ANNUAL REPORT
OF
THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
SCHOOL YEAR 2006/2007
CONTENTS
I Membership of the Board of Governors
II Subjects offered at GCSE, AS, and A levels
III Other subjects
IV Enrolments
V Public examination results, leavers' destinations, and attendance rate
VI Extra-curricular activities and achievements
VII Financial Statement
VIII Principal's Report
I Membership of the Board of Governors (September 2007)
Revd R Cooper 1 President of the Methodist Church (2008)
2
Mr J Mulholland Chairman (2009)
Revd Dr E T I Mawhinney 1 (2010) Ministerial Secretary
1
Dame Mary Uprichard (2008) Lay Secretary
3
Mr S M Dawson Treasurer (2009) Convener of the Finance Committee
Mrs B Callaghan 1 (2009)
Mr J Clarke 1 (2009)
3
Mr J Costley (2009)
Miss R J Copeland 4 (2009)
Revd W A Davison 1 (2009)
2
Mr J J J D’Arcy (2009)
Mrs N F M Gallagher 4 (2009)
1
Revd G H Good OBE (2008)
1
Revd W W Graham
2
Mr N Jackson (2010)
Mrs K Kealey 1 (2008)
1
Revd D P Ker (2010) Secretary of the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland
1
Revd J H F Keys (2008)
1
Mrs J E Loan (2009)
2
Mr R E B Lockhart (2010)
Revd Dr F L Munce MBE 1 (2009)
Mr J McGarry 5
5
Mr G M Y Ong
Mr W M Sillery 2 (2010)
Mrs C V Simms 4 (2009)
Mrs A Wilson 2 (2009)
Mr W J Wilson 2 (2010)
Professor I S Young 1 (2010) Convener of the Education Committee
The Principal (ex officio, non-voting)
1
Appointed by the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland
2
Appointed by the Department of Education
3
Elected by parents
4
Elected by the teaching staff
5
Co-opted member
Dates in brackets indicate the year at the end of which a Governor's period of office is concluded,
except for those appointed by the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland whose period of
office ends in June of the year stated.
1
II Subjects offered at GCSE, AS, and A levels (2006/07)
GCSE LEVEL
Additional Mathematics
Art & Design
Business and Communication
Systems
Business Studies
Classical Civilisation
Double Award Science
Drama
English
English Literature
French
Geography
Geology
Latin
Mathematics
Music
German
Greek
History
Home Economics
ICT
Religious Studies
Russian
Learning for Life & Work
Spanish
Technology & Design
AS LEVEL
Art
Biology
Chemistry
Classical Civilisation
Computing
Drama
Economics
Geography
Geology
German
Government & Politics
Greek
History
Home Economics
English Literature
French
Further Mathematics
ICT
Latin
Mathematics
Music
Physics
Psychology
Religious Education
Russian
Science for Public
Understanding
Spanish
Technology & Design
A-LEVEL
Art and Design
Biology
Chemistry
Classical Civilization
Computing
Drama
Economics
English Literature
French
Further Mathematics
Geography
Geology
German
Government and Politics
Greek
History
Home Economics
ICT
Latin
Mathematics
Music
Physics
Psychology
Religious Studies
Russian
Spanish
Technology & Design
III Other subjects offered in the Sixth Form (2006/07)
CLAIT (IT)
Comparative Literature
Media Studies
Physical Recreation
Philosophy
Sales and Marketing
2
Supervised Study
Writing Workshop
IV Enrolments (2006/07)
Preparatory Departments
(Downey House & Fullerton House)
P1
44
P2
62
P3
72
P4
76
P5
70
P6
78
P7
79
Total
481
Secondary Department
Form 1
244
Form 2
247
Form 3
246
Form 4
265
Form 5
267
Overall Total: 2275
3
L6
273
U6
252
Total
1794
V Public examination results, leavers' destinations, and attendance rate (2006/07)
FORM 5 (Year 12) - GCSE
GCSE Examinations
number entered (a) male (b) female (c) total
number achieving (a) male (b) female (c) total
Grades A* - C
Grades A* - G
7 or more subjects
5 or more subjects
7+
5+
5+
1-4
a) 133 (100%)
b) 133 (100%)
c) 266 (100%)
a) 133 (100%)
b) 133 (100%)
c) 266 (100%)
a) 113 (85%)
b) 124 (93%)
c) 237 (89%)
a) 120 (90%)
b) 127 (96%)
c) 247 (93%)
a) 131 ( 99%) a) 1
b) 133 (100%) b) 1
c) 264 ( 99%) c) 2
FORM L6 (Year 13) - AS level
AS Level examinations
(a) male (b) female (c) total
No. achieving
No. in final year of course
3 + at Grades A-C
(a) 105 (77%)
(b) 92 (74%)
(c) 197 (76%)
(a) 136
(b) 125
(c) 261
2 + at Grades A-E
(a) 131 (96%)
(b) 123 (98%)
(c) 254 (97%)
FORM U6 (Year 14) - AS and A level
AS level
No. of Subjects
/ Vocational
areas
No. in final
year of
course
29
No. of leavers
(a) 170
(b) 139
(c) 309
No. achieving
1 + at
Grades A - E
33
DESTINATION OF LEAVERS
A level
(a) male (b) female (c) total
No. in final
year of
course
31
a) 137
b) 118
c) 255
No. achieving
3 + at
Grades A-C
a) 99 (72%)
b) 101 (86%)
c) 200 (78%)
2 + at
Grades A-E
a) 134 ( 98%)
b) 118 (100%)
c) 252 ( 99%)
(FORM 5 AND ABOVE)
HE
FE
(a) 115 (68%) (a) 23 (14%)
(b) 101 (73%) (b) 10 ( 7%)
(c) 216 (70%) (c) 33 (11%)
Leavers going to
(a) Male (b) Female (c) Total
Another School
Employment
(a) 8 (5%)
(a) 3 (1%)
(b) 10 (7%)
(b) 2 (2%)
(c) 18 (6%)
(c) 5 (1%)
Other/unknown
(a) 21 (12%)
(b) 16 (11%)
(c) 37 (12%)
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
No. of possible attendance sessions
Attendance
No. of sessions attended
% attendance
655,291
626,347
95.6%
4
ANALYSIS OF EXAMINATION RESULTS 2007 - ADVANCED LEVEL
Art & Design
%
Biology
%
Chemistry
%
Chinese
%
Classical Civ.
%
Computer Studies
%
Design and Tech.
%
Drama
%
Economics
%
English Literature
%
French
%
Geography
%
German
%
Greek
%
History
%
Home Economics
%
Information Tech.
%
Latin
%
Mathematics
%
Maths Further
%
Music
%
Physics
%
Politics
%
Psychology
%
Religious Studies
%
Russian
%
Science: Geology
%
Spanish
%
Total
%
A
B
C
D
E
U
entries %A-E
4
28.6
44
43.6
48
45.3
0
0.0
1
6.7
2
22.2
2
28.6
7
28.0
18
48.6
21
48.8
21
72.4
11
33.3
4
40.0
0
0.0
43
67.2
3
30.0
0
0.0
2
33.3
75
87.2
10
52.6
6
75.0
21
53.8
12
37.5
14
33.3
14
45.2
2
66.7
7
50.0
9
64.3
401
49.7
5
35.7
34
33.7
34
32.1
1
100.0
5
33.3
2
22.2
3
42.9
15
60.0
7
18.9
12
27.9
7
24.1
8
24.2
3
30.0
1
100.0
17
26.6
4
40.0
2
25.0
3
50.0
6
7.0
2
10.5
1
12.5
8
20.5
11
34.4
16
38.1
14
45.2
1
33.3
3
21.4
4
28.6
229
28.4
4
28.6
12
11.9
14
13.2
0
0.0
5
33.3
1
11.1
1
14.3
3
12.0
6
16.2
6
14.0
0
0.0
9
27.3
1
10.0
0
0.0
2
3.1
2
20.0
3
37.5
1
16.7
2
2.3
5
26.3
1
12.5
7
17.9
5
15.6
5
11.9
2
6.5
0
0.0
3
21.4
1
7.1
101
12.5
1
7.1
5
5.0
6
5.7
0
0.0
1
6.7
3
33.3
1
14.3
0
0.0
4
10.8
4
9.3
1
3.4
3
9.1
2
20.0
0
0.0
2
3.1
1
10.0
2
25.0
0
0.0
1
1.2
2
10.5
0
0.0
1
2.6
4
12.5
6
14.3
1
3.2
0
0.0
1
7.1
0
0.0
52
6.4
0
0.0
4
4.0
3
2.8
0
0.0
3
20.0
1
11.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
2.7
0
0.0
0
0.0
2
6.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
12.5
0
0.0
1
1.2
0
0.0
0
0.0
2
5.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
18
2.2
0
0.0
2
2.0
1
0.9
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
2.7
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
1.2
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
2.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
6
0.7
14
100.0
101
98.0
106
99.1
1
100.0
15
100.0
9
100.0
7
100.0
25
100.0
37
97.3
43
100.0
29
100.0
33
100.0
10
100.0
1
100.0
64
100.0
10
100.0
8
100.0
6
100.0
86
98.8
19
100.0
8
100.0
39
100.0
32
100.0
42
97.6
31
100.0
3
100.0
14
100.0
14
100.0
807
99.3
5
6
A LEVEL RESULTS 2003 - 2007
PAPERS AND GRADES OBTAINED
A
B
C
D
E
U
TOTAL
2003
396
216
134
71
19
2
838
2004
355
193
151
70
26
2
797
2005
386
219
148
58
13
1
825
2006
358
238
149
57
17
6
825
2007
401
229
101
52
18
6
807
PERCENTAGE OF GRADES OBTAINED TO TOTAL NUMBER
A
B
C
D
E
U
2003
47.26
25.78
15.99
8.47
2.27
0.24
2004
44.55
24.21
18.95
8.78
3.26
0.25
2005
46.79
26.55
17.94
7.03
1.58
0.12
2006
43.39
28.85
18.06
6.91
2.06
0.73
2007
49.69
28.38
12.52
6.44
2.23
0.74
CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF GRADES OBTAINED TO TOTAL NUMBER
A
AB
ABC
ABCD
ABCDE
U
2003
47.26
73.03
89.02
97.49
99.76
0.24
2004
44.55
68.76
87.71
96.49
99.75
0.25
2005
46.78
73.33
91.27
98.30
99.88
0.12
2006
43.39
72.24
90.30
97.21
99.27
0.73
2007
49.69
78.07
90.55
97.03
99.26
0.74
NUMBER OF PUPILS WITH THREE OR MORE 'A'GRADES
2003 : 73
2004 : 70
2005 : 78
2006 : 60
2007 : 78
7
ANALYSIS OF EXAMINATION RESULTS 2007 - ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY LEVEL
Art & Design
%
History of Art
%
Biology
%
Chemistry
%
Chinese
%
Classical Civ.
