’ Long Jump, breaking her second record of the day. She jumped a very impressive 5.00m, this beat the previous record of 4.87.

Sasha Lawther in action during the U13 girls’ 100m. The former Ballyclare High record was 13.07 seconds and she ran 13.05 on the day.

Jack Magee performing during the U14 boys’ javelin during sports day. The old record of 39.13 had not been touched since it was set in 1981. Jack threw an incredible 50.93m to absolutely annihilate the prior record.

Sport

Girls’ Badminton 2012/13 The Badminton season got off to a great start with excellent numbers attending on Wednesday afternoons. This year has been a mixed one for the various teams and, despite no significant success, the skills, professionalism and team spirit of each of the girls has greatly developed. Senior, Junior and Minor teams were all entered into their respective Ulster Schools’ Cup and League competitions. The Year 8 Girls took part in the annual Ulster Schools’ Round Robin and Cup competitions. At the USBA Champion of Champions tournament, Rebecca Campbell (senior), Lauren Crawford (junior) and Alex Simpson (minor) represented the school at the National Badminton Centre in Lisburn.

Senior Girls’ Badminton In the Division 2 Ulster League competition, the season began against BRA, followed by Bloomfield Collegiate, Friends, Hunterhouse College, Wallace High and Sullivan. Every match provided its own particular challenges, with each one fought in a fine competitive spirit. In the Ulster Schools’ Cup, the girls were beaten in the competition by strong competitors Wallace High. The girls knew this would be a tough match and took it in their stride, displaying true sportsmanship, when it resulted in an unfortunate end to their Cup run.

League and Cup Tea m: Rebecca Campbe ll, Ashleigh Conner, Crawford, Alice Christ Lauren ie; reserve: Yasmin Wi lson.

Junior Girls’ Badminton The season began well for our Junior team who were entered in Division 2 of the Ulster League Competition. They had a series of nail-biting matches against Cookstown High and Coleraine High drawing 3-3 on sets, but losing out on games. Following on from these matches, they encountered Bloomfield Collegiate and Hunterhouse College, against both of which victories were secured. In the Junior Schools’ Cup competition, the team made it through to the semi-finals against Royal & Prior. Regardless of their very long and tiring trip to Ballyclare, the Donegal team still had enough energy to triumph.

League and Cup Tea m: Jane Kenny, Zara McIlwaine, Kara Wallace, Hann ah White.

Minor Girls’ Badminton The Minor Team, in Division 1 of the Ulster League, started its campaign by securing a 6-0 win against Coleraine High, followed by victory over Bloomfield Collegiate. Unfortunately, Sullivan and Hunterhouse College proved to be stiff opposition, refusing us wins, but, as always, our girls rose to the occasion. In the semi-finals of the Junior Schools’ Cup competition, the girls met up again with tough opponents Hunterhouse College. Although each girl fought hard in her game, they were just too powerful for the Ballyclare team and the match was lost. 80

League and Cup Tea

m: Alex Simpson, Elle n Hall, Megan Tume Charlotte Gardiner; lty, reserve: Helen Legge .

Sport

Senior Girls’ Badminton There was exceptional enthusiasm shown by the Year 8 team who turned up faithfully every Wednesday for practice. Each girl (including reserves) has worked extremely hard individually and, together, there is the potential for a great team. Matches got underway in mid-November with the Year 8 Round Robin tournament taking place at University of Ulster in Coleraine. The girls played to the best of their ability and finished a creditable third in the tournament, behind Wallace High and Coleraine High. This was an encouraging result as they were facing tough opponents. The Year 8 Cup match in January was played against Friends’ and, although they did not progress to the next stage, the girls greatly enjoyed the experience of participating at such a competitive level.

Cup Team: Hannah Petrie, Rebecca Mc Cullough, Amy David Karla Stevenson, res son, erves: Keely Hurst, Taylor Beggs, Rebecca Parkes

Allen Cup Girls’ Badminton Club finished the season in March with the Allen Cup Competition. This year’s U19 single’s winner was Zara McIlwaine, who defeated Ashleigh Conner in the final. The U14 single’s winner was Ellen Hall, who defeated Alex Simpson in their final. It was very heartening to see much commitment and enthusiasm from the girls. I have no doubt that they enjoyed their badminton both socially and competitively during the year, and are looking forward to taking up the challenge again next season.

U19 winner Zara Mc

Ilwaine and runner

up Ashleigh Conner

Many thanks to Miss Mawhinney and Mrs. McClintock for their invaluable help throughout the badminton season and for Mr Thompson’s input with the junior and senior teams.

- S P Brown U14 Allen Cup winne

r Ellen Hall and runne

r up Alex Simpson

Sport

Boys’ Badminton 2012/13 The season was successful in that 5 teams completed regularly in Ulster Schools’ League and cup competitions and two teams got through to the Ulster Schools’ League Finals. Up to 30 boys in various age groups practiced hard working on their game throughout the season and they enjoyed the Allen cups singles tournament at the end of the year. At the Ulster Schools’ Champions of Champions singles tournament Kyle McAuley (senior), Mark Brown (junior) and Daniel Dargan (minor) represented the school.

Senior Boys’ Badminton In the Senior boys, the competition was really intense and the opening division 2 match against Coleraine Inst. saw the team go down 2-4, unfortunately number 2 player C Moore could not travel for this match. However the team bounced back and travelled to Cookstown HS and defeated them 6-0. In the Schools’ Cup a seeded Sullivan Upper team proved to be too good for our boys and they lost 1-5; only D Dundee won his singles. Foyle College conceded to our boys leaving them to go to Banbridge Academy the week prior to Christmas. The team played well in a very competitive match which took its toll on number 1 K McAuley who had to concede his singles with a leg injury. The team lost narrowly 2-4. The final game of the league was against RBAI who were lying in second place, a win for Ballyclare would see them progress to the Ulster Finals! But it was not to be as the teams both drew 3-3; K McAuley won at 1st singles and along with C Moore at 1st doubles and D Dundee won at 3rd singles. The best performance by far this season but the team fell short by one game to qualify.

Senior Boys’ Sq

uad: K McAule y (Capt), C Moo re, D Dundee, T Jameson and M Richardson.

Junior Boys’ Badminton The Junior boys had a super season with Ulster Schools’ League wins over Coleraine Inst (6-0), Dominican, Portstewart (6-0), Banbridge Acad (4-2) and a draw with Cookstown HS (3-3). The team got stronger with every match and the 4-2 loss against RBAI B team meant that they qualified for the Ulster Div 2 finals against the strong team. Just prior to qualifying the team lost their quarter-final Ulster Schools’ cup match against a Wallace HS (1-5). Finals day in March was much anticipated by the team who had worked hard in the build up to try and over turn the league defeat to the RBAI B team. In the final, Ballyclare’s Mark Brown played 1st singles losing 14-2, 10-21. James Brown played 2nd doubles losing narrowly 19-2, 17-21. Royce Balmer won the 3rd singles in 3 games in a hard fought match, 21-14, 14-21, 21-18. Michael Kerr won the 4th singles convincingly winning 21-9, 21-15.

Junior Boys’ Sq

uad: M Brown, J Brown (Capt), R Balmer, M Kerr, S Gault .

Sport

Minor Boys’ Badminton The Minor boys’ team showed much enthusiasm throughout the season and developed their game play the most out of all the teams. Lead by D Dargan (Capt) and L Jenkins, at first doubles, the pair won some great games with their speed around the court and improving racket skills. Other team members like C Montgomery, J Orr and R Black saw commitment to practice turn profitable as they won many games. The team defeated Coleraine Inst (4-2), Dominican Col (4-2), and RBAI (5-1). However, the best game of their season was against Sullivan Upper where they managed to secure an exciting draw. Both D Dargan and C Montgomery had good wins which meant the team qualified for the Ulster Finals. The Ulster Schools’ division 2 final was against a strong Coleraine Inst team (changed from the previous league match) and they were just too powerful for the Ballyclare boys and the match was lost 4-2.

Minor Boys’ team: D Dargan (Cap

t), L Jenkins, C Montgomery, J Orr and R Black.

The U12 players regularly attended practice every Tuesday after school with Mrs Todd and they showed much improvement with many of them having not played the game before. In the annual Ulster Schools’ round robin competition the team played to the best of their ability with wins over BRA but losing to Coleraine Inst, RBAI and Friends. In the Ulster Schools’ U12 cup the team travelled to Bangor and narrowly lost 4-2 with Matthew Taylor winning his singles and partnering Adam Clarke to win their doubles. The U12B team got a walk over against Rathmore Grammar but were well beaten by a strong Sullivan Upper side. U12 ‘A’ team: B Orr, M McCullough, M Taylor and A Clarke. U12 ‘B’ squad: C Archer, A Campbell, M Dundee, A Glass, J Gault and J Conway.

Kyle McAuley SeniorAlllen

JuniorBoys Div2 finalist 201

Daniel Dargan, Allen Cup win

Cup winner 2013 & Mrs Alle

ner & Luke Jenkins runner up U13 with Mrs Allen

Allen Cup In the annual Allen Cups singles competition in school the Junior boys (years 8-10) was won by a very improved Daniel Dargan over the skilful Luke Jenkins 21-18, 21-10. The Senior boys was a much closer affair with senior team

number 1 Kyle McAuley defeating the ever improving number 2 Connor Moore 21-19, 19-21, 21-20. This was one of the best finals in recent years and both boys deserve much credit for the standard of play they have attained.

Sport

Ballyclare High School Cricket 2012 1st XI This season was a re-building year for the first eleven as they lost several key players from the year before. The team had a relatively poor season, results wise, but it did expose young players to the standards of Ulster Schools’ division 1 cricket, and allowed them to become stronger as a team and hopefully better prepared for the next season. The season started with a friendly game against Templepatrick select team, Ballyclare batted first and posted a solid total but unfortunately the bowling effort let the side down and this game somewhat set the tone for the year. Often the team performed well with either batting or bowling but inconsistency in both in the same match let the team down.

McDowell and third year Jack Magee for excellent bowling spells in this game showing great potential for the future. In the Schools’ subsidiary shield match the 1st XI played Armagh and bowled well keeping the Armagh team to just over 100. Ballyclare’s chase showed promise and 64 from opener Jay Hunter got the team close to a good start. However, some confusion caused the run out of Hunter and the game began to slip from Ballyclare’s grasp as batsmen struggled to get in on a low slow wicket and in the end Ballyclare lost narrowly, causing any Shield run hopes to come to an end.

The opening schools’ match was against Ballymena Academy and an entertaining game saw Ballymena batting first and posting a respectable total. Ballyclare got off to a good start with opener Jay Hunter scoring 64, however a slump in the middle of the innings meant some big hitting was required by Jordan McIlwrath who smashed the ball around the ground and managed to get us to a tie; the winning run coming from Mark Turner sneaking a quick single. In the first round of the Schools’ Cup the 1st XI travelled to Limavady Grammar. Ballyclare won the toss and batted first and the openers Jay Hunter and Nathan McBrien put on a partnership of 156. However, once again bowling wides and undisciplined fielding cost Ballyclare the game. Special mention should be made to fourth year Matthew

As disappointing as the cricket season was in results for the 1st XI team, captain Jay Hunter was selected for the Ulster Schools’ U19 Interprovincial v Leinster Schools’; and for the tour of Durham in August. Both Jay and Nathan Brien, regularly opening the batting, scored good runs for the school. An individual highlight of the season came in the final game against Regent House at Comber, when Jonny Holmes hit a record breaking 99 not out, smashing the ball to all parts of the ground (the previous highest score for a Ballyclare HS 1st XI player was 94 by John Thompson against Armagh RS back in 1979). 1st XI Ulster Schools’ Cup 1st round v Limavady Grammar: Mr S Thompson, J McKinstry, J McIlwrath, J Magee, J , M Brolly, M Turner, M Grimason, P Gregg, J Hunter (capt), N Brien. (Other squad players: J Holmes)

2nd XI The 2nd XI turned out regularly and enjoyed their matches on Saturday mornings. They put together some good performances and did well to defeat Wallace HS in the league. C Moore and C West batted soundly in matches and K McAuley showed promise as a wicket keeper.

L Montgomery and D Cuthbertson also show potential as effective bowlers. 2nd XI squad: C Moore (Capt.), L Montgomery, C West, R Coats, A Frizzell, D Cuthbertson, K McAuley, J Hall, M Kirk, R Heyburn, C Todd, P McMorris.

