Winter Newsletter 2011

Friends’ School LisburnFriends’ School Lisburn Winter Newsletter 2011Winter Newsletter 2011

Retirement of Head of Music Department Mr Peter Hunter, Head of the Music Department at Friends’ for the last 26 years, retired at the end of the Christmas term. An affectionate farewell was said at Final Assembly. The Junior Orchestra played, the Choir sang and Deputy Head Girl, Claire Lloyd, and Head Boy, Jordan McCready, made a presentation to Mr Hunter on behalf of pupils. Appreciation was expressed to Mr Hunter for all he has done to develop music at Friends’ over the years. The numbers taking part in the Christmas Concert at the end of term, and the high quality of the performances, reflected the vibrancy of the Department and the enjoyment that music making provides. Mr Hunter spoke of how much he will miss teaching at Friends’ and wished everyone well in the future.

Speech Day

Large numbers of last year’s Year 14 returned to Friends’ for Speech Day in early September, meeting up for the last time before heading off to universities across the United Kingdom and beyond. The Guest Speaker was John Compton. The Manley Haughton and Greer Cups for outstanding academic achievement at Advanced level were awarded to Chloe Smyth and David Broder-Rodgers. The Dunwoody and Sinton prizes, for service, were awarded to Amie Johnston and Richard Bradfield. All those receiving A level certificates deserved praise for the exceptionally high level of their performance. 84% of all grades awarded were at Grade A* to B and 87% of pupils gained three or more passes at A level at Grade C or above, the best performance to date in School.

SEELB Outstanding Achievement Awards The SEELB Outstanding Achievements Awards Ceremony was held at the Island Arts Centre in Lisburn on Friday 25 November. Sarah Aiken, Shane Brennan and Nicola Wethers, received awards for sharing 1st place across all entries in CCEA Advanced level Art and Design. All three were taught by Ms Paula McPoland. Matthew Good received an award for his performance in gaining Joint 1st place in CCEA Moving Image Art.

GCSE Reception

The School’s GCSE Reception, held to recognise the performance of all at GCSE level, was held on 20 October. The Guest Speaker was Edmund Livingston. The Old Scholars’ Prize for academic achievement was shared by four pupils, Peter Elliott, John Logan, Sarah McCullough and Rebecca Shaw, who each gained A* passes in each of their ten GCSE subjects. Seven more pupils, James Clarke, Claire Davis, Jordan Fitzpatrick, Flora Lawson, Caitlin Patterson, Keady Smith and Nathan Steenson, each gained nine A* passes and a further Grade A pass. Overall, 67.5% of all grades attained were at A or A*, a tremendous achievement on the part of all pupils. John Logan was placed Joint 2nd overall in CCEA GCSE Mathematics and 3rd in German, Caitlin Patterson was placed Joint 2nd in French and 3rd in Religious Studies and Julie-Anne Maxwell was placed 2nd in Journalism.

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Old Scholar GCSE Prize Winners, Sarah McCullough, Peter Elliott, John Logan & Rebecca Shaw.

SEELB Outstanding Achievement Winners from left: Matthew Good, Shane Brennan, Sarah Aiken & Nicola Wethers.

SUNDAY TIMES SCHOOL OF THE YEAR In November came the news that Friends’ had been named the Sunday Times Northern Ireland Secondary School of the Year. Alastair McCall, Editor of the Sunday Times Schools Guide, said: "Northern Ireland has long had a disproportionately large number of the best schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Friends' School, Lisburn is one of the most exceptional of them. It combines high levels of academic attainment, which stand its students in great stead no matter what they go on to achieve, with a Quaker tradition that ensures they leave school firmly grounded and with a sense of their place in the world and their responsibility to help make it a better place. With our School of the Year award, we seek to acknowledge the devel-opment of the whole child in high-achieving schools, where everyone is coaxed to perform to the maximum of their abilities. The Friends' School, Lisburn, ticked every box."

Winter Newsletter 2011

Sports Team of the Year Ryan Stewart, captain of the Junior Boys’ Badminton team, Ulster Cup and League Champions and Irish Schools’ Champions, accepted the award for the Sports Team of the Year, shared with Sullivan Upper School’s Medallion Rugby Team.