%
Computer Studies
%
Design and Tech.
%
Drama
%
Economics
%
English Literature
%
French
%
Geography
%
German
%
History
%
Home Economics
%
Information Tech.
%
Latin
%
Mathematics
%
Music
%
Physics
%
Politics
%
Psychology
%
Religious Studies
%
Russian
%
Science in Society
%
Science: Geology
%
Spanish
%
Total
%
A
B
C
D
E
U
entries %A-E
5
22.7
2
20.0
46
40.4
37
33.3
3
100.0
2
22.2
4
44.4
5
35.7
15
45.5
14
25.0
15
23.8
21
48.8
19
46.3
5
29.4
45
58.4
2
10.5
8
30.8
5
83.3
70
76.1
8
53.3
27
42.9
21
45.7
12
19.7
20
44.4
5
100.0
0
0.0
1
10.0
6
54.5
423
41.3
3
13.6
5
50.0
25
21.9
33
29.7
0
0.0
4
44.4
1
11.1
6
42.9
9
27.3
14
25.0
22
34.9
5
11.6
5
12.2
7
41.2
17
22.1
4
21.1
3
11.5
1
16.7
11
12.0
6
40.0
10
15.9
16
34.8
10
16.4
18
40.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
3
30.0
3
27.3
241
23.5
5
22.7
2
20.0
16
14.0
22
19.8
0
0.0
2
22.2
3
33.3
2
14.3
9
27.3
8
14.3
17
27.0
8
18.6
6
14.6
4
23.5
10
13.0
7
36.8
10
38.5
0
0.0
7
7.6
1
6.7
14
22.2
5
10.9
10
16.4
5
11.1
0
0.0
3
75.0
3
30.0
0
0.0
179
17.5
6
27.3
1
10.0
12
10.5
9
8.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
11.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
9
16.1
9
14.3
6
14.0
7
17.1
1
5.9
3
3.9
2
10.5
1
3.8
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
5
7.9
2
4.3
13
21.3
2
4.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
10.0
1
9.1
91
8.9
3
13.6
0
0.0
9
7.9
7
6.3
0
0.0
1
11.1
0
0.0
1
7.1
0
0.0
6
10.7
0
0.0
2
4.7
2
4.9
0
0.0
2
2.6
2
10.5
2
7.7
0
0.0
3
3.3
0
0.0
4
6.3
2
4.3
9
14.8
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
25.0
2
20.0
1
9.1
59
5.8
0
0.0
0
0.0
6
5.3
3
2.7
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
5
8.9
0
0.0
1
2.3
2
4.9
0
0.0
0
0.0
2
10.5
2
7.7
0
0.0
1
1.1
0
0.0
3
4.8
0
0.0
7
11.5
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
32
3.1
22
100.0
10
100.0
114
94.7
111
97.3
3
100.0
9
100.0
9
100.0
14
100.0
33
100.0
56
91.1
63
100.0
43
97.7
41
95.1
17
100.0
77
100.0
19
89.5
26
92.3
6
100.0
92
98.9
15
100.0
63
95.2
46
100.0
61
88.5
45
100.0
5
100.0
4
100.0
10
100.0
11
100.0
1025
96.9
8
9
AS LEVEL RESULTS 2003 - 2007
PAPERS AND GRADES OBTAINED
A
B
C
D
E
U
TOTAL
2003
396
245
186
103
87
60
1077
2004
402
271
178
120
40
33
1044
2005
377
281
199
97
52
55
1061
2006
434
231
163
103
54
28
1013
2007
423
241
179
91
59
32
1025
PERCENTAGE OF GRADES OBTAINED TO TOTAL NUMBER
A
B
C
D
E
U
2003
36.77
22.66
17.36
9.56
8.08
5.57
2004
38.50
25.96
17.04
11.49
3.83
3.16
2005
35.16
26.67
18.85
9.24
4.71
5.37
2006
42.84
22.80
16.09
10.17
5.33
2.76
2007
41.27
23.51
17.46
8.88
5.76
3.12
CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF GRADES OBTAINED TO TOTAL NUMBER
A
AB
ABC
ABCD
ABCDE
U
2003
36.77
59.42
76.79
86.35
94.43
5.57
2004
38.50
64.46
81.50
92.99
96.87
3.16
2005
35.16
61.83
80.68
89.92
94.63
5.37
2006
42.84
65.65
81.74
91.91
97.24
2.76
2007
41.27
64.78
82.24
91.12
96.88
3.12
NUMBER OF PUPILS WITH THREE OR MORE 'A'GRADES
2003 : 80
2004 : 75
2005 : 70
2006 : 85
2007 : 87
10
ANALYSIS OF EXAMINATION RESULTS 2007 - GCSE RESULTS
Art & Design
%
Business Studies
%
Chinese
%
Classical Civ.
%
Design and Tech.
%
Drama
%
English Lang.
%
English Lit.
%
French
%
Geography
%
German
%
Greek
%
History
%
Home Economics
%
Information Tech.
%
Latin
%
Mathematics
%
Mathematics Add.
%
Music
%
Office Tech.
%
PSE
%
Religious Studies
%
RE (Short Course)
%
Russian
%
Double Award
%
Science: Geology
%
Spanish
%
Total
%
A*
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
U
entries A*-C
6
9.7
32
30.8
2
66.7
4
8.9
3
6.3
2
6.7
47
18.1
37
17.1
45
21.0
26
22.8
11
31.4
2
100.0
57
49.1
5
12.5
13
24.5
9
33.3
76
28.5
27
27.8
14
53.8
2
16.7
5
20.8
71
30.5
4
13.8
16
100.0
208
39.2
6
54.5
22
56.4
752
28.3
14
22.6
30
28.8
1
33.3
10
22.2
8
16.7
21
70.0
92
35.4
69
31.8
53
24.8
44
38.6
10
28.6
0
0.0
43
37.1
10
25.0
19
35.8
13
48.1
80
30.0
39
40.2
10
38.5
1
8.3
6
25.0
60
25.8
1
3.4
0
0.0
132
24.9
1
9.1
13
33.3
780
29.4
18
29.0
22
21.2
0
0.0
14
31.1
10
20.8
5
16.7
75
28.8
80
36.9
33
15.4
30
26.3
6
17.1
0
0.0
11
9.5
10
25.0
7
13.2
3
11.1
61
22.8
17
17.5
2
7.7
1
8.3
3
12.5
42
18.0
1
3.4
0
0.0
94
17.7
2
18.2
3
7.7
550
20.7
18
29.0
9
8.7
0
0.0
8
17.8
10
20.8
1
3.3
35
13.5
28
12.9
45
21.0
10
8.8
7
20.0
0
0.0
5
4.3
4
10.0
6
11.3
2
7.4
38
14.2
10
10.3
0
0.0
4
33.3
4
16.7
29
12.4
8
27.6
0
0.0
66
12.5
1
9.1
0
0.0
348
13.1
3
4.8
6
5.8
0
0.0
4
8.9
7
14.6
0
0.0
9
3.5
1
0.5
25
11.7
4
3.5
1
2.9
0
0.0
0
0.0
10
25.0
4
7.5
0
0.0
9
3.4
3
3.1
0
0.0
4
33.3
5
20.8
21
9.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
22
4.2
1
9.1
1
2.6
140
5.3
1
1.6
2
1.9
0
0.0
2
4.4
3
6.3
1
3.3
2
0.8
1
0.5
10
4.7
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
2.5
2
3.8
0
0.0
2
0.7
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
3
1.3
1
3.4
0
0.0
6
1.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
37
1.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
3
1.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
2
6.9
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
5
0.2
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
0.5
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
4.2
0
0.0
1
3.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
3
0.1
2
3.2
3
2.9
0
0.0
3
6.7
7
14.6
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
2
3.8
0
0.0
1
0.4
1
1.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
7
3.0
11
37.9
0
0.0
2
0.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
39
1.5
62
90.3
104
89.4
3
100.0
45
80.0
48
64.6
30
96.7
260
95.8
217
98.6
214
82.2
114
96.5
35
97.1
2
100.0
116
100.0
40
72.5
53
84.9
27
100.0
267
95.5
97
95.9
26
100.0
12
66.7
24
75.0
233
86.7
29
48.3
16
100.0
530
94.3
11
90.9
39
97.4
2654
91.6
11
GCSE LEVEL RESULTS 2003 - 2007
PAPERS AND GRADES OBTAINED
A*
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
U
TOTAL
2003
668
954
531
209
53
8
2
0
7
2432
2004
645
888
626
305
72
14
3
4
16
2573
2005
826
798
556
263
66
8
1
0
7
2525
2006
708
871
609
290
63
18
2
2
9
2572
2007
752
780
550
848
140
37
5
3
39
2654
PERCENTAGE OF GRADES OBTAINED TO TOTAL NUMBER
A*
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
U
2003
27.43
39.27
21.83
8.59
2.18
0.33
0.08
0.00
0.29
2004
25.07
34.51
24.33
11.85
2.80
0.54
0.17
0.16
0.66
2005
32.71
31.60
22.02
10.42
2.61
0.32
0.04
0.00
0.28
2006
27.53
33.86
23.68
11.28
2.45
0.70
0.08
0.08
0.35
2007
28.33
29.39
20.72
13.11
5.28
1.39
0.19
0.11
1.47
CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF GRADES OBTAINED TO TOTAL NUMBER
A*
A*A
A*AB
A*ABC
D
DE
DEF
DEFG
DEFGU
2003
27.43
66.69
88.53
97.12
2.18
2.51
2.59
2.59
2.88
2004
25.07
59.58
83.91
95.76
2.80
3.34
3.45
3.61
4.24
2005
32.72
64.32
86.34
96.75
2.61
2.93
2.97
2.97
3.25
2006
27.53
61.39
86.07
96.35
2.45
3.15
3.23
3.31
3.65
2007
28.33
57.72
78.45
91.56
5.28
6.67
6.86
6.97
8.44
NUMBER OF PUPILS WITH SEVEN OR MORE A AND A* GRADES
2003 : 132
2004 : 130
2005 : 141
2006 : 136
2007 : 137
12
ANALYSIS OF EXAMINATIONS RESULTS 2007 – KEY STAGES 1, 2 AND 3
Key Stage 1
% of pupils achieving
English Level 1 or above
English Level 2 or above
Mathematics Level 1 or above
Mathematics Level 2 or above
External Test
100
97
100
100
Key Stage 2
% of pupils achieving
English Level 3 or above
English Level 4 or above
Mathematics Level 3 or above
Mathematics Level 4 or above
External Test
100
95
100
95
Key Stage 3
% of pupils achieving
English Level 5 or above
English Level 6 or above
Mathematics Level 5 or above
Mathematics Level 6 or above
Science Level 5 or above
Science Level 6 or above
Teacher Assessment
98.4
92.6
99.6
88.6
96.0
95.0
13
VI Extra-curricular activities and achievements
A The following sporting activities are offered in the College:
BOYS
GIRLS
Athletics
Badminton
Cricket
Cross country
Fencing
Golf
Gymnastics
Hockey
Judo
Rowing
Rugby football
Squash racquets
Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Cricket
Cross country
Dance
Fencing
Golf
Gymnastics
Hockey
Horseriding
Judo
Netball
Rowing
Squash racquets
Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball
B The following Clubs and Societies meet regularly:
Amateur Radio Club
Astronomy Club
Band
Brass Group
Chapel Choir
Chess Club
Climbing Club
Community Service Group
Computer Club
Current Affairs Society
Dance Club
Duke of Edinburgh
Award Scheme
Entertainments Group
Environment &
Conservation Society
Film Appreciation Society
Geological Society
Girls Choir
Hewitt Society
India Society
Intermediate Christian Union
Italian Society
Jazz Group
Junior Art Club
Junior Choir
Junior Christian Union
Junior Classics Club
Junior Debating Society
Junior Dramatic Society
Junior History Club
Junior Orchestra
Junior Science Club
Languages Club
Public Speaking
Quizzes
Recorder Group
Romania Society
Russian Circle
Senior Art Club
Senior Choir
Senior Chorus
Senior Christian Union
Senior Classics Society
Senior Debating Society
Senior Dramatic Society
Mathematics Club
Middle School Dramatic Society
Senior History Society
Senior Orchestra
Model United Nations
Moneybox Committee
Music Society
Natural History Society
Psychology Society
Technology Club
Trad Music Group
Walton Society
Worldwise Quiz
Young Enterprise
14
C.