U15 XI Ballyclare under 15s had a very good season this year, although the season was slow to start off with defeats to BRA and Ballymena Academy. Ballyclare came back to win two tough matches against Wallace High School and M.C.B. With M Darling bowling 2 for 8 and M McDowell hitting 34 not out in a very tight match. The main cup campaign ended in the first round with defeat to Campbell College in a very tight match. M Stevenson hit 41 to help Ballyclare get 111 runs, but despite Ballyclare playing very well and M McDowell taking 3 wickets for 5 runs (and K

Bradford taking a catch a professional would be proud of) it was not enough to prevent Campbell from getting the runs required. The team got back to winning ways with victories in the next 5 matches against Friends, Regent, R.S. Armagh, Limavady G.S. and Ballymena. The matches against Friends and Regent were two convincing wins with M Darling hitting his maiden 50 and 41 consecutively; M McDowell’s bowling was equally impressive with a 6 for 16, which included a hat trick. After being knocked out of the main cup the U15s went into the Jubilee Cup (subsidiary

Sport competition) and had high hopes. The team played 2 matches in 2 days against R.S Armagh and Limavady G.S. and won both. R McCabrey hit 31 not out against Armagh and both M Darling (2 for 5) and M McDowell (2 for 1) bowling well against Limavady. These results qualified the U15s for the final of the Jubilee cup to be played against Regent House. Winning the toss Ballyclare chose to bat and could only achieve a very poor 79 runs with J Magee hitting 24. Regent House got this total after 19 overs, Ballyclareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bowlers found it such a disadvantage having to bowl most of their overs in the rain, this negating the swing bowling from McDowell and Darling. However,

A McCalmont bowled a respectable 0 for 8 of 4 overs. Despite losing in the final, the under 15s had a good year and very much enjoyed good performances. U15 Ulster Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Jubliee Cup finalists: A McCammont, M McDowell, M Darling(vice-captain), J Rainey, J Magee, R McCabrey, Mr S Thompson K Bradford, R McIlwine, M Bell, M Stevenson(capt), P Gault, S Gault. Other U15 squad players: P Bonar, P Johnston, B Smith and J Douglas.

U14 XI The U14XI had quite a successful season. We had a couple very strong wins but unfortunately one or two bad loses. Andrew McCalmont was the pick of the opening bowlers with his pace, wickets and low economy rate. Ryan McIlwaine has developed off-break spin bowling and he took important wickets. Gerad Dargan and Scott Gault brought power to our batting line up, Scott hitting a top score of 34. Player of the season was captain Jack Magee

who won both the batting trophy, with a run rate of 40, and the bowling trophy taking 13 wickets for an economy rate of 9 runs. U14XI Squad:, Jack Magee (Capt), Ryan McIlwaine, Bradley Cahill, Andrew McCalmont, Zac McMurran, Andrew Seymour, Bruce Deyermond, Dean Jones, Scott Gault, Gerad Dargan, Phillip Lowans, Thomas Black and Matthew Branagh.

U13XI Our first match was against Ballymena Academy, a poor batting effort saw only 62 being on the board for 5 wickets. Our bowling was very good and they got their target in the 20 over. A solid 72 was scored against BRA but we only got 2 of them out. The second match against them in the cup was poor losing by 9 wickets. The first Saturday league match was against MCB and we bowled well getting 8 wickets, however, we only scored 40 chasing 83. Against Wallace HS we batted much better scoring 59 but lost narrowly by 6 runs. The batting continued to improve as we scored 93 against Campbell

College, but we only managed to get 4 of them out. In our final league match against Regent House, we reached our highest total of the season with 107 for 3 wickets with a top score of 37, it was great to get a victory. Best batting of the season went to Luke Jenkins and best bowler went to Owen Hutchinson. U13XI Squad: L Jenkins (Capt), G Lowans, O Kirk, A Coleman, S McCalmont, M Stewart, A Aitcheson, O Hutchinson, B Lowry, J Crockett, T Dixon, J Collins, J McVicker, J Robinson, M Hillman.

Sport

U12XI The Under 12s had great potential and were always enthusiastic and up for a good game of cricket on Friday or on Saturday matches. We had a great turn out last year, with many who had never played cricket before. All of our basic skills were good like catching, fielding and bowling. All we needed to work on was the batting because we were not getting too many runs and were not making the right decisions. We beat Friends and Belfast Royal Academy (BRA) but lost to the bigger teams like Campbell,

Methody and Limavady. Our best batsman last season was Rhys Wallace who scored most of the runs for us. Our best bowler was Bradley Moore and he took 8 wickets in 7 games. U12 X1 Squad: Rory Dorman (Capt.), Rhys Wallace, Bradley Moore, Ben Catherwood, Euan Woodside, Jonny Dodds, Tom Harrison, Niall Hogan, Scott Wilson, Matthew McKeuan and Matthew Laney.

Overall the School cricket teams managed to finish 12th out of 16 teams in the McCullough Cup (Ulster Schools’ division 1 Saturday morning league). Encouragingly the U13s , U14s and U15s had some good wins which bears well for the next year.

Girls Cricket On Friday 27th April 2012 a concept was turned into reality when a new format of the game for Girls’ and Women’s Cricket, ‘Super 8s’, was launched by Cricket Ireland in conjunction with the Northern Cricket Union. The concept was presented to invited guests by Nigel Jones, the Northern Cricket Union Cricket Development Officer. Tim Simmonite, Cricket Ireland’s National Development Manager, was also in attendance to give the guests an overview of the current landscape of Girls’ and Women’s Cricket in Ireland and in particular Northern Ireland. Ballyclare High School and Bloomfield Collegiate were the two teams who demonstrated the new game on the day.

The game was played under sunny skies on the sand-based Astroturf hockey pitch at the Play Ball Complex in the grounds of the Stormont Estate, Belfast. In its simplest terms, the game consists of 2 teams of 8 players per side, 16 over innings, a targeted age group of 13-17 year old girls, full cricket protective equipment being used and the game played with a composite ‘Incrediball’; with the view to progressing onto a hard cricket ball when standards and confidence levels improve. The framework and finer details for ‘Super 8s’ have been designed to allow for a degree of flexibility so that any obstacles to participation and game play which may arise can be overcome, e.g. skill/confidence levels or the surface area or facility on which the game is to be played.

Sport

Cricket Report 2013 The 2013 season was an eventful season for the Ballyclare HS 1st XI. There were broken records, winning streaks and losing streaks. The season began on a high note against Ballymena Academy with J McKinstry hitting a match winning 48. The good run continued from there picking up 4 wins from the opening 5 games. In the Ulster Bank Schools’ Cup we drew a home fixture to Lurgan College in the first round. Ballyclare lost the toss and fielded first. The visiting side hit 110 in their innings and Ballyclare got off to a good start before losing J Hunter and N Brien. However, again J McKinstry came to the rescue of the Ballyclare side hitting a quickfire 27 to allow Ballyclare to win with 1 wicket to spare. In the second round Friends School came to Hollinger Park in a game that was to epitomise the rest of the season for the home side. Ballyclare started the match with a late cry off, their opening left arm bowler M McDowell, later to prove a crucial unavailability. Ballyclare won the toss and batted with J Hunter hitting 62 and the home side reaching a good total. However, poor fielding, dropped catches and short bowling led to the downfall of the Ballyclare team, losing by 2 wickets and with an over remaining. During the season J McKinstry, who was beginning to emerge as one of our premier batsman picked up a knee injury playing 7s rugby and that put an end to his season; leaving the top order short of a batsman for the rest of the season. Thankfully N Brien took over his mantle and began to score well and consistently. Also this year the record for most runs in an innings was achieved by J Hunter who became the first pupil to score a century for the 1st XI and this was against Methodist College in a Saturday morning match; he repeated the act with his second century against Grovernor Grammar a week later. Hunter also created another new record for scoring the most runs in a school season, previously held by current Head of Cricket Mr S Thompson (325 runs in 1982), as he totalled a massive 560 runs in 9 matches at an average of 180, an incredible statistic in Ulster Schools’ cricket.

1st XI squad: J Hunter (Capt), N Brien, J McKinstry, M McDowell, M Brolly, M Darling, M Stevenson, M Grimason, K Tumelty, R McCabrey, C Moore, M Richardson, J Magee, A McCalmont and R McIlwaine

2ndXI Squad: C West (Capt), C Moore, M Richardson, D Cuthbertson, R McCabrey, P Bonar, M Mullan, K McAuley, J Douglas, M Bell, D Johnston, M Bowes, K Bradford,

Special mention should be made of three young talented cricketers that broke into the 1st XI this year, namely, Ryan McIlwaine, Jack Magee and Andy McCalmont. When called upon, all performed brilliantly in pressure situations such as the last match of the season against Grosvenor Gr (current Ulster Schools’ Cup holders) when the bowling of these three young players was pivotal in our win. The 2ndXI have been a strong team made up of lower sixth and 5th year pupils. Unfortunately they did not get to play a number of games as the inclement weather curtailed matches. They did lose their first match to MCB but came back strong to beat Campbell 2nds. The first

Jay Hunter 1st century fora 1stXI player 87

Sport round of the Duke of Abercorn cup saw a good performance from the team to defeat Friends School. However, in the next round the team did not perform well against a reasonable Grosvenor Gr side and lost comfortably. The U15XI was deemed the most promising team at the start of the season with a good number of all-rounders in the team and two of them playing for the 1stXI in the Schools’ cup matches. Like most teams this season the poor weather resulted in matches being called off and this had a detrimental effect on the players improving. An excellent win by over 100 runs was recorded against Carrickfergus Grammar in the first match of the season. But next they lost narrowly to both BRA and MCB. In the first round of the Ulster Schools’ U15 NCU cup they travelled down to Banbridge Acad and came away with an excellent win; Gerard Dargan the best of the bats and bowlers McCalmont, Gault and Magee proving hard to score against. In the second round the team travelled to the north west to play Holy Cross, Strabane. This ended up being the best match the U15s played this season with Mark Hegarty hitting a six in the last over to finish with the scores tied on 109 runs. However, a phone call to the Ulster Schools’ chairman confirmed that the team losing the least wickets were to be deemed the winners, Holy Cross went through having lost 7 wickets to Ballyclare’s 9 wickets. The U15 squad were able to call on a number or reserves to play in games and this will prove valuable as the team moves up to play 2ndXI cricket next year. U15 XI Squad: J Magee (Capt), G Dargan, S Gault, R McIlwaine, A McCalmont, P Lowans, R Balmer, M Brannagh, M Hegarty, D Jones, R Turner, J Milligan, A Hamill, J Watt, A Brolly and B Derymond (Scorer). All season the U14XI team performed well but we could have had more wins. In the first game of the season against Carrickfergus Grammar, we lost narrowly but did not have a full team out. Fielding our strongest side for the next match our U14s defeated BRA. We might have had more wins if we were a better batting side as some of the players got a start but did not go on and get a good score. However, the majority of players did not even get a start and were usually out within an over or so. Batting time in pre-season nets in February will be crucial if we are to compete at U15 level next year. We have a reasonably strong bowling side which I would say is probably as good as any in our league. The leg spin of Michael Stewart has been most impressive as has the pace and accuracy of Owen Kirk and Owen Hutchinson. The U14XI Squad: L Jenkins (Capt), O Hutchinson, A Coleman, O Kirk, M Stewart, B Lowry, G Lowans, J Collins, S McCalmont, A Atchinson, D Dargan, T Dixon and M Hillman. The U13XI started the season off well with two wins against BRA and Carrick Grammar. Our fielding was up to scratch with only one or two boundaries conceded. From there it started to go downhill a bit when we lost to

Ballymena. Then we had a very close match against Methody, when we needed a 4 of the last ball to win, Josh Young came in to take the last ball and missed it completely and went for a golden duck. Even though we were on a losing streak, in our game against Parkhall, our fielding and bowling kept them under control and we dismissed them for just 24 runs after 13 overs. We knocked off the required runs, even though we lost a few wickets. Our last game of the season was against RBAI where we batted first and managed a 64 for 6 off 20 overs, but we ended up losing, with sloppy fielding and a lot of boundaries. They were past our total by the 10th over. On the whole we have played well this season. We could have had tighter fielding and more accurate bowling as wides were a big part of our game. Our batting needs a lot of work as we were off strike for most of the season and were struggling to hit runs. Even though this was the case Josh Young managed to hit 59 runs off Friends’ bowling. Josh Young came out the best batting average, Rory Dorman came out with the best bowling average and that was the tale of our U13 season.