Home Stay Visit to Santander, Spain 24 senior pupils, accompanied by Miss Clegg and Mrs Scott, travelled to Spain in late October where, staying with families for a week, they were able to improve their language skills and learn more about Spanish culture. Arriving in Bilbao on Saturday 22 October, pupils first had the opportunity to visit the Guggenheim Museum before travelling on by coach to Santander. During their stay in Santander they had three hours of language classes each morning, focusing on grammar, vocabulary and culture – useful preparation for exams later in the year. The afternoons were busy with visits to the Altamira Cave and the beautiful town of Santillana del Mar as well as the chance to take part in Spanish dance classes and sample traditional Spanish food, such as ‘tapas’ and ‘chocolate con churros’. It was a great experience for all involved and many of the pupils plan to return to Santander in future.

German Exchange

The German Exchange has been running since 2007 and in September, 20 pupils from Years 11-14 and two members of staff travelled to Germany to renew contact with our partner school. The Remstal Gymnasium is set in Weinstadt, a collection of small towns in the winegrowing district near Stuttgart. Highlights of the visit included punting on the river in the ancient university town of Tübingen, a sports evening at school, a trip to Stuttgart’s Fernsehturm and a farewell evening with hosts and their parents in Schnaidt. We look forward to welcoming our German partners to Friends’ when they visit Northern Ireland in March.

Scripture Union Scripture Union held its annual senior weekend to Seaview House, in Kilkeel, in October. The theme for the weekend was “Real faith looks like this…” The weekend, organised by Mr Chestnutt and SU Committee members, was a great success.

National Hero Award Year 9 pupil, Adam Kerr, won the UK wide National Hero Award at the United Kingdom Family Heroes Awards

ceremony in London. Adam, who was one of fifteen regional finalists, was proud and delighted to be nominated, let alone to be made the overall winner. The award recognises Adam’s courage in the face of adversity and also his generosity towards others, both in terms of his charity fundraising and because of the practical support and assistance he provides.

Northern Ireland Kids Lit Champions! Two teams of junior pupils, cheered on by enthusiastic supporters and with their teddy bear mascot ‘Billy’ in attendance, took part in the Northern Ireland Kids Lit competition, held at Wellington College in November. Team 1, consisting of Charlotte Moore, Michael Sullivan, Matt Milliken and Lucy Fitzpatrick and Team 2, made up of Ben Spiers, David Elliott, Meghan McClure and Rebecca McNeill, had to undergo a severe test of their reading knowledge over a gruelling ten rounds of questions. Team 2 built up an early lead and, against formidable teams like Methody, St Catherines, Regent House and BRA, held on to clinch an exciting victory.

UK Finals That win brought the pupils the chance to compete in the United Kingdom finals and, on December 2, accompanied by Librarian, Mrs Noreen Moore, and Vice Principal, Miss Linda Heggarty, the team set off for Coventry and yet more testing questions. Mrs Moore saw the event as a fitting achievement for the four young readers, inspired, she said, “through a genuine love of reading and regular visits to the School Library”. A number of authors were in attendance at the finals and the pupils had the opportunity to meet and speak with such names as Mark Robson, Linda Newbery, Ann Evans, David Whitley, Irfan Master, Sharon Dogar, John Dougherty (originally from N Ireland), Fiona Dunbar and Steve Skidmore. After a slow start in the quiz the Friends’ team moved up the leader board in the latter rounds to finish in a very creditable Sixth place overall and headed home with new books to read and an experience that all will long remember.

Year 13 Charity Committee

The Chairperson of the Year 13 Charity Committee this year is Lucy Faulkner. An organising group is meeting during General Studies each Friday to co-ordinate events. A group of 17 pupils, mostly from Year 13, helped with a

National Hero Award

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Friends’ pupils enjoying the Spanish town of Santillana del Mar during their Spanish exchange visit.

Northern Ireland Kids Lit Champions!

Winter Newsletter 2011

bagpack for Lisburn charity Homestart at Tesco on 1 October. Over £800 was raised. Julie Corry from Homestart visited Main Assembly to present certificates to those who took part. Year 12 pupils packed bags for War on Want in December, again raising over £800. Jeans for Genes A non uniform day for the Jeans for Genes Appeal was held in School on 7 October. The appeal raised a total of £1800 across the Grammar School and Preparatory Department. The collection for Present Aid raised over £850.