Major Sporting Achievements (Team and Individual)
Athletics
Boys
The Senior Boys had a highly successful season winning the Junior, Minor,
Intermediate, Senior and Overall Cups at the District Championships and the Senior and
Overall Cups at the Ulster Championships. They won a total of twenty medals at the
Ulster Championships. Fraser Halliday was selected for the U17 Ulster Schools’ Team.
At the Irish Championships, Luke Campbell won a gold medal, Ryan Stewart a silver
medal and Jay Warren a bronze medal.
Girls
The Girls had a very successful season winning the Minor, Junior, Intermediate, Senior
and Overall sections at the District Championships. They went on to win the
Intermediate, Senior, and Overall Cups at the Ulster Championships by winning a total
of fourteen medals. Kirsty Kee was selected for the U17 Ulster Schools’ Team. Anna
Rainey won a Bronze medal at the Irish Championships.
Preparatory
Fullerton House came 1st and Downey House 6th in the Belfast City Council Primary
School Athletics Shield. Forty-five schools participated so these were excellent results.
In the individual girls section Eun Mi Yoo (FH) was joint 2nd, Laura Cunningham (FH)
was 3rd, Jessica Copeland (DH) was 6th, Alice Bingham (DH) was 8th and Olivia
McNaboe (FH) was 11th. In the Boys section Ethan Barry (FH) achieved joint 2nd,
Wolfie Diamond (FH) was 3rd and Conall Kirk (DH) was 13th.
Basketball
The Junior Girls basketball team won the Ulster Schools Basketball Cup and qualified
for the All-Ireland play-offs.
Cricket
The Colts XI reached the final of the U15 Cup but were defeated by Strabane High
School.
Mark Best was selected for the Irish U13 XI which was the winner of the European
Championships. Ben McIlroy and Patrick McKee were chosen for the Ulster Schools XI
which toured England. Michael Heaney and Andrew McCulla were also chosen for the
Ulster Schools XI. Michael, Andrew and Robbie Stewart were selected for the NCU
U17 team. Andrew was also selected for the U17 Irish Schools XI which was runner-up
in the European Championships.
Cross-Country
Rory Hampton won a bronze medal at the Ulster Championships.
Golf
Nicola Robinson and Lara McClelland had the best combined net score in the Ulster
Schoolgirls Golf Championships. Nicola was chosen as a reserve for the Ulster squad.
Gymnastics
In a Floor and Vault competition, Rachel Graham achieved silver in both events, Scarlett
Allen won bronze in the Floor event and Jennifer Tsang won bronze in the Vault event.
Hockey
Girls
Boys
Nicole Morrow was selected for the Belfast Area U17 team and Laura Irwin, Hannah
Jones and Sylvia Rose were selected for the U15 team. The Girls went on tour to Italy
winning both matches they played. Helen Stevenson was selected for the Ulster and the
Irish U18 team.
The U15 Boys Hockey team reached the semi-final of the Richardson Cup. A combined
U14/U15 team enjoyed a very successful three-day tour of Dublin, playing Wesley
College, King’s Hospital, St Andrew’s and Newpark.
15
Judo
At the Northern Ireland Championships, the team of Lucinda Bell and Kirsty Kee won
the Girls Team Event trophy. In their various weight categories, Abdelrahman
Mohamed won a gold medal; Davey Frey, Kirsty Kee, Jodie Kee and Adam Kirk-Smith
won silver medals and Lucinda Bell, Edward Black, Patrick Black, Christina
Ermongkonchai, Joe Frey and Rory Kelly won bronze. Jodie Kee also won a silver
medal at the British National Championships.
Netball
The Senior Netball team beat Belfast Royal Academy to win Section B of the Belfast
Schools Senior League. The Form 1 ‘A’ Team was also the winner of its section of the
League. Katherine Sung was awarded Player of the Tournament. The Junior Team was
runner-up in the final of the Belfast Junior League and the Minor Team was runner-up in
the Minor Cup.
Preparatory
Downey House Netball team came 1st and Fullerton House 3rd in the Belfast Primary
Schools Netball League. Downey House came 5th overall in the Northern Ireland
Championships.
Rowing
Boys
Crews raced at Lagan Head, Lagan Scullers Head, Erne Head and Galway Head. The
Senior Boys were victorious in three of the events and won a bronze medal in the Galway
Head. The 1st VIII also won at the Irish Schools, Queen’s and Belfast Regattas, beating
Trinity College Dublin at the Queen’s event. The Senior Boys also competed in the Ghent
International Regatta where they came 7th out of 18 teams. The boys also competed at
Henley Royal Regatta and the Irish Junior Championships. The 3rd Form Junior Boys
squad won at Queens’s, Portadown and Belfast Regattas and represented the College at the
UK National Schools Regatta where they reached the semi-final. Patrick Jacques and Max
Humpreys were selected for Irish national teams. Patrick, as a member of the junior quad
scull, won a silver medal at the Home International regatta and Max won a silver and
bronze at the European Youth Championships (Coupe de la Juenesse Regatta).
Girls
The Senior Girls won a silver medal in the Erne Head. The Girls also competed at Portora,
Belfast and Queens’ regattas where they recorded victories in various age categories in
VIIIs, IVs and sculling events. At the GB Schools Head the senior girls were placed in a
creditable 7th place.
Rugby
The Medallion XV defeated Regent House (15-10) to win the Medallion Shield. The 1st
XV were defeated (7-11) in the semi-final of the Schools Cup by eventual winners, RBAI.
The 3rd XV defeated the 4th XV in an all-Methody 3rd XV Cup Final. The U14 A Squad
was runner-up in the RBAI Invitation Tournament. The U13 A Squad was the winner of
the MCB U13 Memorial Trophy. Sam Bell and Adam Macklin were selected for the Irish
U18 team having already been selected for the Ulster U18 team along with Paul Jackson
and Conor O’Kane.
Preparatory
Fullerton House and Downey House reached the finals of the Ulster Preparatory Schools
Tournament. Ethan Barry, Wolfie Diamond, Stuart Faulkner and Christopher Moohan from
Fullerton House were selected by Harlequins to play in the Under 11 Mini-Rugby Team in
the London Irish European Tournament in which they finished 2nd.
Squash
The Boys Squash Team won the U15 and U17 categories at the Irish Schools
Championships having already won the Ulster Schools Championships in these categories.
Cathryn Abernethy was selected for the Irish U17 team and Gordon Harpur was selected
for the U19 team. Hugo Diamond was chosen for the Ulster U15 team.
16
Swimming
At the Irish Schools Gala the senior teams had notable success. All individual swimmers
and relay teams qualified for the finals. The Girls’ relay team won a bronze medal. The
team members were Sarah Bamford, Kirsty Kee, Katie Linden and Kathryn Rooney.
At the Grammar Schools Gala Terence Hann had a fantastic win in the Individual Butterfly.
He was joined by Patrick Lee, Matthew Beattie and Chris Linden to achieve two bronze
medals in the Medley and Freestyle relays. Katie Linden also performed well in the
Individual freestyle, where she won silver. She was joined by Kathryn Rooney, Sarah
Bamford and Kirsty Kee to win silver in both the Medley and Freestyle relays. Sarah
Bamford was placed first in the Intermediate Freestyle and third in the Butterfly events.
In the Junior section, Luke Campbell was placed 2nd in both the Backstroke and Freestyle
events and Jamie Knight was 3rd in the Backstroke. The Boys’ relay team won two bronze
medals. In the Girls’ Relay Sophie Adams, Chloe Hampton, Lucia Leonard and Jodie Kee
won bronze in both the Medley and Freestyle events.
Luke Campbell of Form 3 was selected for the Irish Schools Squad in the WISE
International Schools Gala held in Dublin where he achieved a 2012 Olympic Squad time.
Luke received a Special Award from the College for his outstanding achievement.
Table Tennis
The Boys Sixth Form Table Tennis team reached the semi-final of the Ulster Schools Cup
where they were narrowly defeated (5-4) by RBAI.
Tennis
The Girls Intermediate Tennis team were winners of the Ulster Intermediate Cup. The team
members were Elizabeth Cardy, Katie Lockwood, Maeve Middleton and Annabel Wason.
Jenny Collins was selected for the Ulster U18 team.
Volleyball
In the U16 Cup Competition the Boys team reached the final but were narrowly beaten by
Portadown College. Patrick Crooks, Han Lu and Jonny McClune were selected for the
Northern Ireland U19 squad.