The U13XI Squad: R Dorman (Capt), T Harrison, R Wallace, B Moore, P Morrow, J Young, E Woodside, O Lockh art, R Heron, M McEwan, P Gray and L Cahill The U12XI in the first game of the season played Ballymena but lost by 30 runs with some good batting from Matthew McClean and good bowling from Matthew Taylor. The next game was against Friends and we batted first with Adam Clarke controlling the innings but we only reached 51. They reached our target in 16 overs as we made it hard for them and we bowled well: Adam Clarke going for 1 wk for 4 runs off 4 overs; Adam Surgeoner 0 for 6 runs and Josh Cowan 0 for 7 runs. The 3rd match of the season was against Campbell, we batted first, Adam Clarke again holding up an end with Monroe’s accurate bowling taking 4 of our wickets we only scored 42. Matthew McClean and Adam Clarke opened well with both figures of 1 wicket for 5 runs. Unfortunately they reached our total in 15 overs. The next match was against Campbell again and we greatly improved our performances. We bowled first Adam Campbell with 1-3 and Josh Cowan

Sport 1-5 were the best figures, they reached 59. Adam Clarke stayed in batting through and Adam Surgeoner coming in 3 finishing off the job with 5 overs to spare. The next we played was Grosvenor. They hit 82 but Jamie Irving bowled for the first time in a match and got a hat-trick, which was great showing his potential and taking his chance. We batted well but fell short on 64, with Matthew McClean batting well. The next we played was against Ballymena we batted first, Adam Clarke hitting 27 not out but poor running ended up with fellow opener Matthew McClean being run out. We bowled tightly with Adam Clarke only going for 3 runs and 3 wickets after 4 overs and Matthew McClean 2-4. We won by 21 runs. The 8th match was against RBAI with poor bowling and fielding from everyone and they hit a big total of 108 runs. We made a vailant effort making 88 Adam Clarke hitting 37 and Matthew McClean opening well. Over the season we have improved a great amount and it was a great effort from the boys training all through the season and showing what potential we have.

The U12XI Squad

- S Thompson -

Cross-Country Report 2012-2013 The first race of the 2012-2013 Cross-Country season was a road race at Victoria Park, Belfast, in October. We had 20 athletes racing and all showed great competitive spirit, which was to bode well for the rest of the season. Emma Hutchinson (Year 9) was placed 1st and Sam Ross (Year 8) came 3rd. In November at the local Mc Connell Shield Cross-Country race, Emma Hutchinson won the U14 race. In December, Sam Ross was placed 4th boy and Emma Hutchinson was 1st girl in the U13 race at the Malcolm Cup, Six Mile Water park. We had great success at the District Schools’ Championship held at Coleraine in February with six teams qualifying to compete at the Ulster Championships.

Sam Ross (Year 8) Mini Boy District Schools’ Cross-Country Champion

The Year 8 Girls’ team (Anna Boyd, Kathryn Quinn, Rachel McCartney and Rebecca McCullough) finished 3rd. The Year 8 Boys’ team placed 2nd; Sam Ross won the race and he was backed up by Josh Cowan, Adam Clarke, Conor Archer, Stewart Hull, Matthew McCullough, Ben Orr and Jake Conway.

The Year 10 Boys’ team won the District Schools’ Championships (Adam McCracken, Jack Lewis, Zak Cooper, Taylor Hill, Ross Agnew and Patrick Dougan). Molly Rainey (Year 10) qualified for the Ulster Championships as an individual.

The Year 9 Girls’ team were placed second. Emma Hutchinson won the race and her team mates were Lauren Hilman, Georgia Lyttle, Victoria Glenn, Lauren McKee and Becky Jordan. The Year 9 Boys’ were placed third: Ross Patterson, Ryan Lewis, Sam Bell, Patrick Moore, Jonathan Seymour and Mark McKeown.

Yasmin Wilson won the Senior Girls’ race, Emma Wilson was placed 3rd and the Senior Girls’ team won. At the Ulster Schools’ Championships in Mallusk, Yasmin Wilson (Year 13) became the Senior Girls’ Ulster Champion and Emma Hutchinson the Minor Girls’ Ulster Champion

Sport At the Ulster Schools’ Championships in Mallusk, Yasmin Wilson (Year 13) became the Senior Girls’ Ulster Champion and Emma Hutchinson the Minor Girls’ Ulster Champion. The senior team also won the Ulster Championships (Yasmin Wilson, Emma Wilson, Anna Lawther and Victoria White). Sam Ross ran an absolutely magnificent race to finish in 5th place in the Mini Boys’ race. The Irish Cross-Country Championships took place at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown. Our Senior Girls’ team ran very well in extremely muddy conditions and the team

Emma Hutchinson Year 9 placed second. Yasmin Wilson finished in 4th place in the Senior Girls’ race and Emma Hutchinson placed 9th in the Minor Girls’ race; Yasmin and Emma were the top Ulster runners in their respective races. Yasmin Wilson and Emma Hutchinson were both selected to run for the Northern Ireland team at the London Mini Marathon.

on Wilson, Yasmin Wils Victoria White, Emma and Anna Lawther.

Cross-Country Club training sessions are held after-school twice a week from September to March. We have a very talent group of competitive runners and also a lot of students just looking to improve their fitness; all are very welcome. - T Gillespie -

Football This year the Year 9 boys’ football team entered the East Antrim District Cup and the Belfast Cup. The boys played St Killians in the first round of the East Antrim Cup. Despite defeat there were plenty of positives to be taken from the game and Man of the Match was awarded to Peter Morrow. Hopeful of a better run in the Belfast cup, Ballyclare played Corpus Christi in the first round. We got off to a great start with an early goal from Lee McCune. Unfortunately, this didn’t settle the early nerves as Corpus Christi quickly applied pressure with good play in midfield, particularly the right ring, and equalised. Twenty minutes in and although Ballyclare had the slight edge they were not making their possession count. Corpus Cristi were always dangerous, strong clearances from defence and good pace provided the second goal to put the visitors 2-1 up. As the game continued Rhys Wallace had a penalty awarded which allowed Lee McCune to equalise 2-2. Ballyclare commenced

Squad: William Beatty (Capta in) Sam Bell, Lewis Cahill, Andrew Thompson, Matthew Beckett, Matthew Playfair, Josh Young, Ben Sempey, Eth an Kinkaid, Peter Morrow, Lee McCune, Patrick Moore.

Sport the second half strongly with some composed defending from William Beattie and Matthew Playfair making an excellent save. Ballyclare remained determined to get the winner. This eventually came when substitute Ethan Kinkaid made his presence immediately felt and a good pass across the goal allowed Ryan Lewis to tap in and give Ballyclare the lead.

Ballyclare proceeded to the quarter finals of the cup where they played away to Boys’ Model. Unfortunately, the run for the cup did come to an end when we were beaten 4-1 by a stronger, more physical team. However the score difference could have been greater was it not for Josh Young and his excellent performance in goal alongside Ben Sempey’s strong defensive clearances.

Our next cup match was against a strong Newtownabbey team. The game finished 4-1 to Ballyclare with all four goals coming from man of the match Rhys Wallace. It was an all round good performance. Excellent defending and solid play in midfield from Lee McCune was once again a constant threat and created many chances including the assists for Rhy’s four goals.

The Ballyclare boys worked hard and played well until the 90th minute of the game, however a win was not to be and Ballyclare were beaten by a team who went on to win the Cup beating St Malachys 6-2 in the final. The boys should be commended for their excellent attitude throughout the season. - WB & PY -

Golf On the 20th September 2012, a team of three boys from Ballyclare High School took part in the Ulster U15 Junior Strokeplay Championship at Allen Park, Antrim. The winner would go on to represent Ulster at the Irish Strokeplay event (venue TBC). The team was Peter Bonar (Handicap 8), Reece Black (Handicap 9) and Joshua Millar (Handicap 11). We teed off with the belief that we would do well and one member of the team, Joshua Millar, had a particularly good round and shot 7 under his handicap. This helped the Ballyclare High team win by a narrow margin over runners up Rathmore Grammar. We won the nett section of the championship (Actual Score – Handicap) and came in close second to Campbell College in the Gross section. The Irish Schools’ Junior Championships were held on 24th April 2013 at Balmoral Golf Club, Belfast. As Ulster representatives, we had the shortest journey and hoped that this, along with an encouraging practice round, would help us to come out on top. Our rounds started in the wind and rain and, despite an excellent start by Reece Black in particular, many of our putts just would not drop. In the end we came fourth behind a very close contest between Ballinrobe Community School (Connacht) and Colaiste Muire Crosshaven (Munster). Reece Black’s second best individual nett score was the highlight of the day for the Ballyclare team but we all enjoyed the experience and can take pride in our Ulster representation. We hope to be able to repeat it in the near future!

Ulster Schools’ Junior Champions The Ballyclare High School junior golf team of Joshua Millar, Stuart Gilmore, Stephen McCalmont and Andrew Hill posted some very consistent scoring at Rockmount Golf Club on 24th June 2013 to narrowly take the championship by two points from RBAI. The team also came second in the gross competition which was won by RBAI. The junior team has had a very successful year and hope to carry this confidence into the Irish qualifying events in September. - Mr M Bell -

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Hockey Season 2012/13 Parents, may we say a very big thank you for all your support throughout the season on the sidelines transporting pupils and helping develop that commitment to practice that is so important to improvement. This is a team sport on and off the field and we truly acknowledge the key role you play in this. Thanks must also go to Mr Butler and Miss Brown who very capably took over the reins for a large part of the season and ensured all ran smoothly. Also to Mrs Scott, Dr Rainey, Miss King, Miss Surgeoner and Mr Todd for their huge contributions to Saturdays and coaching. Our captains and vice captains also deserve credit for their work this season again on and off the pitch ensuring players are there when needed and deadlines are met for match reports and events. Well done to all our players at all levels for the honour they have given us by choosing hockey as their sport and for all their hard work, it is appreciated.

Summary We are very privileged to have the Ist XI reach the semi final of the Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cup for the second year in a row; however, at the same time we were disappointed as they really should have gained a place in the final but it was not to be on the day. The 2nd XI were knocked out in the early stages of the McDowell Cup but made up with a great run in the Plate reaching the final where they narrowly lost to South Eastern Regional College. In the Ulster 3rd XI Cup competition the 2Bs and 3rds both competed with the 2Bs winning through to the knock out stages and disappointingly lost to opposition they had previously beaten. In the Junior Cup, the U14 XI reached the quarter finals and at the end of a really exciting match lost to eventual winners Armagh 6-3. In the South Antrim League we remain overall Best School through winning the 1stXI, 2ndXI, 2BXI and U13XI League Titles with the U14XI finishing in third place. The U12s have worked hard to develop throughout the season reaching 70 in number on a Friday afternoon and presenting us with 8 teams to field on Fridays; this has been challenging but a great situation to be in. Not to be outdone, the U12s won the Area Tournament title playing 8 a side and on their first venture to 11 a side reached the final of the Grosvenor Tournament where they narrowly lost 1-nil. However this was their only defeat throughout the season. Choosing hockey as their sport and for all their hard work, it is appreciated.

Representative Congratulations to Alex Graham, Emma Patterson and Zoe Wilson who were selected to represent Ulster at U18 level and successfully won the Interprovincial tournament. Alex Graham and Zoe Wilson continue to train with the Irish U18 Training Squad for the forthcoming internationals in July. Zoe Wilson has been selected for a second time for the Northern Ireland U17 Team that will compete in the Youth Games and hopefully retain the title they won last year. She also represented the Ulster U17s who travelled to Holland. We had a fantastic number of players selected for the North Eastern Board U15 Team: Sasha Lawther; Jasmine Walker; Kara Wallace; Sophie Charlton; Lydia Mills; Lauren McKee; and Ellie Nugent. From this tournament Sasha, Sophie, Lauren and Ellie were selected for Ulster U16 Trials. We now congratulate Ellie and Sasha who will represent Ulster U16 in games against Scotland in the next few weeks. Also selected to represent the North Eastern Board U17 Team and who won their tournament were Rebecca Quinn and Megan Quinn. After a series of tests and trials the following girls were also selected by Ulster for the TDS Squads (Talent Identification Squad): Sophie McDowell; Ellie Nugent; Sasha Lawther; Jasmine Walker; Sophie Charlton; and Lauren McKee.

Hockey Awards 2013 The Annual 9th Hockey Dinner took place in Ballyclare Golf Club with over 170 male and female players attending. It was still as much fun and noise as normal and there was the usual amount of tears from those we are sad to see leave us. We had a fabulous array of trophies to present and as always we are conscious to say thanks to all those who have contributed. Most of these awards are voted for by the players after their Saturday fixtures and recorded in the match reports over the season. Another new award was provided for us this year by two players who are leaving us: Emma Patterson and Nicola McMillan; this award is for the highest scoring defenders on a team.

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Players of the Year 2013 McConnell Hockey Trophy for 1stXI Player of the Year was won by Julia Cooke. McLean Hockey Trophy for 2ndXI Player of the Year was won by Amye Wallace. Stirling Hockey Trophy for 2bXI Player of the Year was won by Rachel Lynas. McNinch and Sons Hockey Trophy for 3rdXI Player of the Year was won by Kirsty Shanks. Bambou Hockey Trophy for U15XI Player of the Year was won by Laura Patterson. Mawhinney Hockey Trophy for U14AXI Player of the Year was won by Sasha Lawther. Lismenary Motors Hockey Trophy for U14BXI Player of the Year was won by Clara McConnell. Brown Hockey Trophy for U13AXI Player of the Year was won by Rachel McClements. Aiken Hockey Trophy for U13BXI Player of the Year was won by Lynsey Watt. N.I.E. Hockey Trophy for U13CXI Player of the Year was won by Rachel Purdue. Graham Trophy for U12XI Player of the Year was won by Rebecca McCullough.