School Council In an election held at the end of October, the following pupils were appointed to serve on the School Council for the 2011-2012 school year. Year 8 – Sophie Clarke, Ross Gillespie and Michael Sullivan Year 9 – Sophie Nelson, Anna McDermott and Jinkin Zhong Year 10 – Rebecca Johnston, Jordan O’Brien and Callum Taylor Year 11 – Taylor Muir, Matthew Spiers and Hayley Steele Year 12 – Caolan Harkin, Bruce Lawson and Niamh Toland Year 13 – Brendan Corr, Peter Ferguson and William McFarland Year 14 – Jack Brown, Jack Hogan and Ian Maxwell.

Senior Maths Challenge In the Senior Mathematical Challenge organised by the UK Mathematical Trust Year 13 and 14 pupils from Friends’ School received 1 Gold, 6 Silver and 11 Bronze Certificates. Courtney Johnston won Gold and Best in School. Silver certificates were won by James Clarke, Andrew Clugston, Jordan Fitzpatrick, John Logan, Matthew Patterson and Keady Smith.

2011 Junior Mathematical Olympiad At the start of the new term in September there was delight in School to learn that John Dawson had been awarded a Gold Medal and a Certificate of Distinction in the UKMT Junior Mathematical Olympiad, which he had taken part in during the summer term, at the end of Year 9. John also was awarded an A* in GCSE Mathematics, gaining full marks.

Sport Lisburn Sports Personality of the Year Awards In an awards ceremony held on 14 October at Lagan Island the Girls Intermediate Netball team, Northern Ireland Intermediate Cup holders, captained by Courtney Johnston, was placed 3rd in the Junior Sports Team of the Year Category. The category was won by the Prep Department Under 10 relay swimming team, Irish Champions.

Southern Schools Pilgrimage Year 14 pupils Sarah Kay and Odhran Devlin joined with Sixth Formers from Quaker schools in England to take part in the Southern Schools Pilgrimage from 24 – 27 September. The pupils visited Sidcot and Sibford Schools as well as travelling to George Fox country and taking part in a weekend of activities.

Badminton Year 8 League Success for Year 8 boys and girls. The Year 8 girls and boys teams began their season with round robin events for qualification to the Ulster League finals. The boys’ team of Conor Monteith, Reid Lonsdale, Connor Mason and David McKee travelled to Ballyclare, where they topped the section with Bangor Grammar their closest opponents. Results were as follows: Friends’ 81pts, RBAI 43pts, Ballyclare 28pts and Dalriada 13pts. In the final the team faced Bangor Grammar again and the top two teams from the other section, Wallace and Sullivan. Despite facing some stiff competition, Friends’ again finished first, giving the team the title Year 8 Ulster League Champions. The final scores were as follows: Friends’ 50pts, Wallace 42pts, Bangor Grammar 28 pts and Sullivan 13pts. The girls’ squad of Rachel Barnes, Olivia Reid, Alice Murphy, Liz Gunning and Rachel Morrison competed in their round robin section at Friends’, comfortably winning their matches with a score of Friends’ 73 pts, Hunterhouse 39 pts and Sullivan 31pts. In the final, also played on home ground, the team faced Hunterhouse plus Coleraine and Wallace. The girls were

Charity & Maths Challenge

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Pupils enjoying Jeans for Genes in October.

John Dawson

Winter Newsletter 2011

delighted to match the achievement of the boys in winning the Ulster League title. The final scores were as follows: Friends’ 82pts, Wallace 64pts, Coleraine 46pts and Hunterhouse 37pts. Both teams will now compete in the knock-out cup in January and hope for further success. They have considerable strength with Rachel Barnes, Conor Monteith and Reid Lonsdale having represented Ulster at Under 13 Level. Rachel is also currently training with the Irish Under 13 Squad. Irish International Keady Smith, Year 13, was selected for the Irish Under 17 Badminton team which took part in the European Championships in Portugal from 22 to 25 November. Keady reached the last 16 of the Mixed Doubles. Champion of Champions In the Champion of Champions Event, held at Alpha in November, Coral Armstrong (Junior), Courtney Allister (Senior) and Matthew Getty (Senior) all reached the finals of their respective categories and, although none was able to claim a title, each one performed well.

Sports Captains The following have been appointed as Sports Captains for the 2011-2012 school year: Rugby: Matthew Patterson Boys Hockey: Robert Cumins Girls Hockey: Kirsty Walker Netball: Sian George

Chess Joel Dawson, Year 8, was the runner-up in the U12 Division of the Ulster Schools’ Chess Championship held at Methodist College on Saturday 19 November.