17
D.
Individual Representative Sporting Honours
The following pupils gained distinction in sport at International and/or Interprovincial level.
Cathryn Abernethy
Lucinda Bell
Sam Bell
Mark Best
Luke Campbell
Patrick Crooks
Hugo Diamond
Fiona Dick
Christina Ermongkonchai
Alex Fowler
Fraser Halliday
Gordon Harpur
Michael Heaney
Max Humphries
Paul Jackson
Patrick Jacques
Jodie Kee
Kirsty Kee
Katie Kelly
Han Lu
Adam Macklin
Jonny McClune
Andrew McCulla
Patrick McKee
Conor O’Kane
Christopher Quinn
Patrick Robinson
Michael Ross
Helen Stevenson
Ryan Stewart
Squash
Judo
Rugby
Cricket
Swimming
Volleyball
Squash
Basketball
Judo
Tennis
Athletics
Squash
Cricket
Rowing
Rugby
Rowing
Judo
Judo
Basketball
Volleyball
Rugby
Volleyball
Cricket
Cricket
Rugby, Tennis
Rugby
Tennis
Squash
Hockey
Athletics
18
E. Other Events and Achievements (groups and individuals)
Music
In September, the Chapel Choir took part in a concert in memory of Miss Daphne Bell, founder and
director of the Ulster College of Music in the Elmwood Hall. The concert was introduced by Sean
Rafferty.
In October the Chapel and Girls Choirs combined with the Choir from St Malachy’s College to provide
music for the National Police Memorial Service at the Waterfront Hall. The Girls Choir was also asked
by the Belfast Festival at Queen’s to greet the tenor José Cura on his arrival at the airport.
The annual Autumn Concert took place once again at St Anne’s Cathedral. The Senior Choir and
Orchestra performed Vivialdi’s Gloria. The Junior Choir, Chapel Choir, Girls Choir, Brass Ensemble
and Irish Traditional Group also performed.
In November Richard Meyrick, the concert pianist, took a masterclass in the Chapel of Unity as part of
the school programme pianoMan. Seven members of the College took part in the afternoon in front of an
audience of approximately 150 pupils. Thirteen pupils performed with the City of Belfast Youth
Orchestra at the Schools Prom in the Royal Albert Hall from 14-16 November.
In December the Chapel Choir recorded a Service which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio
Ulster. The various Carol Services were very well attended and the Chapel Choir provided the music for
the NI Prison Service Benevolent Fund’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in St Anne’s Cathedral.
Members of the Junior Choir, the Chapel Choir and the Senior Orchestra travelled to London in March to
take part in the Joint Methodist Schools Concert at the Methodist Central Hall.
The Easter Concert was held in the Waterfront Hall in March. All the musical groups and choirs took
part in the varied first half and this was followed by an excellent rendition by the Senior Choir and
Orchestra of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.
The Chapel Choir was invited to be part of a programme of music for the opening of the Belfast City
Hospital Cancer Centre which was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn.
The annual Band Concert also took place in March, supported by the Former Pupils Association. The
special guests at the Concert were the Kamiak High School Choirs from Seattle, USA who were visiting
Belfast as part of their concert tour.
The Jazz Band provided the music for a national Nursing Conference held at Queen’s University in April.
Michael McHale, a former pupil, who is making a name for himself on the international concert pianist
circuit, gave a special Lunchtime Recital in the Chapel of Unity in April.
The Junior Choir was awarded First Prize in the Grammar School, 15 years and under category at the
Bangor International Choral Festival.
David Bennett, Sarah Brown, Malachy Frame, Megan Lynn, Patrick Mulholland and Clare Reavey were
selected for the Ulster Youth Orchestra. Sarah was also the first person to receive the Catherine Judge
Award for a pupil who is intending to study Music at University. She received a cheque for £5,000.
Clare Douglas was selected for the Ulster Youth Choir.
19
The Fullerton House Senior Choir was the special guest at the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra "Pops"
Concert on 23 March held in the College’s Whitla Hall. The Choir sang a total of six songs, conducted
by Mrs Helen Frame - an important occasion for the choir and a very successful and enjoyable night for
all.
Drama
The Junior School production of Annie took place from 19-21 June and a very lively and enjoyable
evening of entertainment was experienced by the audience.
The Middle School Drama production of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite took place from 21–23 October and as
always was very well directed and performed. It played to a capacity and very appreciative audience on
all three nights.
The Senior School production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit was staged very successfully from 24-26
January in the Whitla Hall to a capacity audience on all three nights.
Sixth Form Drama students enjoyed the annual trip to London where they saw two West End productions.
Art
Alice Nickell acheived 100% in her GCSE Art and Design.
Alice’s and Anna Coburn’s GCSE coursework and Sarah Crook’s A Level coursework have made it
through to the selection stage of this year’s True Colours Exhibition, a showcase of the best work
submitted to CCEA for the 2007 Art and Design examinations.
The annual showcase for GCSE Art & Design and a combined AS and A2 level showcase were held in
the Art Department and were very well supported by the families and friends of the pupils.
The Ryan Prize for GCSE Art and Design was won by Anna Coburn. The Ryan Prize for A level Art and
Design was won by Sarah Crooks for her consistently high standard throughout the A level course. The
Ryan Bursary was awarded to Sophie Wallace who will be studying Art at the University of Ulster.
English
The Kid Lit quiz, which originated in New Zealand, was held for the first time this year in Northern
Ireland. Schools from all over Belfast and County Down attended the event which was held in
Wellington College in November. Methody entered a team of Form 1 girls - Isabel van Brugen,
Constance Kendrick, Saoirse McClean and Tess Davidson. The girls are all keen members of the Hewitt
Society and finished in fourth place.
Bestselling author Darren Shan visited the College in October, where he spoke to a packed Whitla Hall
audience comprising the whole of first and second form. The pupils were enthralled by Darren and
hundreds queued afterwards to have copies of his books signed.
Junior pupils have also been involved in the Poetry in Motion project, where poets visit schools and work
with pupils to produce poetry. This year performance poet Chelley McClear worked with two Form Two
classes and some Fullerton classes. A selection of their poems will be chosen for publication in this
year’s Poetry in Motion collection. All English classes also celebrated National Poetry Day in October
by reading and writing poetry.
The speaker at the Sheila Smyth lecture was the novelist and playwright Lucy Caldwell. She spoke to
Sixth Form English students and an invited audience on the theme of ‘Re-imagining Belfast’.
20
English teacher Dr Sheena Wilkinson won the prestigious Brian Moore Short Story Award for her story
‘Amputees’. The story was published in the November edition of the Ulster Tatler.
Luke McMullan was selected for a creative writing course in Villiers Park, Cambridge.
Environment and Society
At the first ever Scottish Model United Nations (MUN) Conference, held in George Watson’s College,
Edinburgh, MCB delegates were very successful. Tom Armstrong, Jonathan Gallagher and Ruth Stone
were commended in their committees and Jonathan Eakin, Mayank Kalia, Edward Nickell and James Wu
were highly commended. Joe Doyle and Daniel Williams were judged Best Junior Delegates and Lauren
Cheshire and Gavin Morrison were judged Best Delegates.
The ninth annual MCB MUN conference took place over Autumn half-term, with over 350 students from
all over the UK taking part. The Best Delegation Award was won by Eton College representing Japan.
The team representing the USA composed of Finola Austin, Lauren Crowe, Claire Henderson, Aimée
Muirhead, Angharad Thain, Michael Boyle and Brenda McFall were runners-up. The Best Junior
Delegate award was won by Edward Nickell representing India.
At the National High Schools’ MUN held at the United Nations in New York, much success was enjoyed
by our 24 delegates. Individual awards were won by Bobbie Leigh Herdman and Dessi Malinova and the
team won a Best Delegation award for their collective effort in committees.
Twenty-eight Methody pupils comprising five delegations went to Kingswood School in Bath to
participate in the sixteenth annual Bath International Schools Model United Nations conference,
competing with schools from around the globe. Many commendations and awards were won including a
Best Junior Delegate Award for Michael Boyle and Best Delegate Awards for Richard Armstrong,
Lauren Cheshire and Simon Wright.
As part of their Learning for Life and Work GCSE, a Form 5 class organised a Cultural Diversity Fair in
the Lecture Room in March. The fair displayed food, music, religion, crafts and language of the cultural
traditions represented in South Belfast. The fair was extremely well attended by pupils of all ages, who
enjoyed all that was on offer. A highlight of the event was the visit of Alliance MLA Anna Lo.
Alex Jeffery and Peter Silke were selected for residential courses at Villiers Park, Cambridge in Politics
and History respectively.
Dr Jenny McKinley from the Geology Department at Queen’s University gave a lecture on Geology
Geohazards to Geology and some Geography students.
The annual Law Conference took place in February attracting students from all over Northern Ireland
interested in a career in Law.
Science and Technology
David Bennett, William Boreland and Jessica Jacques represented the College in the Northern Ireland
Key Stage 3 Science Quiz and emerged as winners, beating teams from all over the province. It is the
third time a team from MCB has won the competition, the only school to do so in its history.
L6 students Thomas Bayliss, Eddie Li, Amy Wen, Simon Williamson and William Yang were all
awarded Nuffield Science Bursaries for placements in research establishments during the summer.
Christopher Dorman was awarded a gold medal in the UK GCSE Physics Challenge while Emma Horner
and Andrew Barr received silver medals in the AS Physics Competition. Simon Wright received a gold
21
medal in the British Physics Olympiad and was selected for the Irish Physics Olympiad team which
competed in Iran. Jamie Hu received a silver medal. Simon also won a silver medal in the British
Chemistry Olympiad in which Jamie Hu, Theo Murphy, Yanwen Ou and James Wu all received
commendations. James Wu was also chosen to represent Ireland at the Biology World Olympiad held in
Canada in which he won a bronze medal.
Daniel Playfair was the first recipient of the Liberty IT Award for achievement in computing by a pupil
intending to pursue a career in the field.
Each year a group of four Lower Sixth students take part in the prestigious Engineering Education
Scheme, where they work alongside a company on a real engineering project. This year the team of
Victoria Braden, Courtney Hart, Reuben McNaughten and Richard Moore, worked with Northern Ireland
Electricity and designed a solution to the problem of how to prevent birds sitting on overhead power
cables in residential areas. They were presented with Gold Crest Awards.
The Fifth Engineering Our Future Conference was held at the College in November. This event gives
students from all over Northern Ireland the opportunity to learn about a career in engineering. The
Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester, Strathclyde, Dublin, Ulster, Southhampton, Leeds and Queen’s
took part in the event along with speakers from Scottish Engineering and the Institute of Civil
Engineering.