Special Awards Old Ballyclarians Shield for Team of the Year was won by the Boys’ 1stXI. Butler Trophy for the Most Promising Boys’ Player was won by Jordan Barr. Sammy Downes Trophy for the Most Improved Player was won by Laura McCowan. The Rainey Espirit de Corps Award was won by Rebecca McConnell. P.T.A. Cup for Goalkeeper of the Year was won by Rebecca Smith. Sport ‘n’ Sound Trophy for the Senior Top Goal Scorer was won by Amy Jones Surgeoner Trophy for the Junior Top Goal Scorer was won by Sophie McDowell. Johnston Trophy for the Best Student Coach went to Emma Patterson. Holmes Award for the Best Match Reports went to Katie Cummings. The McMillan Patterson Award went to Emma Patterson and Nicola McMillan.

1st XI Report This season has been a barrel of laughs, lots of fun and lifelong friendships made. By Christmas we managed to have 10 different goal scorers (by the end of the season we still had 10 different goal scorers). We also were able to throw a few aerials which we were constantly practicing in training but didn’t have the confidence to perform in matches; but we got there eventually with the expertise and coaching of Dr. Rainey. At the start of the season we decided upon our values after a fun filled Tuesday morning in the library (much better than fitness) when we became animals making some interesting animal noises. These values we decided

upon were: commitment, trust and hard work; and set us up for the season ahead. Throughout the season we have had some memorable wins to mention but a few, our 11-0 win over Antrim Grammar where Nicola McMillan managed to score 2 goals was impressive until Amy Jones beat her with a hat trick in her bid to get top goal scorer. A 6-nil win against Regent House where Nicola McMillan scored another goal and an 8-nil win over Grosvenor were impressive matches. In our Schools’ Cup run we defeated Carrick Grammar with a 2-1 win in the second round with goals from Emma 93

Sport Wilson and Megan Quinn. It was not our best performance we had displayed but we came through with guts and determination to get Armagh Royal in the next round. With trip 1 to Armagh only really for a Burger King due to a frozen pitch, we landed back down there on the 15th December to do our business and yes we did our business! The score was 3-nil at half time with goals from Zoe Wilson, Emma Patterson and Amy Jones giving us a great cushion, even though the result ended 3-1 with us conceding a goal, we still had many chances in the second half but just failed to convert them. This set us up for a Quarter final match against Methody. Again trip number 1 was just for a Starbucks due to another frozen pitch; we seemed to be getting into a trend and are now looking into sponsorship from these companies!

‘Control the controllables’ was what we focused on when going to our Quarter Final match and also trusting that we could do the business as we all knew that Methody was going to be a tough match. The following Friday we set off in the minibus for the showdown. The game finished 2-2 with goals coming from Amy Jones and Zoe Wilson and we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net during extra time so it was down to nail biting strokes to decide the winner. It was all even after 5 each, but after 2 sudden death strokes each the winner was decided and the Ballyclare celebrations broke out. A quick turnaround saw us in the semi final that Wednesday; however it wasn’t to be our day with the score at 1-all after full and extra time with our goal coming from Zoe

Wilson. Again it went to strokes and unfortunately we lost to Victoria College. That day was definitely a day where someone placed cling film over the goal as the ball hit the post, flew across the goal and went just wide, doing everything apart from going into the back of the net. ‘’Everything happens for a reason, every action has a reaction. Always remember that what’s meant to be will find a way to come about.’’ Many hearts were broken that day and probably a river of tears flowed, but we still had the league to go out and fight for and we had to win against Belfast High to give us a chance of winning due to a draw with Larne earlier in the season.Thankfully BRA did us a favour by drawing with Larne so we became victorious in the league with other league wins coming from BRA and Antrim Grammar. This year has been a great year for us as a team and it

wasn’t the way we wanted it to finish but we definitely gave it a good try and in the words of Mrs McCullough there were certainly days when we went out and played some ‘sexy’ hockey and made each other, our badge and our coaches proud. The last match of the season, and for 4 of us our last ever BHS match, was to be on English soil and against U18 and U14 champions. This was an enthralling match with end to end play and the score finishing 4-all with Amy Jones, Nicola McMillan and Emma Patterson all managing to score in their last school match. It was definitely a fantastic match to be a part of and the four oldies certainly went out with bang feeling absolutely exhausted walking off the pitch as well.

Sport Finally, a thank you must be said as we wouldn’t have been half the team we were without so much support; I would like to say a huge thank you to Dr.Rainey for coaching us this year through the thick and thin. We couldn’t have done half of what we have achieved without you, I may nearly have wrecked your ankle in one of the first training sessions but that didn’t hinder your fantastic coaching! I would also like to thank Mrs McCullough for her hard work and excellent coaching and tactics. Miss Brown must also be thanked for taking on many duties in Mrs McCullough’s absence and doing such a fine job; and Mrs Holmes for ensuring that all match reports were completed (well most of them). Thanks must also go to

Sammy Downes for coaching the goalies and umpiring as well as Kate Graham for umpiring. I would also like to thank the continuous support we receive from the school and it is great to see Mr Knox, Mr Martin and Mr Nutt out supporting many of our matches as well as many other teachers, pupils and of course our wonderful parents. There’s an old saying that says “it matters not if you win or lose, but how you play the game” – and it’s an honour and a privilege to be associated with a group of girls who play the game so well. - Emma Patterson Captain -

2nd XI Report

At the start of September, when we were all brought together, our team varied over 4 different year groups so we didn’t really know each other that well. Because of this we didn’t play our best in the first few matches against Regent House, Hunterhouse and Friends and also due to the new hockey rules. I had managed to score a few goals myself, own goals to be precise, but after a few bonding meetings and breakfasts in the cafeteria we began to develop as a team. We had various early morning team talks where Mrs McCullough had our mottos of ‘hard work, communication and teamwork’ drilled into our brains. Soon enough we caught onto various things such as Rebecca Lockhart’s various blonde moments and even if this angered Mrs McCullough on the pitch she still found it hilarious. Also that Sophie Taylor was one scary girl on the pitch but this was an advantage as it earned us various goals throughout the season. It became somewhat of a tradition that somehow

someone managed to get injured before the match even started, whether it was on the face or the foot and on one occasion it was Stephanie the goalie who we couldn’t exactly sub off. As the season moved on we began to win our matches. We had a very good run of winning four in a row against Rainey, BRA, Dungannon and Larne accumulating 15 goals over the 4 matches: Lydia Mills and Amye Wallace scoring 3 each throughout these games. With these wins came a downside, unfortunately one of our forwards Ruth Jenkins was hit on the hand and after surgery she wasn’t able to play for 2-3 months! We then played Carrick Grammar in the McDowell Cup and we really had to step it up as this was a Cup game. We had all the pressure needed, we just could not get the ball into the net and unfortunately we lost this match 1-0. Nevertheless we were still in the plate and in it to win it!

Sport We played various plate matches, one of which was against Dromore who we beat 8-0, again Lydia played very well scoring 4 goals and Rebecca Campbell and Zara McIlwaine scoring as well. In the same week we played our next plate match against Sullivan who we also beat with a score of 5-0 with Amye Wallace scoring 3. With our defence team of Courtney, Ellen, Kara, Rebecca, Becky and myself, we weren’t letting any goals in without putting up a fight against the opposition. This was one of the most memorable matches because Sophie Taylor had taken the ball and scored within the first 30 seconds of pass back making various passes with Amye Wallace and putting the opposition into deep shock…We sailed through the quarter final beating BRA and into the semi final against Craigavon. I can honestly say after years of playing hockey that the match against Craigavon was one of the hardest I have ever played. They had scored against us in the first 5 minutes, which personally I think is what we needed to make us more determined to score. Lydia Mills finally give us a goal but until the end of the second half the possession of the ball was pretty equal between both teams. Going to extra time with the silver goal rule made us very anxious. However we went out onto the pitch ready to win this match, Lydia scored yet another goal and this was thankfully the only goal to be scored in extra time by either team. Walking away with 2-1 made us very happy but very anxious of what was to come! When it came to the day of the final to play South Eastern Regional College we were all so nervous but walked onto

the pitch believing that we could win. Within the first 10 minutes of the first half Lucinda McAuley had scored the first goal which was set up nicely by Sophie Taylor. Our first goal obviously gave the opposition a bit more determination as within a few minutes they had won several penalty corners against us one of which eventually resulted in a goal. There was a lot more tension in the second half with both teams eager to score and from a long corner the opposition were able to score again leaving the end of the match score to be 2-1. It was a disappointment to come this far and not to win but knowing that we had tried our hardest was the most important. Outside of the plate we won various matches such as a 5-0 win against Dalriada where Alice Christie scored 3 goals, a 3-0 win against Antrim Grammar where Kara Wallace played very well and scored her first goal of the season; and a successful win of 4-1 against Down High in which Lucinda McAuley scored 2 goals. All in all the hockey season for the 2XI was a success, winning a lot more matches than we lost and to get into the final of the Plate was a great achievement especially for myself and others for whom it was their last year playing for the school. Of course none of this would have been possibly without our coach Mrs Andrea McCullough who we owe many thanks to. - Katie Cummings Captain -

2nd B XI Report Miss Brown led us through a lot of tough matches this season. Overall, I think the 2B’s greatest achievement this season was the concoction of the fabulous team names during a training match against the 3rd XI; Katie “Feet” Jamieson, Rachel “Eyebrows” Lynas, Sarah “Ankle-basher” Craig and Isabella “Two Lines” Hutchinson. On the more serious side, as a brand new team this year it took several weeks before the team could really function properly. We had a brilliant match against Hunterhouse winning 2-nil with goals from Storm Cobain and Lana Robb. Our press worked well from the start with some clear instruction coming from Izzy Hutchinson and Lana Robb in centre back. It was certain from our match against Rainey resulting in a tough 1-nil win that our back four were strong and worked well throughout the season. Our midfield worked efficiently all season with Katie Jackson springing into action and using those long legs for something useful and Rachel Lynas moving a lot more than she ever did in training! Our mid week matches seem to have been

our best, beating Dungannon Royal 5-0 and Antrim Grammar 6-0. Joanna McAteer fairly racked up goals throughout the first half of the season and much to Miss Brown’s despair, Storm Cobain’s occasional golf swings even got us a few goals here and there. We are very proud to say that we firmly beat Methodist College at the end of the season, with a 3-0 win, with Shannon McMahon running so much she felt dizzy! We had quite an eventful morning away to Carrick Grammar after having to switch pitches twice, however despite distractions Ballyclare were able to make a 1-0 win by the end of the morning. This result led us a victory in our league campaign, winning it through hard work, commitment and determination from the whole squad. We couldn’t finish the season report without mentioning the disaster that we would all rather forget- the cup match against Slemish. The final score was regrettably left at 3-2 to Slemish. Both sides had taken a lot of injuries but

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Slemish took the upper hand in the last few minutes putting us at out of the Cup. We discovered that we had both a broken finger and nose within the team, though that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get our spirits down for the remaining matches in the season.

one of the most memorable years in school with many laughs and giggles as well as fantastic hockey along the way. Finally, on behalf of the team I would like to say a big thank you to Miss Brown for putting up with us all season and getting us through thick and thin!

I would like to thank all the 2Bs for their hard work and commitment throughout this season. For me, it has been

- Isabella Hutchinson Captain -

3rd XI Report The 3XI had a very chaotic start to the year with a lot of changes, swapping around and probably the pain of getting back into training after the summer. After the first few matches we had gelled together and started to really improve. Not only did we play some good hockey but I think I can speak for the whole team when I say we have also had some very good fun throughout the year. The first match came and I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always nerve-racking playing the first game of the season. Although it may have been a little messy, it was a win. This was the start of a long streak of wins for us, losing only one match 1-0 against Friends before Christmas. We had many good matches and many interesting experiences including playing on a pitch with no markings which as you could imagine caused a lot of confusion. Cup matches came along a lot quicker than expected and knowing that we were in the same cup as the 2Bs we were just hoping to do the best we could. Heading into our first game we were nervous but ready to put up a fight. Thankfully we won the match 3-0 and this gave us the confidence to head into our next matches with determination. Our defenders helped us a lot in our Cup

Sport success and they got us out of many close shaves but unfortunately our Cup success ended in the quarter final when we lost against Sullivan Upper School. Tensions ran high and the match was tough but we kept our heads up and carried on. We have had our fair amount of bumps and bruises throughout the year with Ellie Boyd (vice-captain) being our main contributor. You can trust Ellie to fall over at least once per game which is unfortunate for her but I’m glad she was so determined. Thankfully we had no major injuries and we continued to play well and ended the year on a high, winning our last few matches. Looking back on the year I can see our improvements both in physicality and in skill.