Cross Country Zoe Carruthers, Year 10, finished 5th in the Under 16 Irish Cross Country Championships in November and has been selected to represent Ulster at Under 17 level in the Celtic Nations International in January.

Girls’ Hockey Girls’ hockey has never been stronger in terms of commitment and participation, with Friends’ able to produce up to eleven teams every Saturday. Six of the girls’ teams have been involved in cup competitions with varying degrees of success. The five senior teams from 1stXI to effectively 5thXI win the majority of their Saturday fixtures but the 1stXI and 2ndXI fell at the first hurdle in their respective cups. Larne Grammar defeated the 1stXI 2-1 in a tightly contested match whilst the 2ndXI were caught completely cold when they were 2-0 down against Lurgan College in the first two minutes in the McDowell Cup. Both teams are set for a good run in the plate competitions. Friends’ are the only school in Ulster who enter 3 teams in the 3rdXI Gibson Cup and such is there depth of talent that two of the teams, the B and C teams, have reached the knockout stage after winning their respective sections. The talented U14AXI met Rainey Endowed in the first round of the Junior Cup and, as do most teams, found the indoor surface too much of a challenge, they too are now in the plate

Sports Captains

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Sports Captains from left, Robert Cumins, Sian George, Matthew Patterson & Kirsty Walker.

Winter Newsletter 2011

competition. All these competitions begin in early January. The U12’s look to have great promise and are already playing 8-a-side matches, despite the poor weather preventing a fixture against Methody twice!

Netball Friends’ have five teams entered in the SE Area of the N.I. League. The results have been excellent when considering the strength of opposition such as Our Lady & St. Patrick’s College Knock and Assumption Grammar. We await confirmation as to which teams have qualified for the Area Finals. Meanwhile in the N.I. Cup five of our teams have reached the Quarterfinal stage. – Senior A defeating St. Mary’s Derry and Sacred Heart, Newry; Senior B defeating Sacred Heart, Omagh and Loreto College, Omagh; Intermediate A defeating Lismore Comprehensive and Methody, Intermediate B defeating Rockport after a bye against Lurgan College and Junior A defeating Rathmore B and Glenlola Collegiate. The Minor team will play in the plate competition, having lost to Lumen Christi College. Friends’ have further teams entered in the Lisburn Development League. The Junior B team has lost both matches whilst the Senior C, Inter C, Minor B and Year 8 teams have won all matches played so far.

Hockey and Netball Tour to Spain and Gibraltar The girls enjoyed a most enjoyable and successful tour to Spain and Gibraltar over half term. The tour party was based at the Alandaclub in Marbella, which provided a fine base for sport and sightseeing. In both hockey and netball the girls had a series of highly competitive matches with the opportunity for all to develop their skills and teamwork.

Boys’ Hockey

The 1st XI season started with a 2-1 defeat to Sullivan before a 10-0 victory over Grosvenor in the first game of the McCullough Cup. Comprehensive victories were then achieved against Banbridge 2nds (8-0) and Bangor (7-1), before a 4-3 loss to Campbell College and a narrow defeat to Banbridge 1st XI, 3-1. The final game of the McCullough Cup was against RBAI and a win was needed to take things to a Play-off. However, despite many chances and the majority of possession, the final score was a 1-1 draw.

In October the All-Ireland Schoolboy Championships were held in Cork. The 1sts were entered into a difficult group and excellent victories against Bandon (2-1) and Regent (4-3) weren’t enough to secure a semi-final spot as the final match was a 4-1 loss to St Andrew’s. The boys finished the term strongly with a 7-0 win over Methodist College and are looking forward to the Burney Cup. The 2nd XI started their season with a friendly match against Bangor 2nds with the team securing a 2-0 win. The next match was against RBAI, which resulted in an excellent 3-0 win. A win against BRA 1st XI continued the good form, followed by a 1-0 win against Wallace. In the Prior Shield, a 3-1 win against Antrim’s 1st’s, and a 1-1 draw with Wellington 1st’s saw the 2nd XI progress to the Quarter-finals. In the Quarters, the 2nds defeated Campbell 3-1 followed by a deserved 2-0 win in the Semi-final against Wallace. The 2nds then played Portadown 1st XI in the Final of the Prior Shield. The boys, captained by Luke Warwick, put up a great performance, fighting back from a 2 -0 deficit. Despite a succession of penalty corners coming up to the final whistle, the equaliser remained out of reach and the final score was 2-1 in Portadown’s favour. Representative Honours Andrew Allen (Under 18), Matthew Sullivan, Jack Henderson and Adam Marshall (all Under 16) played for Ulster at the Interprovincials, held this year in Dublin. Matthew was chosen to Captain the Ulster Under 16 team and Jack was Vice Captain, a rare honour for two pupils from the same school.