All the Form 1 members of the Amateur Radio Club gained their Foundation Radio Licenses.
Thomas Bayliss was selected for a residential course in Physics at Villiers Park, Cambridge.
Languages
The German debating team of Laura Frey, Ruth Jennings, Hannah Lynn and Kathryn Rooney won the
final of the Northern Ireland Post-16 German Debating Competition. They beat Friends School in the
final. Ruth Jennings and Hannah Lynn were awarded best speakers in the final and semi-final
respectively.
The French debating team was runner-up in the NICILT competition.
Zawislak received Best Speaker Awards.
Ciara Mulvenna and Maya
Clemency Booth won a special prize for the best written poem in an Oxford Russian Competition. She
was awarded a book of Russian poetry for the imaginative use of the Russian language. Luke
McMullan’s essay received a Distinction. Pupils studying Russian enjoyed the second trip to Russia in
March.
Form 3 headed to Paris for the annual French trip and Form 3 and Form 4 pupils went on the annual
German Exchange trip in October to the Humboldt Gymnasium, Vaterstetten.
An exchange between Methody and St Agnes Gymnasium, Stuttgart, took place with five pupils from L6
attending school in Stuttgart for 10 days in March.
In October, the Onatti Theatre Company performed Lese die Zeichen for German GCSE pupils.
The L6 French Exchange took place in April with the pupils visiting the Lycée Technique Léonard de
Vinci, St Germain-en-Laye, situated on the outskirts of Paris.
European Day of Languages was celebrated in the College on 26 September with a Euroquiz in the
Library and staff and students being encouraged to greet each other in European languages.
22
Forty Form 4 pupils and five staff went on the annual Classics trip to Italy at the end of March. While
staying in Sorrento, visits were made to Roman Pompeii, the Naples Archaeological Museum,
Herculaneum and Mt Vesuvius among others. Two days were also spent in Rome visiting the sites.
Eighty-eight members of Form 1 and nine staff members went on the annual Classics trip in June visiting
sites associated with Hadrian’s Wall.
Amy Johnston was selected for a residential course in Classics at Villers Park, Cambridge.
Other
The College’s Chess 1st team was runner-up in the Ulster School’ Chess League Division 1. Frank Wu
became the Ulster U16 Champion. Anandagopal Srinivasan was selected for the Ulster Schools team.
The College took part in the National Anti-Bullying week. At assemblies during the week the role of the
‘bystander’ was considered. Pupils were told that intervention by a spectator brings 60% of bullying to
an end. Pupils were also encouraged to think about the effects of bullying and how important it is to treat
others with respect.
The 11th annual ski trip departed for New Hampshire, USA over the Christmas break with a party of 77
pupils and staff.
The 15th annual Medical Careers Symposium in conjunction with Queen’s University took place in
February. Approximately 180 pupils from 40 schools attended. This is the only Northern Ireland
conference for prospective medical students. Six Medical Schools sent representatives and pupils visited
various Belfast hospitals.
The annual Societies Fair was held in the Whitla Hall in September. The event is mainly aimed at Form 1
pupils but as always attracted pupils from every year group.
David Perry, a former pupil, based in California and globally recognised as a leading figure in the
computer games industry visited the College in November. He gave a multimedia presentation to senior
pupils studying ICT and Business Studies.
Fifteen Sixth Form pupils and staff travelled to Brasov, Romania in January as part of School Aid
Romania visiting various projects in the area. Over £10,000 worth of aid was distributed.
The 14th Careers and Higher Education Convention, ‘Options’, took place in September. As always it
was very well attended by over 5,000 pupils and parents from all over Northern Ireland. Over 80
exhibitors from universities and employment sectors made for a very informative display.
In March, the Parents Support Group organised an extremely successful fundraising evening.
International TV personality and MCB parent, Eamonn Holmes hosted a chat-show in the College. As
well as talking to the audience Eamonn interviewed well-known Northern Irish personalities Marie Jones,
David Humphries, May McFetridge, William Crawley and Mike Edgar. Musical entertainment was
provided by the Jazz Band. The evening was well attended and very enjoyable.
Reunions
The Class of 1996 held a ten year reunion on 22 September in the Harlequins Club. About 40 former
pupils attended and enjoyed an evening reminiscing and catching up. Dr Mulryne, the former
Headmaster also attended.
23
F. Special Academic Achievements
In the 2007 A level, AS level and GCSE examinations, many top places were taken in various subjects by
our pupils:
AQA GCSE
(United Kingdom placings)
Awarded one of the top 5 marks
English Literature
Finola M Austin, Jessica C R Hamilton, Claire I Henderson,
Lai Yan Li, Aimee I Muirhead, Juliet M Stirling, Z Frank Wu
French
Eva F H Jacques, Dylan T J McCaughtery
Spanish
Elizabeth A Cardy
CCEA A Level
(Northern Ireland placings)
Joint Second in Mathematics
Joint Third in Further Mathematics
Simon R M Wright
Simon R M Wright
CCEA GCSE
(Northern Ireland placings)
Maximum marks received in Art & Design
Joint Third in History
Alice E Nickell
Katie E Lockwood
OCR A Level
(United Kingdom placings)
Placed in top 10 in Geology
Philip D Todd
(Northern Ireland placings)
First in Geology
Second in Geology
Third in Geology
Philip D Todd
Graham N Richardson
David J Pinkerton
OCR AS Level
(Northern Ireland placings)
Second in Geology
Carrie M McIlroy
EDEXCEL A Level
(United Kingdom placings)
Placed in top 10 in French
Christopher P Connolly
24
UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE
The following former members of the College have obtained places at Cambridge and Oxford
Universities:
CAMBRIDGE:
Lauren E Cheshire, Corpus Christi for Law; Christopher P Connolly, Peterhouse for
Modern and Medieval Languages; Ryan S Deane, Magdalene for Law; Sarah V
Hansen, Downing for Law; Stephen T M Heagney, Selwyn for Law; Jamie J Hu, St
Catherine’s for Natural Sciences; Maria D Kennedy, Jesus for Modern and Medieval
Languages; Dessislava S Malinova, Queens’ for Natural Sciences; Yanwen Ou,
Emmanuel for Medicine; Samuel Z Stone, Sidney Sussex for Law; Simon R M
Wright, St Catherine’s for Mathematics; James Y Wu, Corpus Christi for Medicine.
OXFORD:
Neil W Malloy, Exeter for English and Modern Languages; Ciara Mulvenna, Exeter
for Modern Languages.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Chloe G Mahony, Christopher J P McCann and Gavin N C Morrison were awarded Entrance Exhibitions
from the University of Dublin (Trinity College).
25
G. Contributions to Charities
£
MONEYBOX
Breast Cancer Research
Thorndale Family Centre (Toys at Christmas)
School Aid Romania
Chest, Heart & Stroke
India Society
Mulanji Mission School
Lepra
£
1616.68
579.40
950.00
397.37
1500.00
550.00
300.00
5893.45
SIXTH FORM FORUM
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Shine-a-Light
4000.00
621.19
4621.19
FORM 1 READATHON
Clic Sargent Cancer Care Foundation
& Roald Dahl Foundation
1020.00
INDIA SOCIETY
Children’s Resource Centre, Kalkaji
Vaccination Programme
6500.00
3500.00
10000.00
ROMANIA SOCIETY
School Aid Romania
13500.00
DOWNEY HOUSE
NSPCC
LEPRA
Little Hearts Matter
SCF (catalogue sales)
UNICEF (Non-Uniform)
Red Nose Day
3123.34
300.00
500.00
468.00
330.00
1016.00
5737.84
FULLERTON HOUSE
NSPCC Sponsored Bounce
Operation Christmas Child
Belfast Central Mission
India Society
LEPRA
3866.00
400.00
1000.00
250.00
1100.00
6616.00
47388.48
OVERALL TOTAL
26
VII Financial Statement
METHODIST COLLEGE BELFAST
SUMMARY INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
for the year ended 31 March 2007
Note
£
Surplus (Deficit) from Educational Activities:
Secondary Department
Preparatory Department
Boarding Department
1
2
3
Other Operating Income
Less Other Operating Expenditure
(Deficit) on General Reserve
Total College Surplus
2007
£
2006
£
£
147,257
120,878
( 14,381)
253,754
122,969
5,324
63,360
191,653
493,937
569,161
581,556
610,001
( 28,445)
163,208
( 75,224)
178,530
SUMMARY BALANCE SHEET
as at 31 March 2007
2007
£
Fixed Assets
Endowment Asset Investments
Development Fund Investments
Preparatory Department Development Fund Investments
Synthetic Hockey Pitch Fund Investments
Current Assets
Creditors Falling Due In One Year
Total Assets Less Current Liabilities
Creditors Due In More Than One Year
6,588,648
1,195,877
949,767
20,566
35,181
2,561,743
(1,357,259)
9,994,523
-
2006
£
6,102,121
1,138,703
894,920
20,566
27,647
2,463,294
(1,171,796)
9,475,455
(94,087)
TOTAL NET ASSETS
9,994,523
9,381,368
Represented by
Deferred Capital Grants and Donations
Deferred Income
Endowment Funds
Development Fund
Preparatory Department Development Fund
Synthetic Hockey Pitch Sinking Fund
Reserves
TOTAL FUNDS
3,937,141
893,910
1,195,877
949,767
20,566
35,181
2,962,081
9,994,523
3,810,643
912,030
1,138,703
894,920
20,566
27,647
2,576,859
9,381,368
The summary financial statements set out above were approved by the Board of Governors on 7 June 2007 and
signed on its behalf by:
Mr J Mulholland, Chairman
Mr M Dawson, Treasurer
Mrs M White, Acting Principal
27
METHODIST COLLEGE BELFAST
Notes to the accounts
1. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT - SECONDARY DEPARTMENT
INCOME
Tuition Fees
Grants
College Fund
Other Income
EXPENDITURE
Teaching Costs
Premises Costs
Support Costs
Surplus
2007
£
2006
£
194,657
7,338,660
509,609
56,127
8,099,053
159,491
7,212,716
522,495
58,851
7,953,553
6,240,703
549,868
1,185,514
7,976,084
6,034,615
525,955
1,245,726
7,806,296
122,969
147,257
2. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT - PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT
INCOME
Tuition Fees
Grants
Other Income
EXPENDITURE
Teaching Costs
Premises Costs
Support Costs
2007
2006
£
£
1,359,845
404,057
101,146
1,865,048
1,399,980
397,618
92,544
1,890,142
1,440,665
134,952
284,107
1,859,724
1,373,349
124,969
270,946
1,769,264
5,324
120,878
Surplus
3. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT - BOARDING DEPARTMENT
INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Food, Salaries and Wages
Premises Costs
Support Costs
Surplus
28
2007
2006
£
£
1,047,294
962,769
771,789
193,053
19,092
983,934
736,550
219,712
20,888
977,150
63,360
( 14,381)
TREASURER’S REPORT 2006/07
Methodist College continues to be one of the most successful schools in Northern Ireland. Nondenominational since its foundation in 1865 and co-educational within months of it opening in 1868 the
College is attended by 2,275 pupils with 1,794 students in the Secondary Department and 481 children in
the Preparatory Department. The Boarding Department comprising of McArthur Hall for girls and
School House for boys is the largest boarding facility in Northern Ireland with 135 boarders. The College
has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence and an impressive record of achievement in sport,
music and drama. The College seeks to educate the children and young people who attend to take their
place as young adults in society by providing a safe and stimulating learning environment in which
individual knowledge, capabilities, attitudes and standards of behaviour can be developed and mutual
tolerance fostered to the full. To achieve these aims requires considerable resources and the College
employs 154 teachers and 109 educational support staff, who all strive to meet the challenges presented to
them in trying to fulfil the aims of the College.