On behalf of the whole team I would like to thank our coaches for all their help and support this year. We are also very grateful for all the fun and sweets that were provided and for putting up with us even through all our messing and chatting. Every member of the team has contributed greatly throughout the year and it has been a pleasure playing and sharing memories with such an incredible squad. I’m looking forward to seeing what next season brings.

- Rebekah Ravey Captain -

U15 A XI Report

It has been a successful season for the under 15s, starting with a draw against Grosvenor Grammar and then a four-nil win against Hunterhouse with two goals each from Hannah White and Rebecca Dawson. Our team have worked well together with each other with some of our most successful wins were against Ballymena (three nil win) and BRA (four nil win).

so hard and ground out a great result as they became the league champions. We worked hard and had a good League run. Overall we won and drew 10 matches out of 12 and this result reflects what a great season we have had. Now we are all looking forward to moving onto the senior teams in school and playing competitive matches much more.

Our league campaign began with a 0-0 draw with Glengormley, although our next match against Parkhall didn’t start off too well in the first half but in the second half we fought so hard and won it two-nil. Our next match was against Ulidia College in which we won one-nil. Our final match was against Downshire which was a draw; they were a very good team but we fought

We would like to thank Miss Brown for getting us matches and putting up with us during training. We’ve had some good memories and it’s been a great season and I’d like to thank the girls for being so great.

- Amy Patterson Captain -

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U14 A XI Report This has been a season of mixed results for the U14 As, but a very enjoyable one all the same. We started our season off with a super 10-2 win over Grosvenor Grammar, which really got us motivated for the incoming year. From there we continued with a positive attitude from all girls with good determination on show. This season we won 4 matches, drew 2 and unfortunately lost 9 of our friendly and league matches! Although, we did manage to do very well in the Junior Schools’ Cup, getting through to the quarter finals. We faced Royal School Armagh in the quarter finals in what was a very tightly fought match, with goals end to end and a lot of hard work and running involved- even from the forwards! Although sadly it was not our day as we lost 6-4 but despite the loss this was one of the best matches played as a team. We ended our season with a hockey tour to Dublin, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Even as no hockey matches were played due to awful weather, we still had a great time shopping in Dundrum, enjoyed a pizza in a school’s library and water adventures in Fantasia Land!

As we take a short break we all cannot wait to move into the senior school and play competitive hockey with different people. We have all greatly enjoyed our matches and training sessions this season, and thanks to all the girls for their hard work and commitment!

- Ellie Nugent Captain -

U14 B XI Report This year the U14Bs have had a very successful season. We have had some not-to-be named losses but also numerous wins. One of our most successful wins was against Clounagh Junior High resulting in a 5-nil victory. We defeated Grosvenor 5-0, and also, Rainey 5-3. Of course our season could have been dull without a few laughs but with Sophie Price on your team there are always laughs. During a cold, snowy game against Methody we were losing 4-0 but when we were awarded a free hit the cold had obviously got to Sophie and she tried to take the hit from the wrong hockey pitch! While everyone tried to tell her, she argued that she was right as only Sophie would. This cheered everyone up. This season was so much fun, we had lots of laughter and funny moments at the Christmas night out bowling, the Hockey Awards Dinner and especially on the tour to Dublin. As this was our last year altogether as a team, we worked together through everything. We deserved every goal we got and we couldn’t have done it without every player on the team. - Ellie Nugent Captain -

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U13A XI Report The U13 As remained unbeaten this year. We got off to a great start winning our first couple of games with high scores against all of our opponents. As the season progressed, our confidence started to grow and we scored a lot of goals and played really well as a team. There were days that we were so cold we couldn’t feel our fingers or toes and on one Saturday in particular, at Ballymena Academy, we had to wrap up in blankets on the side of the hockey pitch to keep warm until it was our turn to play. Once we did get on the pitch we certainly turned up the heat and gave the Ballymena girls a run for their money and closely won one-nil. During the season Mr Butler made a few changes to the team- some new recruits and some positional changes. After a good run of wins we lost our momentum and concentration but thanks to our very talented goalie we managed two draws. We were the better team on most occasions but poor passing and near misses just meant that we couldn’t clinch these games. We knew we had some big games ahead and when it was coming to the end of our season the determination took over and instead of letting our spirits drop, we worked harder than before. The dream team was back and we played with more energy, passing well, playing as a team and most importantly scoring goals! The best thing about our team is that we get on so well and when it comes to our big matches we leave it to Lauren McKee and Sophie

U13A XI Report This year the U13 ‘B’ team enjoyed a good season, marked by good teamwork and overall improvement in our matches. We had a mixture of results but thankfully mostly they were wins. Our biggest win this year was 6-0 against Hunterhouse. Overall we won 8 out of 12 matches and only lost 2- we were so pleased with this result! We all enjoyed our Monday practises even through the freezing cold weather and didn’t let it dampen our sprits. Everybody played great during the season with our usual goal scorers being Lauren Hilman, Joanna Lynn and Emily Walker and thanks go to Courtney Crawford who bravely stepped in as goalkeeper near the start of the season. We trained well together and this showed in our matches and we cannot wait to next season to get the chance to play more matches and have lots of fun together.

- Lynsey Watt Captain -

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McDowell to say a wee prayer for our team, it seems to work! Ellie Ross had a dream about beating Lurgan and we sure did, it must have been some dream as it certainly was a great match. Everyone worked hard, scored some amazing goals and thanks to Gemma Ferguson some amazing saves were made. We made history in schoolwinning 7 out of our 9 games played and managing a draw in the other 2- we were so pleased with the statistics and this also meant we won our league campaign! Roll on next year! - Rebecca McConnell Captain -

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From the Captain For seven years Hockey has been my life; I’ve played it; dreamt it; it could be my wife! I never imagined it would rule me just so much; But I think it is down to all you bunch! The bunch of girls I call my friends; Who on the Hockey Pitch will fight to the end! Your talent amazes me and the future looks bright; Move over Ulster – Ballyclare High is ready to fight! Comprising of Froggie; Twinkle Toes; Rosebud; The Ruler and Gymnast Hannah; The Twins; Julia; Emma; Victoria; Zoe; Laura and Anna. We are really a forceful Team; And to Captain you all has been a dream. We’ve got Bunions; Tanned Gingers; and OCD; Annoying Feet; no common sense; and scary circle shots (that’s me!) Trick Shots; Great Tackles; and those who hassle our foes; And of course our Top Goal Scorer – aka Twinkle Toes! Girls, we’ve had winning streaks and losing runs; Bruises; Breakages but lots of fun! Hospital Trips and ‘Oh No’ Flashes; Victory Dances and nasty gashes. Moments of ecstasy like last year’s winning of the Schools’ Cup; Moments of pain and wanting to give up. Hating Doc and Mrs McCullough and calling them names; Then thinking they’re great when we win the games! I have you all to thank so much; Playing hockey has made me strong and has given me guts! I thank you all for your dedication and hard graft; The memories I’ll have of High School Hockey will always make me laugh! Our Hockey Tour was a great way for us leavers to say goodbye; Not to mention 3 of us leavers scoring and finishing on a high! Although a Hockey Tour would have been pointless without a hockey game... It’s a good job we finally remembered the sticks before we boarded the plane! A fantastic weekend of Russian Dancing; Shopping and death defying rides at Thorpe Park; Nandos; rugby and on the bikes generally having a lark! Stressing out Posh vain Boys who really loved their hair more than the match; And entertainment on trains from the boys who thought us girls were a fantastic catch! It has been a pleasure to be your No 8; This Froggie knows we will all do great. As I say farewell from me; I suggest a reunion match when we’re all OAPs!

- Emma Patterson Captain 1st XI -

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Boys’ Hockey Report 2012/13

U 14’s Boys Hockey Team

This year was possibly the best year in the school’s history for boys’ hockey, with the First XI winning the Prior Shield - the first Ulster Schools’ boys hockey trophy won by the school for over 70 years. The year started well with a 3-0 win away to Antrim Grammar, with Stuart Todd scoring a hat trick. The second game played was a game at home to Friends’ School Lisburn 3rdXI; which we won 11-2. The goal scorers in this game were Stuart Todd, Phil McMorris, Andy McCrea, Ryan McIlwaine, Jonny Frazer and Jordan Barr. The third game we played in the Prior Shield group stages was away to Regent House 2ndXI where, after a very scrappy game, BHS came away with a 1-0 victory after scoring a goal that crawled over the line scored by Phil McMorris. The final group game was a game against Portadown College played at Mossley Hockey Club. In this game BHS needed only a draw to progress and top the group. With only 5 minutes to go the boys were 2-0 down, but 2 goals in 2 minutes from Stuart Todd and Jonny Frazer put Portadown out of the competition and placed us top of the group to play the runners- up of the other group - Friends 2ndXI. The quarter final started as a lively affair but we were clearly underestimated by our opponents. We scored 2 goals quickly to put no doubt in their minds that they were not going to walk over us. They scored just before half

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time but 2 goals in the second half put us through to a tough semi final match away to Ballycastle High 1st XI. The semi final proved a nervy affair for both sides; neither really making many chances although BHS had most of the possession throughout the game. This meant extra time was needed. We won a short corner and the first half whistle blew. Stuart Todd’s worst drag flick of the season panicked the Ballycastle keeper and somehow ended up in the net. We were in the final of the Prior Shield, through on a silver goal. Between the final and the semi final of the Prior we had the Burney Cup (the Schools’ Cup of schoolboy hockey) second round game against Campbell 1sts. We put in a great team performance against a very talented opposition and with players missing, however, we were beaten 3-0. It was a very promising and pleasing performance from the boys. The team was ready for the final. This showed throughout the game - we had all the possession of the ball and all of the chances but somehow managed not to score. Extra time was need once again. Stuart Todd scored soon into the first half of extra time and the Wallace heads dropped leaving him through to score again. 2-0 at half time. Wallace threw everything forward but the Ballyclare defense held firm. Leaving Jonny Frazer to get on the end of a long hit from Jordan Barr to round the keeper to score 3-0 after extra time. - E Butler -

Sport

Inter House Competitions 2012-13 The inter house sports competitions are well embedded into the sporting calendar and give an opportunity for pupils to take part in and experience structured competition. Not every pupil chooses to represent the school or is chosen to represent the school, but everyone can take part in inter house activities of one kind or another.

The summer competitions are in cricket and tennis. Tennis competitions run after school for years 8-11 and are popular with those who have practiced all season. It is a great opportunity to practice skills and use recently acquired knowledge to umpire matches. Cricket is a major competition in terms of numbers involved, each junior year group fielding up to 3 teams per house for house matches during games. It is quite a sight to see so many boys actively involved as their teams spread over the playing fields, and it is wonderful to see so many staff involved.

The first event of the year was an indoor athletics event for year 8 boys and girls. This has now become a regular feature, is great fun for all and a good initiation into the world of athletics. Events include basic throwing, jumping and sprinting; pupils perform in the sports hall recording their best performances and encouraging others to also do their best.

There are other competitions throughout the year for which house trophies are awarded. Sports day is one of the major sports events of the year and it is one of the biggest jobs for the house captains to organise. Points are awarded for all finalists and it is encouraging that everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scores are valued and counted. At the time of writing this report in 2013 sports day has not taken place; however, the winners in 2012 were Russell for the girls and Brann for the boys.

The next event on the calendar is the Time Trial. This is a one mile race for year 8 and 9 pupils and a one and a half mile race for years 10 and 11. The point of this event is to offer an opportunity for all pupils to test their fitness in a cross country type event and evaluate their aerobic capability. Inevitably it is an opportunity for the talented runners to have a competitive race but it also shows the pupils how effective their fitness training has been. Focus is on aerobic training in year 9 and muscular strength endurance training in year 10. Year 8 pupils have their first experience of cross country running and as a result of this many choose to join the school cross country club to further develop their fitness levels.

The school swimming gala is also a major event and takes place early in the summer term. This year the winning house was Russell and the captain Dean Jones collected the trophy.

In the winter months, usually towards the end of the season the hockey, netball, football, basketball and rugby competitions take place. These matches are keenly contested; players who have been on the same school teams all season find themselves drawn against each other. There is much pride taken in organising the best house team and proving who is the most capable. During class time the badminton competitions take place and this again encourages pupils to be more focused when, at the end of a block of work, they challenge others in their class to a match.