Rugby

The junior teams have had a successful run with the U13s winning 12 from 14 while the U14s have won 8. The U12s also started their rugby careers in winning ways with 7 from 9. The Medallion squad are developing on a weekly basis and look forward to their Shield Match against Omagh Academy on 7 January. Although victories at senior level have been hard fought, the 1st and 2nd XV squads enjoyed a tour to Edinburgh where Morrisons Academy, Crief High School and Dumfries Rugby

Hockey, Netball & Rugby

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2nd XI Hockey Team. U16 Ulster Representatives, Jack Henderson, Andrew Allen, Matthew Sullivan & Adam Marshall.

Winter Newsletter 2011

Club provided the opposition. Both senior teams are now in preparation for Schools Cup competitions with the 1st XV hosting Wellington College on 14 January while the 2nd XV travel to Carrick GS on Wednesday 18 January.

Gold, Silver and Bronze for Friends’ Three pupils from Friends’ took part in the Ulster Schools Judo Championships which were held in Donegal at the start of December. Year 8 pupil Conal McKee won a Bronze medal in the Minor category, whilst Megan Armstrong of Year 11 won Silver in the Cadet category. Mark Fair, in his last year of schools’ competition, won Gold in the Junior category. Mark and Megan have qualified for the Irish Schools Finals to be held in Dublin in January.

Equestrian Tour Eighteen pupils greatly enjoyed their visit to the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham from 5 to 7 October.

Swimming Ulster Schools Minor Swimming Championships A number of junior pupils took part in the Minor Swimming Championships, held in October. Year 8 pupils Andrew Edgar, Alex Harte, Conor Monteith and Henry Tolerton won Silver in the Freestyle Relay, qualifying for the Irish Championships, and Andrew, Alex and Henry also qualified in individual events, with Alex second in the 50 metre butterfly and third in the 50 metre breast stroke and Henry third in the 50 metre butterfly and fifth in the 50 metre freestyle. Irish Minor Championships In the Irish Championships, held in Galway in December, all three boys swam personal bests in their individual events, with Alex finishing 4th in the final of the 50m backstroke, just missing out on a medal. In the Freestyle relay the boys qualified fastest for the final and finished as Silver medallists, taking a further second off their qualifying time – a tremendous achievement. Ulster Short Course Swimming Championships Year 13 pupil Jemma Bingham won three Gold medals in the Championships, achieving her first places in the 800m Freestyle, the 400m Individual Medley and the 200m

Butterfly. Alexandra Hunter, Year 9, won a Bronze medal in the 200m Individual Medley, a great achievement given that she was swimming against girls up to ten years her senior. Irish Short Course Swimming Championships Jemma achieved 3rd place in the 400 Individual Medley event, securing a place on the Ulster High Performance Squad as a result of her swim. Ulster Grammar Schools Swimming Championships Gareth Hill, Alexandra Hunter and David Thompson competed with success in the Ulster Grammar Schools’ Swimming Championships. Gareth gained a silver medal in the 50m breaststroke, Alexandra achieved a bronze medal in the 100m IM and David won Gold in the 50m freestyle event.

Public Speaking

At the Annual Soroptomist Public Speaking Competition held in Hillsborough on 16 November, Caroline Finney, Ashleigh Hanna, Charlotte McCausland, Emily Joyce, Chloe Hassard and Charlotte Creighton, all pupils from Years 12 and 13, spoke for six minutes on topics ranging from ‘Citizenship Journalism’ to ‘The Olympics – a Winner for Great Britain’. The standard of competition was very high. Ashleigh Hanna was highly commended by the judges and Chloe Hassard was placed 3rd overall.

Public Speaking

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The Year 8 Boys’ Swimming Team Gareth Hill, Alexandra Hunter & David Thompson

The Public Speaking Team.