In previous reports the various changes facing education have been outlined. It is unfortunate that
another year has passed but little has changed with only further potential changes to the educational
system in Northern Ireland being placed on the table. There are a number of debates currently underway
including the method of transfer of pupils to secondary schools, the new curriculum, the Reform of Public
Administration, the Procurement of School Buildings and the Bain Report. All of these major topics will
have an impact on the College and will require significant change. Alongside many other organisations
and individuals the Board of Governors of the College have real concerns about many of the proposals,
the uncertainty about the future of our children and the schools they will attend and the lack of real
progress in finding workable solutions.
On academic selection it is hoped that, with the establishment of the new Assembly with locally
accountable politicians, progress will be made towards a solution that will be of benefit to all the children
in Northern Ireland without damaging the good that already exists. This matter has been debated over the
last number of years and the proposals as they stand at present do not enjoy widespread public support
and are also so clouded as to how they would work in practice that they are currently unworkable. So we
are moving towards the future with a proposal which is uncertain and is giving real concern for parents
with regards to the education of their children. Surely, the time has come for common sense to prevail
and a workable solution put in place which makes changes built on the successful foundations that
already exist.
The proposed Reform of Public Administration as it affects education has also been around for some
time. This proposed the establishment of the Educational Skills Authority, a central educational support
body to which would be transferred the work presently carried out by the Education and Library Boards.
It is also proposed that this body will take over the employment of all teaching and support staff in
schools in Northern Ireland including the voluntary grammar school sector. Within the documents there
are also proposals to provide a range of support services for all schools including human resources,
financial management and professional services. This body would also take over the capital development
and maintenance of the schools’ estate. These are major changes to the current management
arrangements which exist for voluntary grammar schools and will, if they are implemented as currently
set out, reduce significantly the autonomy of schools such as the College. It seems illogical that a sector
which has been praised for its overall management ability is going to have a system imposed upon it
which takes away all the flexibility and autonomy which has allowed it to perform at a very high
standard. Again it is hoped that good sense will prevail and a one size fits all system is not imposed
which in fact fits no-one. There has been little communication from the new Education and Skills
Authority and it is hoped as with the transfer situation that a solution can be worked out that builds on the
good standards that already exist and that communication will take place between the new body and
voluntary grammar schools to reach a good workable solution.
29
The College in the last financial year spent £11.4 million on its educational activities. Most of this
funding comes from the Department of Education under the Common Funding Formula which was
established a few years ago as the mechanism through which all schools in Northern Ireland are funded.
For 2006/07 grants from the Department of Education amounted to £7.74 million or 68% of the College’s
total expenditure. This compares to £7.56 million for the previous year demonstrating that funding from
the Department for the College is not keeping pace with inflation. There are a number of factors
contributing to this low increase in funding. These include the Common Funding Formula where more
emphasis was given to primary schools compared to secondary schools and it was realised from its
conception that schools such as the College would have reduced grant aid unless the overall funding for
education increased. Another factor is the situation explained in the Bain Report where falling school
numbers are causing financial difficulty. The College welcomes the Bain Report and whilst it may not
agree with some of its content it is an attempt to understand the issues and provide practical guidance as
to how things can be moved forward. There must now be in the near future a review of funding for
education in Northern Ireland based on the Bain Report and the putting in place of plans to ensure that
adequate finance is made available for viable schools. The establishment of the new academies in
England by the Labour government also raises the issue of finance where it is understood that an academy
enjoys better government grant aid than an equivalent school in Northern Ireland.
From the picture painted it is obvious that the College could not continue to offer the range of academic
subjects and extra-curricular activities to its pupils without funding from sources other than government.
Such additional funding largely comes from parents in the form of fees for preparatory and boarding
education and contributions to the College Fund which are essential for the ongoing work of the
Secondary Department. The College thanks all those parents who give their ongoing support to the
school. Your help and support is greatly appreciated.
The Secondary Department has continued to offer a very wide range of academic and extra-curricular
choices to a wide range of pupils, within a tight funding regime and has managed to balance the accounts
with a small surplus of around £120,000. This could not have been achieved without parents support to
the College Fund where £510,000 was received during this year. This contribution together with ongoing
efficient management of resources has resulted in this small surplus which can be used in future years.
The Preparatory Department is a very important part of the College. Preparatory education offers choice
for parents with a wide curriculum and range of extra-curricular activities. The level of government
funding continues to fall in real terms with £404,000 received in 2006/07 compared to £398,000 the
previous year, an increase of only 1.5%. This current level of grant aid accounts for less than 22% of the
costs of the Department. The Bain Report suggests that funding for Preparatory Departments should be
reviewed and this has a number of possible outcomes. However, whatever the outcome of such a review,
the College believes there is a good future for preparatory education within the College and that it will
continue to offer good value for money to parents in terms of the outcomes it delivers to the children who
attend.
The Boarding Department continues to attract students from far and wide and has had a successful year.
The Board of Governors as always are aware of the need to try to improve facilities within the Boarding
Department and there is a constant balance to be struck between the level of fees that can be charged to
parents and the amount of expenditure that can be incurred in improving the provision within the
Department. It is pleasing to report that Boarding had a surplus for the year of more than £60,000.
The Board of Governors are also conscious of the need to provide new buildings and facilities for the
school. The announcement by the Department of Education in March 2006 of a major investment in the
College was very welcome but progress has been painfully slow since that time. It is hoped that the
Department will begin to move forward with this project as soon as possible to provide the buildings and
facilities that the College very much needs to be able to provide the very best of educational experiences
to the pupils. To ensure this is a school that we can all continue to be proud of there will be a need to
provide buildings that will fulfil the aspirations and abilities of our pupils for many years ahead. Such
provision will go beyond the grant aid available and so the College will require significant additional
30
funding from other sources to ensure a campus is created of which the school community can be justly
proud. In the meantime the College is constructing a new changing room facility at Pirrie Park which
will accommodate 120 pupils. This is a facility which is badly needed and is costing in excess of
£700,000. Contributions to this project will be greatly welcomed and if you can give something please
contact the College. The final phase of the refurbishment of the exterior of School House was also
completed over the past year bringing this building back to its former glory.
The College’s greatest asset is its staff and the input by the people employed in the school over the past
year has been extremely significant. There continues to be a high standard of financial management and
control and the College has in place internal controls that provide the Board of Governors with assurances
that the financial management of the school is efficient, proper and takes account of risk. The College’s
systems are examined annually by independent auditors and the recent Internal Audit Report gave
assurance that all the systems within the school are being adhered to and the systems themselves are
robust.
The College recorded a small surplus for the year of £163k, marginally down against last year’s figure of
£178k. However, this result is very good given all the various pressures facing the school and this result
could only have been achieved by everyone involved in the College working together. Special mention
and thanks go to parents who have contributed to the College over the past year and all the staff who have
worked beyond the call of duty to deliver the best education possible to the children who attend the
school. A mention must also be made of the members of the Board of Governors who give their time and
ability in support of the College.
Mr S M Dawson
Treasurer
A full set of accounts and audit report are available at a charge of £1 from the Finance Office at the
College.
31
VIII PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
This is the text of the Report given at Senior Prize Distribution on 12 October 2007 at which the Guest
of Honour was Mr Nigel Hamilton, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
Mr President, Mr Chairman, Mr Hamilton, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, members of the
school.
When I took up residence during the summer, I was sorting through the drawers in the desk in my study.
At the very back of one of them I discovered this badge. It is a Methodist College Prefects badge from
1907, exactly 100 years ago. It was black and tarnished but with a little care and attention it was soon
restored to its former glory.
But what was happening in the year that this badge was presented to one of the College’s pupils. It was
the year that Lord Kelvin, the physicist whose statue stands at the entrance to the Botanic gardens died.
Einstein postulated his theory that E=mc2. The guardians of the Irish Crown jewels, “noticed that they
had been stolen.” And the Methodist College history records that …..In Ireland as elsewhere claims for
a more practical education began to be heard loudly. The Board of Commissioners of Intermediate
Education was thought to be too academic and out of touch with social needs. One of the principal
charges brought against it was the neglect of commercial and technical education. Concern was also
expressed about the undue pressure that examinations were putting on children.
It appears, therefore, that one thing that is consistent in the history of education is that the curriculum
being delivered in schools is under constant scrutiny, that there is always a demand for change to meet
the shifting demands of contemporary society and that there is a perennial concern about the balance in
the system between academic and vocational learning.
The implementation of the new curriculum at KS3 is well under way. The stated aim of the new
Northern Ireland Curriculum is to empower young people to achieve their potential and to make
informed and responsible decisions throughout their lives.
Three curriculum objectives amplify this aim. They are to develop young people as individuals as
contributors to society, and as contributors to the economy and the environment
So how does Methodist College measure up against the requirements of the new curriculum? Are we
preparing young citizens capable of leading and developing our society in the future? The answer to
these questions lies in the record of the achievements of the pupils of the College over the past year and
the various activities that they participated in. The annual Clubs and Societies Fair, organised by Mr
Stewart Roulston, is held in the Whitla Hall every September. The event aims to encourage all of our
pupils but especially the new first form to get involved in the extra-curricular life of the school. The
Hall is packed with bright display boards and enthusiastic pupils showcasing some of the forty-seven
extra-curricular clubs and societies available to our pupils. One of the attractions of Methody is the
variety of activities that the school is able to offer. It is these opportunities to grow and develop their
interests and talents, the experiences that they gain from their involvement in the extra-curricular life of
the school, the relationships which they develop with the staff, which enhances the academic learning of
our pupils and helps them to become accomplished young adults equipped to deal with life beyond the
College. In this report I can only provide a flavour of what our pupils and staff have accomplished over
the past year. I therefore refer you to other publications, the Prize Day booklet, the Methody Matters
newsletter and the annual school magazine which collectively provide a comprehensive record of the
life of the College.