2011-2012 Overall Games Trophy Winners Were Brann Results Below

2011-12 BADMINTON NETBALL RUGBY CRICKET HOCKEY BASKETBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL

Aikin

Brann

Dixon

7 3 3 5 5 5 5 33

7 7 10 7 10 3 10 54

3 5 5 10 7 10 3 43

Russell 10 10 7 3 5 7 7 49

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House Captains

House Captains 2011-12 Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

C Rebecca Smith VC Laura Patterson

C Megan Quinn VC Rebecca Teeney

Year 13

Year 14

Aikin Girls

C Erin Boyd VC Sophie Patterson

Aikin Boys

C Peter Longwell VC Mark Townsley

Brann Girls

C Sophie Charlton VC Clara McConnell

C Lucy Boyd VC Aimee Butler

C Megan Adams VC Aoife Bourdet

Brann Boys

C Owen McAuley VC Andrew Robson

C Andrew Brolly VC Josh Egerton

C Mathew Robson VC Peter Johnston

Dixon Girls

C Rebekah Crothers VC Claire Lorimer

C Rebecca Purdy VC Susan Purdy

C Brooke McCullough VC Georgina Fleming C Katie Bryson VC Jessica McClean

Dixon Boys

C Graeme Lowens VC Peter Kissock

C Scott Lawther VC Mark Hegarty

C Thomas Hamill VC Patrick Mooney

Russell Girls

C Sasha Lawther VC Lauren Tweedie

C Lydia Mills C Sarah Craig VC Charlotte Cockcroft VC Rachel Ferguson

Russell Boys C Jack Lewis

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C Zachary McMurran C David McKim VC Jake Holmes VC Peter Bonar

C Luke McCabrey VC Glenn Wilson

C Mathew McDowell VC Daniel Johnston

VC Emma Patterson

C Sophie Heaton

VC Craig Todd

C James Hall

VC Sophie Flynn

C Tori Wallace

VC Ryan Tod

C Marc Logan

VC Jack Irvine

VC Amye Wallace

VC Michael Kirk

C Grant Bartley

C Lucy Camlin

C Jonny Douglas

Sport

House Captains 2012-13 Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 13

Year 14

Aikin Girls

C Sasha Kirk VC Holly Simms

C Helen Brown C Beth Jackson VC Julia Cooke VC Charlotte Loughhead VC Rebecca Cherry

C Emma Patterson

Aikin Boys

C Ben Catherwood VC James Nelson

C Mark Townsley C Jake Holmes VC Ross Johnston VC Lochlainn McKenzie VC Owen Fitzgerald

C Craig Todd

Brann Girls

C Rebecca McConnell C Jasmine Walker VC Ellen Hall VC Katie Young

Brann Boys

C Ben Sempey VC Peter Morrow

Dixon Girls

C Laura McCowan VC Kara Wallace

VC Emma Wilson

C Joanna McAteer

C Daniel Dargan C Royce Balmer VC Mathew Hamilton VC Ethan Beattie

VC Mathew Brolly

C Jonathan Darling

C Ellie Ross VC Anna Crowe

C Beth Gault VC Jane Randall

VC Louise McCLements C Alex Graham

Dixon Boys

C Ryan Lewis VC Matthew Laney

C Jake McVicker C Andrew Murray VC Mark McClenaghan VC Mark Hegarty

Russell Girls

C Sophie McDowell VC Georgia Lyttle

Russell Boys

C Lewis Cahill VC Ross Reynolds

C Rebecca Purdy VC Hannah Magee

VC Chris Crowe

C David Lawther

C Zara Lennon C Aimee McKillen VC Niamph Greenfield VC Ellen Lamont

VC Amy Patterson

C Victoria White

C Ben White C Dean Jones VC Jonathan Crockett VC Reece Turner

VC Stuart Herron

C Eddie McKee

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Netball Club Report 2013 Netball practices take place between September and March for pupils in Years 8 to 12. The intermediate age group is entered into the Northern Ireland League and played the following schools this year: Ballyclare Secondary School; Monkstown; Glengormley; and Downshire ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams. Out of these fixtures the girls won against Ballyclare and Downshire. The team played well and provided a platform for players to come into the team who had perhaps not played in the junior school and were able to gain some competitive experience. Some pupils had a good deal more experience; Rebecca Dawson for example achieved selection for the Regional Development Squad and became a valued team player for the North East Area. Ashleigh Conner in the Senior age category also deserves credit for her selection to the North East Area team which plays in the podium tournament in the Autumn term. Ashleigh was also successful in Ulster selection but did not make it at the final selection. We wish her well in the season ahead as she tries again.

U13 ‘A’ Team: Ellen Hall (capt.), Emma Hutchinson (v.c.), Helen Legge, Rachel McClements, Alex Simpson, Sasha Kirk, Morgan Beattie, Nadine Gault.

U13 ‘B’ Team: Anna Crowe (capt.), Bethany Smith (v.c.), Megan Tumelty, Rachel Andrew, Robyn Boyd, Megan Dodson, Cara Forest, Lucy Richards. 106

Inter team: Hannah Moore, Hannah McCauley (capt.), Megan Quinn, Rebecca Quinn, Megan Adams (v.c.), Rebecca Dawson, Lauren Boyd, Shannon Morrow, Laura McCowan, Beth Shannon, Lucy Boyd, Emily Maylin.

The Year 9 team were also competing in the Northern Ireland league and played the following schools: Dominican College; Downshire; Magherafelt ; Monkstown; and Belfast High. Where possible a ‘B’ and ‘C’ team also played these same schools and this went some way to cater for the large numbers interested in netball. Rachel McClements, Alex Simpson and Emma Hutchinson were all successful in being selected for the Regional Development Academy early in the year which is a credit to them; however, the training through this channel was less than satisfactory this year. Many pupils benefit greatly by joining Ballyclare Ladies Netball Club and this is a much needed second session in the week which helps to consolidate skills learned. This team won 3 out of the 5 fixtures and although this is perhaps less than expected they showed a very high level of skill and a rhythm and fluency to their movements on court. Pupils showing individual talent here need to work towards Regional Development selection this coming year if they are to stand a chance of Ulster selection in the future. The ‘A’ team was captained by Ellen Hall with Emma Hutchinson as vice captain. The ‘B’ Team captained by Anna Crowe and Bethany Smith was a very enthusiastic vice captain who supported and helped through a period of injury. The ‘C’ team did not play many competitive matches against other schools but had a friendly against Ballyclare Secondary and some internal challenges against year 8. After the Christmas break the NEBSSA League takes place. The Year 10 team were drawn to play Carrick College, Ballyclare Secondary School, Downshire School and St Killians. This is a very sociable team who like to play nice netball but perhaps not a pace which will lead to many victories. Without a doubt one of their main problems was

Sport

U14 Team: Rebecca Dalton, Emma McCarroll, Katie Young, Beth Gault (v.c.), Sophie Patterson, Zoe Cheshire, Sophie Charlton (capt.), Amy Patterson, Helen Brown, Charlotte Loughhead.

U13 ‘C’ Team: Bethany Heron (capt.), Alycia Mayl in (v.c.), Rhiannon McCauley, Katie Herron, Evie Flynn, Rach el Black, Sarah Kennedy, Jessica Sloan. the ability to score goals from anywhere in the circle during practice but when under match conditions arms and legs seemed to turn to jelly and be virtually useless at times. Despite this, the team always rallied round each other and there were some special moments when some individual players surpassed even their own expectations when leaping to intercept a ball or giving a perfectly weighted ball. Sophie Charlton captained well and was undoubtedly the pivotal player in every match. The year 8s were a very enthusiastic bunch this year. Mrs Fenton had a very large turn-out and catered for these numbers by drafting in two senior netballers. These helpers were Lucca Stubbington and Rhianna Henderson who were able to share their considerable knowledge and assist with drill practices and umpiring practice matches. This type of commitment can be used for the Duke of Edinburgh’s award and is a fantastic resource for the school also. The younger players respond so well to such good role models and Mrs Fenton gains two useful assistant coaches. The numbers of players were high, as seen in the group photo, but a team eventually emerged and won all their games. The team was captained by Kathryn Quinn as she led them through to the area final at Magherafelt at the end of the season. Unfortunately, they had to play two other teams on that occasion and having narrowly beaten Belfast High school they then went on to be beaten by Dalriada. The long faces did not last for too long as after the initial disappointment they managed to reflect on very sound performances. - Mrs G Scott -

U14 ‘B’ Team: Laura Lee, Alex Kobus, Elle Smyth, Sian Reid, Aimee Hislop, Madison Montgomery, Rachel Cromie, Jasmine Walker.

Year 8 Team: Suzanne McFetridge, Ellen McIlvenny, Karla Stevenson, Kathryn Quinn (capt), Charlotte Robson, Rebecca McCullough, Chloe Frizzell, Leah Young, Poppy Thomas.

U13 ‘D’ Team: Molly Russell (capt.), Katie Russell (v.c.), Sarah Bridle, Nicole Rea, Molly Piper, Emalee O’Connell, Catherine Clements, Sarah White. 107

Sport

Rugby Season Report This season was always going to be a challenging one as the path laid by last year’s team was an extremely difficult one to follow. However, within the squad past memories and clinging on to last season was quickly removed and we began to create our own identity.

any of our chances to cross the line. In many ways this was probably the best performance at Ravenhill by the recent Ballyclare sides. We created numerous chances and stuck to our game plan with great accuracy. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Our results were mixed and we did not get off to the start that we have enjoyed in the past couple of seasons, much of this was due to representative unavailability and injuries. In the first month we were taking the field with up to 14 new players to the starting line up. This enabled us to develop a wide range of players and create some depth but it made winning hard.

I would like to thank the Upper 6th for their contribution to rugby in the school over the past 7 years. We all started on the same day and it has been a pleasure to see you all grow up.

The turning point in the season came in December when we pushed Methody very hard at Pirrie Park. We led with 10 minutes to play but unfortunately MCB’s ability to win the tight games came through. There were two significant things to come out of this game however; firstly, we now knew we could pose a serious challenge to the top side and secondly we would have to develop our attack if we were going to score tries against this quality. We were able to score against all other sides through building pressure from mounting phases and wait for the opposition to break but against MCB we needed something a bit extra. From here on in we refocused on some attacking strategies that we had become sloppy at, this was to prove vital in later rounds of the cup. The Schools’ Cup began with an away trip to Down High. Two seasons previously, as top seeds in the Cup, we had travelled to Downpatrick and escaped with a last minute win. The players were determined not to leave it that late again. This was probably the most efficient Cup performance in the seven years I have coached the 1st XV. We had a clear tactical plan for the game and our captain and half backs were outstanding in ensuring we stuck to them. At half time the game was over and a home quarter final against Sullivan awaited. Sullivan were a team on the up and being made up of 5th and Lower 6th years who were outstanding Medallion sides this was a difficult challenge. This game was won through typical staunch Ballyclare defence and in no way better displayed than in Matthew McDowell’s heroic try saving tackle in the last minute to save the game. Many people have said getting to the semi final and playing at Ravenhill maybe has started to lose its edge for the school and Mr Shaw and myself: I can tell you being involved with a game at Ravenhill never becomes boring. Belfast Inst had beaten us twice but in neither game had we shown anything. In the semi final we did enough to win the game but unfortunately we were unable to nail 108

I wish you all well with your future endeavours in your chosen careers. I know some are turning to the dark side and playing round ball but I would encourage all of you to keep involved in rugby as a player or coaching or refereeing. For those of you staying at home you have many choices of where to play but I am delighted to hear a large group of you will return on mass to Ballyclare RFC who hopefully, with your help, will push through to Qualifying 1 next year. As you are all aware this is my last season at Ballyclare High School. I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who have helped me significantly. Lucy Gault our physiotherapist has been an excellent colleague and one in which I have been able to trust wholeheartedly in ensuring the fitness of the boys has been in great hands. I would also like to thank all the coaches who continue to give up their time after school and Saturday mornings. Coaching a team is an extremely time consuming role and we should be thankful we have such a committed group of staff. Mr Knox is most definitely a ‘yes’ man and he has given me the scope to drive rugby forward as I have seen fit with nothing but 100% support - the likes of which any other 1st XV coach would be extremely envious of. Mr Shaw has been technically astute and must be credited with continually producing forward packs equal of any other pack in Ulster. He has also strived to push the quality of our team on and sets very high standards. I have had a fantastic time at Ballyclare and have enjoyed pushing rugby on to another level. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved in the past seven years, five semi finals and a final and only once in last six years have we been beaten by a team who have not gone on to win the Cup. The young men go about their work with such great enthusiasm and commitment it is a pleasure to work with them. I look forward to seeing rugby continue to prosper in Ballyclare and doing battle with you all over the next number of years. - Daniel Soper Director of Rugby 2006 – 2013 -

Sport

Ist XV

Ist XV The season had just begun when the talk of the town and other schools in Ulster was that the best crop of players that Ballyclare High had seen in years had finished their studies and the lucky season was long gone. These rumours were actually supported by our first results of the season where we lost to Ballymena, BRA, Campbell and RBAI. It was a tough start to the season with some injuries and players away on representative duty but deep down we knew there was more to come from us, both individually but more importantly as a team. October came and we started to get some of our injured players back and also welcomed back Paddy Reid and captain Jonny Darling from Ulster representative duty. Our performances started to improve with a convincing win against Larne Grammar. The team were now starting to believe they could compete on a weekly basis. The real turning point in our season came when we played Wallace at home, knowing we needed a victory to ensure we entered the Schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cup as a seeded team. We blew Wallace away in the first half with an immense display from the forwards pack and especially good performances from Reuben Heyburn and Paddy Reid. We ended the game with a hugely convincing victory of 27-8 and this sparked a bit of belief within the squad that we could live up to the success of the previous year.