32
The most important resource in any school is the staff. Given the size of the school there have been
remarkably few changes to the staff over the past year. Isobel Jones, a long standing member of the
Modern Languages department moved on to a new phase in her career. She was an excellent teacher,
committed housemistress, Head of Form and Head of the Careers Service. We welcome in her place
Mrs Hutton who joins the Modern Languages department as a teacher of French and German. In
Fullerton, Yvonne Elder retired as Head of Key Stage 1. We wish her a long and happy retirement. Her
teaching duties have been taken over by Mr James Kennedy. Over at Downey House Mr Stephen
Devlin, Head of KS2, headed across the water to take up a post in Scotland, with Mrs Anne
Cunningham joining the staff as teacher of KS1.
A warm welcome is also extended to Mr Leacock who joins the Maths Department to cover Mrs
Scully’s maternity leave. Staying with the Maths Department we welcome back Mrs Campton who is
returning to her post after her career break. Also returning from a career break is Miss Waddell who
rejoins the PE department.
I am only too aware of the vital role that the secretarial and support staff perform in ensuring the
successful running of the school. At the end of last session Margaret Lamont retired from the school
having provided excellent secretarial support to our Science Faculty for 18 years. Our administration
team has been joined by Donna Herrity.
Working on the premise that two new heads are better than one, Mr Jennings, the former Principal of
Newtownbreda Primary School has taken up his post as Head of Downey and Fullerton Preparatory
Departments and has had a very positive start to the year. We wish all of our new staff every success
for the future.
I would like at this point to thank Mrs White, Dr Gallagher, Dr Wheeler and Mr Robinson, the
Governors and the Staff for their hard work over the past year and also for the efforts that they have
made to make me feel welcome to the College. It is a privilege and an honour to take up this post and I
will endeavour to ensure that the College continues to build on its past strengths, is fit to meet the
challenges of the future and that it remains at the forefront of educational provision in Northern Ireland.
I now turn to the celebration of the achievements of our pupils, the main purpose of today’s ceremony.
When Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine chapel his patron Pope Julius II commented
on the creative genius of the Renaissance sculptor and painter. Michelangelo responded by saying,
“You would not call it genius if you knew how much hard work was involved.” The achievements of
our pupils in and out of the classroom are a clear testimony to their talents and abilities. However, let us
not forget that they are also the result of an incredible amount of hard work, by them and by the staff
who support them.
At A2 level 29 pupils achieved 4 As, 77 achieved 3 As or better, that is 30.2% of the candidates. In
comparison to the national picture a quarter of the presentations at A level in the UK achieved an A
pass, almost one third of those in Northern Ireland achieved the top grade. At Methody nearly half of
our A level presentations gained an A pass (49.5%). The A-C pass rate was a highly
commendable 90.6%.
There was a similar outcome at AS level with 41.3% of the presentations gaining an A pass, with the AC pass rate being 82.2%. 87 pupils (32.8%) achieved 3 As or better.
At GCSE Level over 28% of our presentations gained the top A* grade, with a further 29.4% achieving
an A grade and 78.5% achieving an A*-B grade.
A number of our pupils have been placed amongst the top performing pupils in the United Kingdom by
the respective exam Boards.
33
Simon Wright was joint second in Northern Ireland for A2 Mathematics and joint third for Further
Mathematics.
Chris Connolly achieved a top ten place in EDEXCEL French A level. Eva Jacques and Dylan
McCaughtry gained a top five place in AQA GCSE French. Elizabeth McCardy achieved one of the top
five marks in the UK for her AQA GCSE Spanish.
Seven pupils, Frank Wu, Jessica Hamilton, Lai Yan Li, Claire Henderson, Aimee Muirhead, Juliet
Stirling, Finola Austin have been awarded one of the top five marks for AQA GCSE English Literature.
Frank Wu now has 13 GCSE passes at A*.
Katie Lockwood was the joint third best performing candidate in Northern Ireland for GCSE History.
In A2 Geology Philip Todd, Graham Richardson and David Pinkerton came respectively 1st, 2nd and 3rd
in Northern Ireland. Philip was placed in the top 10 in the UK, with Graham and David coming in the
top 25. Carrie McIlroy came second in Northern Ireland at AS level.
Alice Nickel scored 100% in her GCSE Art and Design. Sarah Crook’s A level examination work has
made it through to the final selection stage of this year’s True Colours Exhibition, a showcase of the
best work submitted for the 2007 CCEA Art and Design examinations.
Last session Kirsty Robinson travelled to the Royal College of Physicians in London to receive an
award from the British Nutrition Foundation for gaining the top mark for GCSE Home Economics.
ICT skills are a cornerstone of the new curriculum, and for many of our pupils they are second nature.
However, there are always those who excel and Daniel Playfair is one such pupil. This year he is the
first recipient of the Liberty IT award for achievement in computing by a pupil intending to pursue a
career in the field. We welcome Sheila Fleming from Liberty IT the sponsors of the award to our Prize
Distribution Ceremony today.
The results achieved by our pupils are superb and they stand as a testimony to the hard work, dedication
and talent of the pupils and their teachers.
But learning does not just take place within the classroom. The development of a well-rounded
individual depends very much on the enrichment opportunities that the pupils are exposed to and the
staff at Methody are very good at providing as many such opportunities as possible for the pupils.
The Kid Lit quiz, which originated in New Zealand, was held for the first time this year in Northern
Ireland. Schools from all over Belfast and County Down attended the event which was held in
Wellington College on 23 November. The event celebrates and encourages reading. Methody entered a
team of Form 1 girls – Isabel van Brugen, Constance Kendrick, Saoirse McClean and Tess Davidson.
The girls are all keen members of the Hewitt Society and were delighted to finish in fourth place. They
are already practising for this year’s quiz!
Bestselling author Darren Shan visited Methody in October, where he spoke to a packed Whitla Hall
audience comprising the whole of first and second form. The pupils were enthralled by Darren and
hundreds queued afterwards to have copies of his books signed.
Junior pupils have also been involved in the Poetry in Motion project, where poets visit schools and
work with pupils to produce poetry. This year performance poet Chelley McClear worked with two
Form Two classes. A selection of their poems will be chosen for publication in this year’s Poetry in
Motion collection.
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The speaker at the Sheila Smyth lecture was the novelist and playwright Lucy Caldwell. She spoke to
Sixth Form English students and an invited audience on the theme of ‘Re-imagining Belfast’.
But we don’t just invite authors into the school we also have them on the staff. English teacher Dr
Sheena Wilkinson won the prestigious Brian Moore Short Story Award for her story ‘Amputees’, which
was published in the November edition of the Ulster Tatler.
Our linguists have also had plenty of opportunities to hone their language skills in a variety of contexts.
In October the Onatti Theatre Company came to Methody to perform Lese die Zeichen for German
GCSE pupils. Our Lower 6th pupils hosted a group of German pupils for a week in October with a
reciprocal visit taking place just after Easter. The German Debating Team of Ruth Jennings (Captain),
Laura Frey, Kathryn Rooney and Hannah Lynn won the final of the Northern Ireland Post 16 German
Debating Competition. They were victorious over a strong team from Friends’ School, Lisburn. Ruth
won the prize for Best Speaker in the finals, and Hannah for Best Speaker in the semi-finals, and all of
the girls are to be congratulated for their hard work, determination and teamwork throughout the
competition. In the corresponding French competition the team of Ciara Mulvenna, Lauren Cheshire,
Chris Connolly and Maya Zavislak also won through to the final.
European Day of Languages was celebrated in the College as it is every September. Miss Elaine
Patterson, the Librarian, organised a Euro quiz for both junior and senior pupils, and all the teachers
were encouraged to greet pupils in a modern European language!
Methody is well known for the extensive range of languages on offer in the school and Russian is very
popular with many of our pupils. Clemency Booth in L6 won a special prize for the best written poem
in the Oxford Russian Competition Upper 6th student. Luke McMullan’s essay was awarded a special
distinction in the same competition.
Not to be outdone our young scientists have been involved in many different Science competitions and
have been very successful during the year. David Bennett, Willian Boreland and Jessica Jaques
represented the College in the Northern Ireland Key Stage 3 Science Quiz and emerged as winners,
beating teams from all over the province. It is the third time a team from MCB has won the
competition, the only school to do so in its history. Lower 6th students Thomas Bayliss, Eddie Li, Amy
Wen, Simon Williamson and William Yang were all awarded Nuffield Science Bursaries for placements
in research establishments in the summer holidays. Christopher Dorman was awarded a gold medal in
the Physics challenge while Emma Horner and Andrew Barr received silver medals in the AS physics
competition. Jamie Hu received a silver medal in the British Physics Olympiad, but pride of place must
go to Simon Wright who obtained a gold medal in the same competition and was selected for the Irish
Physics Olympiad team who will be competing in an international competition in Iran. Simon also
obtained a Silver medal in the British Chemistry Olympiad in which James Wu, Yanwen Ou, Jamie Hu
and Theo Murphy all won commendations. James Wu also won a gold medal in the Biology
examination and a Bronze in the World Olympiad. An outstanding achievement.
Each year a group of four Lower Sixth students take part in the prestigious Engineering Education
Scheme, where they work alongside a company on a real engineering project. This year the team
worked with Northern Ireland Electricity. It was in this hall last term that I met the team of Victoria
Braden, Courtney Hart, Reuben McNaughten and Richard Moore, and listened to their enthusiastic
presentation on a solution to the problem of how to prevent birds sitting on overhead power cables in
residential areas. They have since been presented with their Gold certificates.
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As part of their Learning for Life and Work GCSE, a Form 5 class organised a Cultural Diversity Fair in
the Lecture Room on Tuesday 27 March. The fair displayed food, music, religion, crafts and language
of the cultural traditions represented in South Belfast. The fair was extremely well attended by pupils of
all ages, who enjoyed all that was on offer. A highlight of the event was the visit of Alliance MLA
Anna Lo.