The performances got better on the lead up to Christmas where we managed to put a healthy run of victories together before January. After Christmas we travelled to Methody for one of the toughest games of our lives. This was a hugely encouraging performance for us in which we battled brilliantly as a team and went into the last ten minutes ahead by 2 points. Unfortunately we fell off a few tackles in the last minutes of the game and Methody edged it. Despite the loss, this match gave us great hope and we started to believe we could compete with the top schools come cup time. The Methody match was followed by an inspirational victory against Ballymena at home. We were eager to make up for the narrow defeat we had suffered earlier in the season. However we were reduced to 14 men in the first half when we had a player red-carded. We knew that it was going to be a tough second half with a man less than our opposition but we pulled together and managed to get the victory. This gave us great confidence going into the cup. We were drawn away to Down High School in a repeat of 2 years ago. A lot of us remembered being at that game and how difficult an opponent Down were that day. We were determined not to have a repeat of the closely contested match of 2 years ago and the team performed

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Sport exceptionally with special displays from half-backs Jack Irvine and Andrew Eastop giving us a well deserved 33-5 win. It was like déjà vu from 2 years ago as we were drawn against Sullivan in the quarter final, however this time we had the advantage of being at home. We knew this would be the last time we played on our home pitch for the school and wanted to go out on a high. However, we produced an indifferent display in which we seemed nervous with and without the ball. Sullivan performed well but we managed to remain in front with only a few minutes to go and we would have lost the game had it not been for a superb last minute try saving tackle from Matthew McDowell in what was his first season playing for the 1st XV. Thankfully we held out and got the victory and a sense of sheer relief engulfed both players and supporters after the final whistle had been blown. Nevertheless, we had made it to Ravenhill for a Schools’ Cup semi-final! We drew RBAI, who we had previously lost to twice during the season. However, we knew we had not given a great account of ourselves in either of the two previous encounters so we went into the match with great confidence. After dominating parts of the match, we created numerous clear cut chances but we failed to finish them off. Unfortunately

2nd XV

3rd XV

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for us, Inst were much more clinical and took every opportunity they had. In the end we lost 18-9, in a game we perhaps should have won, which made it even more difficult to accept. The boys were gutted after the match but we knew deep down we had given a great account of ourselves and could be proud of our season. In a year where so little was expected from us, in comparison to the previous year, I believe we excelled as a group and improved immensely as a team. We may not have had the most talented group of players, but collectively we were a force to be reckoned with and I am proud to have led such a great team. I personally would like to place a huge thank you to our two coaches Mr. Soper and Mr. Shaw for the great level of dedication they have shown our team this season. Together they have brought Ballyclare High School into the top four schools in Ulster rugby in the last three years. It was an absolute pleasure to work with them and I wish them every success in the years to come. - Jonny Darling Year 14 Captain -

Sport

Medallion Report

Medallion B Team

Medallion A Team

Our season began right at the end of last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season. We did a lot of fitness work which continued throughout the summer. I think this helped us as a team when it came to September and matches started. At the start of the season we had no real passion as team. Following from a poor season last year we had little self belief. This changed however when we were lucky enough to have the inspirational captain of the Ulster team, Johan Muller, join us for training. He gave us a great confidence boost and lifted our spirits coming into the Shield. Our confidence was also strengthened by a recent trip down South, to play Wesley College. With a four-try win we were rewarded by a tour of the very impressive Aviva stadium. Our good progress during the season paid off as we were placed in the third round, just missing out on the top 8. Our first match saw us playing 2nd round winners Carrickfergus Grammar School. With a promising win, we looked forward to the next level. At this point we were fortunate to have missed out on playing the big Belfast schools, and were instead matched up against Portadown High School. We knew we could come out on top, so with an early try which got things going, soon we showed our dominance. With nearly 60 points in the end, it was a very proud day for me and everyone involved: one that I will never forget. Nor will I forget a very special moment when prop Dean Jones, swan-dived over the line and got up punching his fists through the air.

After we had all calmed down we knew that things were only going to get harder especially when drawn against Belfast Inst. in the quarter finals. The match was to be played away, so we knew we were going to be the underdogs. On the day the occasion got to us, and we majorly underperformed, costing us the game. Towards the end, when we knew the win was out of reach, tempers began to rise and we lost our best player on the day to the sin bin. Afterwards with a score line, unreflective of how capable the team was all season, heads were down and everyone was gutted. All the passion that we had shown came out in the changing room. That loss has made us a stronger team and has taught us a valuable lesson about the game of rugby. Finally I, on behalf of the team would like to thank our proud coaches, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Logan for their unbelievable commitment and dedication to the team. We certainly benefited from two fantastic coaches. Also a big thank you to Elaine Magee for becoming part of the team, in sponsoring us for the competition, and for being at every single game all season!

- Andrew Seymour Year 11 Captain -

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U14A Season Report Yet again it was another successful season for the U14XV and although we did not have as many games (due to bad weather) as we had expected we still made the most of the match-time we had. We had an internal match at the start of the season to get to know our new coaches more. The team started the competitive season well with a 42-14 thrashing against a very bad-tempered BRA side. We kept our cool and went through the phases well, although a few of the boys on both teams got a little hot-headed. We finished the match well and since they were a big-rival side it injected a lot of morale into the team. This also helped us gain momentum going into our next match against Campbell College Belfast, which was a very exciting encounter. It looked like the only points in the first period were going to CCB but on the stroke of half time Owen Kirk (our top try scorer) crashed over the line and Owen Hutchinson successfully kicked the conversion to make the score 7-7. The Campbell coach obviously had a serious talk with his team at half time as they came out strong and scored just after the whistle had blown to start the half. The tale of the half changed as all momentum turned in our direction and we were putting lots of pressure on their line. An unexpected and unfortunate end to the game was made as the match had to be stopped early for a neck injury. The match finished 12-7. Although the game was lost the team could take a lot of positives from the match especially because it was such a massive improvement from last year. Our next match was a pounding win over Larne, somewhere in the region of 80/90-0, nearly everyone on the team got on the score sheet. Although this was Owen Kirk’s last game for us before he moved to Medallion, his departure inspired us to play together as a team. After close defeats to RBAI (32-22) and Belfast High (31-28) we had two massive victories over Limavady (41-0) and Wallace (31-0) which were great morale boosters, especially because we were the only junior team to beat Wallace that day. Then came another big win over Foyle (22-7) but unfortunately our next match against Dalriada was cancelled. We had a very tight game against Friends (a very good side who had only been beaten once), the referee that day, Rory Henderson, took a lot of abuse from the other team and even the coaches! We managed to score just before full time to win 26-24 after the Friends’ winger punched and kicked our tackling-machine blindside Chris Taggart. He was then given a yellow card. Our next match was against Methody and the first try came at the very start with Roy Chestnutt’s great interception sending him over the line. We thought we had won the game as in the last play it was 19-17 to Ballyclare but some weak tackling meant Methody managed to break our backline and score in the corner. The match was lost 22-19. We finished 2012 with a victory over Coleraine (10-0). The team started 2013 in style securing our second biggest win of the season against Rainey (55-0). We had a 112

month of cancelled matches and then met a strong Omagh side. We won this game but suffered a big loss when Chris Taggart broke his elbow. Our next match was against Down High School, another very good team at our age. This hot-headed encounter had one red card after Andrew Robson was spear-tackled by their prop. Unfortunately they scored in the final play to win. We had another strong performance against Regent and another victory. Sullivan pulled out (after we had beaten them well last year) so Mr Milliken organised an internal game for preparation for the tournaments with ‘Robson’s Reds’ defeating ‘Kirky’s Whites’. This was good team bonding with a competitive edge. It was time for our tournaments now and after a very average and disappointing INST tournament we had more luck at the O’Kane. Our first match was a tight draw against Dalriada (5-5). Then we played Dungannon and won 19-0. Fortunately Dungannon were able to hold Dalriada out for a 17-0 loss, which meant we went through as Pool 3 winners giving us the better draw against Cambridge House. We played very well against them and won 29-0 in a 15 minute match. We received a bad draw for the semi-final in which we faced Ballymena (who had already won the INST tournament with ease). The boys wouldn’t back down from the challenge even though Ballymena had strong support from the school boys at the side of the pitch. We ended up losing the match 15-0 and had many injuries such as Owen Kirk (torn muscle in upper arm) and Aaron Playfair (fractured collarbone). Ballymena went on to win the tournament. Apart from the injuries, it was a successful end to a successful season which was a pleasure to play in. All B-team players who played on the A team did an excellent job to step in. We would like to say a special thank you to our coaches this year who have a made an enormous difference to our team. Mr Milliken (Head and Backs Coach), Rory Henderson (Forwards Coach) and Mr Bell (B Team Coach and Talent Scout). Honours Pockets this year go to Andrew Robson (Captain), Owen Kirk (Top-Try Scorer) and Aaron Playfair (Most Improved). - Andrew Seymour Year 11 Captain -

Sport

U14B Season Report

This season has been very successful for the Ballyclare High School U14B squad, although we did not play as much as we would have hoped to. After pre-season, our first match was against Belfast Royal Academy. We started well in this fixture, with two early tries from our winger Peter Kissock, but Belfast Royal Academy replied in the second half with three tries. The match finished 19-14 to BRA. We felt this score did not reflect how well we played for the majority of the match. A series of wins followed, possibly the most pleasing of these was the 35-7 defeat of Royal Belfast Academical Institution, with two tries from Matthew Hamilton, a try from Peter Longwell and two more tries from Mark Townsley sealing a fantastic win. Unfortunately, we had very few matches after this due to bad weather, but managed to organise a match against the Wellington College â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; team. We knew this was going to be a tough encounter and we suffered a 26-5 loss on a cold wintry day. However we were delighted to follow

this up with two great convincing back-to-back wins against Ballymena Academy, again with tries from Matthew Hamilton and Adam Aitcheson giving us the initiative in these matches. During the course of the season several of our squad were given the opportunity to represent the As. Players such as Aaron Playfair, Jack Black, Mark Townsley, Lochlainn McKenzie, Peter Longwell, Graeme Lowans, Patrick Dougan, Ben Lowry and Chris Whyte who will benefit from this experience. Jack and Aaron, for instance, are now regulars in the A squad. It would be a little unfair to pick a player of the year, but Aaron Playfair, Jack Black and Mark Townsley are clearly among the top candidates. - Peter Longwell Year 10 Captain -

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U13A Season Report This season has been very inconsistent, some games we played really well and then the next time we played our performance was poor. Most of the time we performed well but the score didn’t reflect how we played. We started the season well with a tight 10-7 win against BRA. The good season continued well with a 37-7 win against Larne at Hollinger Park; although we found ourselves losing to strong Campbell and R.B.A.I sides. We came back strong with a 47-0 win against Belfast High. We then went to play Limavady with 14 men and won 24-10. Last couple of games before Christmas didn’t go as well as planned with losses against Grosvenor and Coleraine Inst. After Christmas was probably our best spell in the season with 45 plus wins against Foyle, Rainey and Omagh without conceding a point to any of the three teams. After a couple of defeats to Methody, R.B.A.I and Ballymena we wanted to end the year on high. We started that off well with a 37-10 win against Regent House. In the last game of the season against Sullivan we were beat 22-7 this was a really tight game but we just switched off at the start of the second half and the last 5 minutes.

A special mention must go to Josh Young who had an outstanding performance this year scoring more than 25 tries. I would like to thank Mr Thompson, Mr Crampsey, Brian McCormick and Harry Harrison for giving up their free time to improve our skills and make us better players. We look forward to next year to see what it brings! - Ben Catherwood Year 9 Captain -

U13B Season Report The ‘Under 13 B team’ has had a rollercoaster of a season from beating Campbell College away from home (which was definitely the high point of our season and a real achievement for the team) to an unfortunate series of losses. However, we did manage to end the season with a win at home to Sullivan which capped off a season that was a great learning experience for the team. As I have said our win away from home at Campbell College was a definite highlight in our season, and although at times it looked like either team could snatch the victory we preserved the lead and managed to win 5-12. This win showed us that we were a team in development, but a team that had great potential. All of the players in the team showed great dedication throughout the season, from making sure they were at all of our training sessions, to being on time and ready to give their all on match day. It wasn’t just the players that made this season for us; it was the work that was done by the coaches in showing the dedication and knowledge of the game needed to help us through a tough season. I would like to thank Mr. Crampsey, Mr. Thompson, Mr. McCormick (Brian) and Mr. Harrison (Harry).

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It has been my privilege to have captained the under 13 Bs and given the opportunity would love to captain this group of boys next year because I know that this group will only go from strength to strength and develop over time into a very good side. - Ross Reynolds Year 9 Captain -

Sport

U12A Season Report

U12 A squad: Adam Campbell (C), Ethan Crawford , Lewis Campbell, Jordan Gaw, Connor Archer, Matthew Taylor, Adam Glass, Sam Ross, Adam McKillen, Ben Orr, Adam Clarke, Matthew McCullough, Ewan Wasson, Stuart Hull, Alex McVicker and Ben Hamilton. We have had a very good season with a lot more wins than losses. We got off to a great start, winning our matches against Ballymena, Wallace and others by a big amount of points and conceding few tries. Our winning streak came to an end against Belfast Inst. in a very tough game which ended up 15-10. We got off to a very shaky start in this match, conceding two early tries, leaving us 10-0 down at half time. After about 5 minutes into the second half we conceded another try and heads dropped. However we started to come close and were in their half for the rest of the game. We kept fighting back and eventually Adam Campbell finished off a very good team try followed by the try of the season by Matthew McCullough. It was 15-10 but it was too little too late. There then came another group of wins followed by our Methody game. In this we were well beaten, 50-3, and had only one try scoring opportunity the whole game. Our next game was against Coleraine Inst., who became our rivals for the season and we were defeated 22-0 and gained two injuries, a broken collar bone for Adam Campbell which left him out for 3 months and Alex McVicker got an ankle injury and was out for a few weeks. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the best way to finish before Christmas. Our first game back was against Belfast Inst. which was another heavy defeat. We started to pull back wins against Cambridge House, Ballymena Academy and BRA and only lost one game against Sullivan coming up to our blitz tournaments.

The first tournament was in Magherafelt at Rainey. We won all our group stage matches, playing the best rugby we had all season. The semi-final was against Ballymena. We were very tired before the match, having to wait for an hour and a half before the kick-off, but we managed to score a try and progress to the final. All players were tired at this point and we hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t much time to rest after the match. We ended up losing the final to Coleraine who had now beaten us twice this season. Next came the Coleraine Inst. tournament. We were in a group with Coleraine, BRA, and Rainey. We won our first match comfortably against BRA. The next game was a tough match against Coleraine Inst. We went 5-0 up early in the first half and defended brilliantly for the rest of the game, to win, with an outstanding performance from Ewan Wasson. A win over Rainey secured a place in the quarter final against Ballymena, which we won 10-0. We had made it to the semi-finals but with not having a proper rest after the quarter-final; we started to pick up injuries and we had three or four B team players on by the start of the second half. The team fought hard, losing by a small margin of two tries. It was a disappointing way to end the season but we had played well to make it to the semis. We had great coaching the entire season from Mr. Leckey, Steven Crawford and Mr. Campbell and it was great to work with Mr. Soper, even if it was only for 1 year. - Adam Campbell Year 9 Captain -

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Ulster Schools’ Show Jumping Champions 2012 September 2012 saw the start of the Ulster Schools’ Show Jumping League with keen members Rachael Coulson, Sophie Dunn, Holly Wray and Rebecca McConnell. This was hosted by BRA at the Knockagh Lodge Equestrian Centre. The league ran for four weeks and the Ballyclare High Open team won two of the events including the final, whilst also achieving a 2nd and 3rd, placing them at the top of the Ulster Schools’ league, beating the reigning 4 times champions BRA. The competition was extremely tense every week as numerous strong teams achieved the three double clears needed to proceed into the next round, the jump off. Ballyclare High selected the two fastest members of the team in order to try and get the fastest time over a shortened course whilst ensuring no poles or stops. Holly Wray and Sophie Dunn jumped off each week to obtain the top placing on two out of the four occasions.

Show Jumping Team

They were formally awarded with their prize of the Ulster Schools’ Show Jumping Shield at the recent USSJ award night in February 2013. - Erin Coulson and Julia Henderson Year 14 -

Ulster Schools Final 2012 Ho lly

Wray

Ulster Schools Final 2012 Rachael Coulson

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hie Dunn Ulster Schools Final 2012 Sop

Ulster Schools Open Winners 2012

A Day in the Life of a Show jumper The alarm sounds (thankfully not too early as most of the packing had been done the day before) all that needs to be done is to get myself and the horse ready. The most difficult part of the show day is trying to wash the grass stains off my horse especially when he’s not very keen on an ice cold bath in the morning. The rest of the morning is spent rushing about trying to get everything and everyone organised and piled into the jeep and horse trailer. As we arrive at the venue there are horses and riders everywhere all trying to squeeze into the warm up arena. Each family member takes on a certain role; dad goes to pay the entry fee, mum suites up the horse in its gleaming bridle and saddle and I go figure out my course to jump. When I’m mounted on my horse I meet with the rest of my team and warm up in the vast outdoor arena. After a few practice fences we’re ready to go and we all wait nervously at the gate watching other competitors from rival schools. A few moments before I go into the ring I receive a last minute pep talk from either one of my parents and then I’m ushered into the arena.

In the arena I make a final check that I know my course and then I push the horse into a steady canter and aim for the first fence. I’m not worried, I trust my horse and his ability to jump, and I concentrate on placing my horse correctly before the fence so the jump is as smooth as possible. This happens again and again for each jump, although some have colourful banners and boards underneath to add to the spooky factor. When my horse’s hooves touch the ground after the last fence a wave of relief washes over me and the parents (who are always more competitive than the actual competitors) start cheering. After the prize-giving I give my horse a treat (usually a polo mint), then we pile back into the jeep and head for home after a long day where a large field of grass is waiting for my horse and a steaming mug of hot chocolate is waiting for me. - Rachael Coulson Year 11 -

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Swimming Report 2013 There are a smaller number of club swimmers this season wanting to compete in Ulster competitions; however, those pupils who have wanted to participate have been great ambassadors for the school. The Ulster Schools’ committee have run three galas as in previous years, the Secondary Schools’ Gala in November, the Minor Schools’ Championships in January and the Grammar Schools’ Gala in March. The races in the Secondary Schools’ Gala are 100m in length and this determines the level of swimmer that is suited to enter. Only club swimmers will be able to be competitive at this distance and those reaching the Irish qualification times will have the opportunity to advance to this next round of competition. This year we had pupils close to reaching a final such as Georgia Lyttle and Ryan Lewis in the 100m Fly, Ryan also had a strong swim in the 200m Individual Medley and Georgia in the Freestyle. Other swimmers were Lucy Reid in the Backstroke and the Freestyle and Holly Tumelty in the Freestyle. The Minor Schools’ Gala is for young swimmers and is therefore over the shorter distance of 50m. This is an opportunity for year 8 swimmers to get involved and yet again if they swim well enough they may have the opportunity to advance to Irish level. Ballyclare had no one in this category in 2013; however Ryan Lewis, competing in the year 9 age group won the title of Ulster Champion in the 50m Butterfly, he was also placed 5th in the 100m IM. Other swimmers on this occasion included Mathew

ilia Crabtree; 2nd Minor Girls: 1st Em 3rd Faye Hunter. Hannah McKee;

Jamison who recently joined the Larne swimming club. Mathew achieved a respectable 49.20 seconds in the 50m Backstroke and 39.49 seconds in the Freestyle. Hard work throughout the rest of the season saw Mathew swim well at the school swimming gala and he lifted the trophy for the best overall boy swimmer. We wish Mathew all the best for the seasons ahead as he has made such a good start here at the High school; continued hard work should bring him much success and enjoyment. Hannah McKee and Chloe Den Haese swam well in the Breaststroke and Freestyle, there is much to learn when competing for the first time at a new event so these girls are gaining useful experience for the future. The Ballyclare High School Swimming Gala took place on April 9th at Larne swimming pool. We are indebted to Larne for allowing us to use this venue as it is so convenient for us. Pupils are invited to enter from years 8 to 11 and the year 11 GCSE pupils run the gala. This involves organising the juniors and then timing the races. This is yet another opportunity for them to develop their leadership skills and gain experience for their sports leader’s qualifications. Many thanks to the staff who volunteer on an annual basis to supervise the event and a special mention to Mr. Bell and Miss. Mawhinney for adding up the scores for minor, junior and inter age groups. - Mrs G Scott -

2nd Mathew Jamison; Minor Boys: 1st y. ce an Ryan Fr Ben Hamilton; 3rd

Junior Girls: 1st Georgia Lyttle; n; 2nd Sophie Charlto 3rd Sasha Kirk.

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s Junior Boys: 1st Ryan Lewis; 2nd Ros . ilton Agnew; 3rd Matt Ham

ďżź Inter Girls: 1ST Emma Fullerton; 2nd Storm Cobain; 3rd Laura McCowan.

Inter Boys: 1st Scott Gault; 2nd David Griffith; 3rd Mark McIlwrath.

Overall winning girl: Emma Fullerton Year 11

Overall winning boy: Mathew Jamison Year 8

Swimming Team

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Table Tennis

U15 boys’ team

Girls’ team

Senior boys’ team

The Year 13 table tennis team has enjoyed unprecedented success this year. In February, Chris West and Jordan Barr secured silver and bronze medals in the U16 Ulster Individual Championships. The U19 team (Cherith McBride, Stuart Herron, Chris West, Jordan Barr, Ryan Leonard and Jack Knowles) were awarded silver medals after being narrowly defeated in the final of the Ulster Cup competition. Chris decided he had earned enough silver medals for one year and a very determined U19 league team set off to Malone College in pursuit of victory. They defeated their

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competition and finally got the gold medals they have been longing for over the past six years. The U15 team also deserve credit for their progress this term. Ross Herron, Gerard Dargan, Callum Irwin, Adam Whitcroft, James Crone and Daniel Dargan were put out in the quarter-finals of the Ulster Cup competition by St Pius who went on to win the trophy. The U14 league team (Ross, Callum, Adam and James) made further progress on Friday by winning silver medals at the league competition. - A Mawhinney -

Sport

Tennis Report 2013 This season has been most enjoyable in terms of numbers of pupils participating. We have had good response from pupils looking to improve their skills and build on what they have done in PE. The start of the summer term was hampered by driving rain and howling winds; remarkably, the numbers of players never dropped. On some occasions classes were wearing woolly hats and had to shelter behind the wall until the squalls had passed. Teams struggled this year in terms of winning matches; however there is much still to be gained by being part of the N. I. Cup and Plate competitions. These benefits are not solely in improving skills on the court but also improving social skills when visiting and hosting matches with other schools. There is a much greater opportunity to engage in conversation with other pupils from different backgrounds.

Jack Black and Adam Mc Conkey (Year 10) play RB AI

Following the summer exams the junior pupils have the option to enter a house tennis competition. This competition runs right up to the last few days of term and are usually fiercely contested, fortunately the weather has been more favorable in the final weeks of term and the matches after school have been relaxed and enjoyable for spectators and competitors.

Year 10 tennis players du ring games time on a Th ursday

yfair shake hands Tyler Briers and Aaron Pla Tournament Final after the Year 10 tennis

Ben Orr, Year 8, hits a forehand shot

wing McVicker follo x le A d an r ne Adam Surgeo l match nament Âź Fina the Year 8 Tour

Year 8 boy s get read y for a ma against RB tch AI at hom e. Mathew M cCullough , Alex McVicker, Charlie M cLain and Logan Ca mpbell

nt McKeown Yr 9 tourname Ross Herron and Adam 121

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Ballyclare High School Magazine 2013

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Final Words... We hope you have enjoyed reading this edition of the school magazine. Thanks must go to all the staff and pupils who contributed with articles, farewells, reports, photographs, stories, poems and support. If you are a pupil in sixth year and are enthusiastic, creative and interested in being part of the editorial team, please speak to Mrs Skene. Thanks also to Andrew Parkes at Finch Design and Amanda Stewart at W&G Baird Printers.

Design: www.thinkfinch.co.uk Printed By W&G Baird

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31 Rashee Road Ballyclare Country Antrim BT39 3HJ T 028 9332 2244 F 028 93343809 E info@ballyclarehigh.co.uk