David Perry is a former pupil now based in California and globally recognised as a leading figure in the
computer games industry. He visited the College in November and gave a multi-media presentation to
senior pupils studying ICT and Business Studies. His message to the pupils was that in order to be a
success, it is not enough just to be passionate about dreams, the skill is to actually get out there and do
it. He challenged the audience to use all the resources available to them and not to think that they are
any less worthy or less talented than anyone else.
Sean Lester is also a former pupil, but from a different era altogether. He joined the school in 1904. He
went on to become the Secretary General of the League of Nations in 1940, remaining as its leader until
the League's closure 6 years later, overseeing the transfer of its functions to the United Nations. With
this historic link it is therefore wholly appropriate that the Model United Nations society continues to
flourish in the school.
The ninth annual MCB MUN Conference took place over the Halloween break, with over 350 students
from all over the UK taking part. At the first ever Scottish MUN conference, held in George Watson’s
College, Edinburgh, Methody delegates were very successful. Tom Armstrong, Ruth Stone and
Jonathan Gallagher were commended in their committees; Edward Nickell, James Wu, Jonathan Eakin
and Mayank Kalia were highly commended; Joe Doyle and Daniel Williams were judged Best Junior
Delegates, while Gavin Morrison and Lauren Cheshire were judged Best Delegates. This was a very
impressive achievement.
At the National High Schools’ MUN held at the United Nations in New York, much success was
enjoyed by the 24 Methody delegates. Individual awards were won by Bobbie Leigh Herdman and
Dessi Malinova and the team won a Best Delegation award for their collective effort in committees.
It wasn’t just our young UN delegates who travelled outside the country. The annual USA ski trip
enjoyed a week in New England over the Christmas holidays; the Romania Society had a productive
annual trip to Brasov; and Fourth Form classicists savoured the delights of a visit to Italy to mention just
a few.
The focus on promoting healthy lifestyles in schools is another ‘new’ educational initiative that has been
around for a considerable amount of time. A healthy mind in a healthy body has its origins in the
classical era, and there are extensive opportunities in the college for pupils to participate in sport, either
competitively or purely for pleasure.
On the Rugby pitch the First XV made it to the semi-final of the Schools Cup only to be defeated by the
eventual winners RBAI. The 3rd XV defeated the 4th XV in an all-Methody 3rd XV Cup Final. While
the Medallion XV defeated Regent House School to win the Medallion Shield in a thrilling final at
Ravenhill – that was not the only thing Methody took from Regent that day!
Although the hockey teams have not reached any finals this season, some girls have been selected for
Belfast Area teams. Nicole Morrow was selected for Belfast U17s, and Laura Irwin, Sylvia Rose and
Hannah Jones for Belfast U15s. Helen Stevenson was selected for the Ulster and Irish U18 Team. The
girls went on a successful tour to Italy over the half-term break winning both matches they played.
A number of our young cricketers had an excellent season. Mark Best in Second Form was selected and
played for the Irish U13 XI which won the European Championship. Ben McIlroy and Patrick McKee
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in 4th Form joined the Ulster Schools XI tour to England. Michael Heaney, Robbie Stewart and Andrew
McCulla, played for the NCU U17 team. Michael and Andrew also played for the Ulster schools team,
with Andrew being selected as the team’s vice captain. Andrew was also part of the Irish schools team
that was runner up in the European Championships. The Colts XI qualified for the final of the U15 Cup,
eventually ending as runners-up to Strabane High School.
The successes of the College’s athletes are legion. The Girls Senior Team won the Overall Cup and the
Senior Cup at the Ulster Championships as well as being winners of the Senior Section and Overall
Competition at the District Championships. Jenny Corrigan, Laura Frey, Hannah Kyle, Jenny Neill and
Anne Rainey all won Gold medals at the District Championship. Anne and Hannah also won Gold
medals at the Ulster Championships, with Anna adding a Bronze medal at the Irish Championship. The
Senior Boys also had a highly successful season winning the Senior Cup and Overall Cup at the District
and Ulster Championships. Adrian Bell, Patrick McGlinchey and Simon Williamson were District and
Ulster Medal winners. David Fearon and David Rainey also won Ulster medals and Simon McCluney
won a District medal. The intermediate Girls were winners of the Overall Competition Cup,
Intermediate Relay Cup and Intermediate Cup at the Ulster Championships and Winners of the
Intermediate Section and Overall Competition at the District Championships. Kirsty Kee was also
selected for the U17 Ulster Schools’ Team (I don’t know if that had anything to do with the fact that she
is also captain of our Senior Girls Judo Team). Our Intermediate Boys also won the Intermediate and
Overall Cup and the District Championship and were runners up for the Intermediate Cup at the Ulster
Championships.
The Rowing Club continues to grow from strength to strength. Last season over 100 pupils rowed for
Methody and this represents around 7% of all the competitive rowers registered in Ireland. The Senior
Girls participated in the GB schools head of the river and the internationally recognised Women’s’ Head
achieving a highly commendable seventh place at the schools head. The girls also competed at the
Portora, Belfast and Queens’ regattas where they recorded victories in the various age categories in
VIIIs, IVS and sculling events. The regatta season saw the senior boys establish themselves as the
dominant force in Junior Ulster and Irish rowing. The 1st VIII won at the Irish schools regatta, Queens’
regatta and Belfast regatta. This crew gave one of the most memorable performances of any Junior
crews in recent years when they beat Trinity College Dublin in a courageous row at the Queens’ regatta.
Patrick Jacques and Mark Humphries gained selection for the Irish national teams. Patrick stroked the
junior quad scull to silver at the Home International regatta, and Max won silver and bronze at the
European youth championships. The first VIII won this year’s “Race” against Inst. The 3rd Form junior
boys’ squad, like their senior counterparts had a successful season winning at the Queens’, Portadown
and Belfast Regattas, going on to represent the College at the UK National Schools regatta in
Nottingham where they made it to the semi-final and finished in 10th position overall.
Our swimmers were as successful in the water as our rowers were on it achieving great success at both
the Grammar Schools Galas held in November and January. This was matched by their achievements at
the Irish Schools Gala in February. All individual swimmers and relay teams qualified for the finals and
the girls relay team were placed third in Ireland. Well done to the team which consisted of Kirsty Kee,
Katie Linden, Sarah Bamford and Kathryn Rooney. Luke Campbell represented Irish Schools in March
in Dublin in an International event against England, Scotland and Wales and achieved two Personal Best
performances in the Gala.
The Senior Netball team beat Belfast Royal Academy to win Section B of the Belfast Schools Senior
League. The captain Angharad Thain and Anna Coburn were selected for the U16 regional
Development Squad. The Junior Team came second in the Junior League while the Minor Netball team
reached the final of the Plate competition.
The Junior Girls Basketball team won the Ulster Schools Basketball Cup. They qualified for the AllIreland play-offs, held in Tipperary, where they narrowly lost but played very well indeed.
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The boys’ U16 Volleyball Team were runners up in their Cup competition. Patrick Crooks and Han Lu
played for Northern Ireland at U19 level and are now part of the U21 Development Squad. Robert
Nicholson was also selected for the U19 Squad but unfortunately was unable to travel to the competition
held during the summer holidays.
Our racquets players were very successful. The Girls’ Senior Tennis Team won the Ulster School’
Senior Cup. While the Boys’ Squash Team won the Ulster Schools’ and Irish Schools’ U19 and U17
Cups.
The Boys’ Sixth Form table tennis team reached the semi-final of the Ulster Schools Cup where they
were narrowly defeated (5-4) by RBAI. The team consisted of Calum Adair, Michael Tsang, Alex
Jeffery, John Roberts, Joe Tomita, Niall Blake-Knox and Robbie Stewart.
Nicola Robinson and Laura McClelland had the best combined net score in the Ulster Schoolgirls’ Golf
Championships.
The new curriculum aims to encourage schools to produce young citizens who can contribute to society.
Methody has always encouraged the spiritual and moral development of the pupils at the school, and it
is clear from the charitable work that is carried out by the pupils and the staff that trying to make a
positive difference to the lives of others is a cherished ideal.
Every year, the staff of the Central Staff Room organise a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Nurses.
This year’s event was held at breaktime in the Middle Gym on Friday 29 September. Many staff had
baked or bought goodies, and the event raised over £650 for the Macmillan Nurses.
Last year’s Young Enterprise Company, Karisma, recently donated £621 to the Shine a Light charity in
memory of Mrs Elizabeth McArdle, a member of the ancillary staff in School House, who died last year.
Over the past year pupils in 6th Form have staged a series of charity events including a Christmas Fair,
6th Form Music Concert, Halloween Ball and various sporting competitions raising over £4000 for
Marie Curie Cancer Care. The India Society continues to support the work of the medical aid charity
ASHA, which works with children in the slum community of Kalkaji, and a group of 6th Formers travel
there every year to carry out voluntary work with the children. Form 1 raised over £3000 for ASHA,
enough money to ensure that every child under five in Kalkaji can receive a vitamin A and measles
vaccine to help prevent blindness.
Methody is very much an extended, caring family and one that supports all of its members. This is
never so apparent as in times of loss or bereavement. In September last year the school admitted Megan
Reynolds from Stranmillis Primary School into Form 1. A very determined student, she was regrettably
suffering from a terminal illness which resulted in her untimely death in June of this year. Megan often
could not make it to her classes and when she did manage to attend school she often found that she
could not last the whole day. However, she was a very strong person. She may have been physically
weak but mentally and emotionally she was tough; a giant in spirit. The adults and children who knew
Megan were impressed with her courage and indomitable human spirit, and her inspirational legacy
lives on.
“I long ago came to the conclusion that nothing has ever definitely been proved about anything.” So
claimed the character Madame Alvira in Noel Coward’s play Blithe Spirit. Well, I think that the
creative and expressive talent of the pupils and staff involved in the Performing Arts in the school is
something that has been definitely proved beyond doubt.
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The Junior, Middle and Senior Drama Groups provided opportunities for our budding thespians from all
year groups to show off their talents in their respective productions of Annie, Plaza Suite and the
aforementioned Blithe Spirit. Plaza Suite was Miss Sarah Rowntree’s first production as Director, and
she was supported by Miss Michelle Wills and a very able and enthusiastic cast and crew. All who saw
the plays were treated to very entertaining evenings.
Over the past year our young musicians have participated in over sixty musical performances providing
a breadth and depth of musical talent second to none in the country. In September they performed at
Hillsborough Castle for the Action Cancer Big Bus Launch. The Chapel and Girls Choir combined with
the choir from St Malachy’s College to provide music for the National Police Memorial Service in the
Waterfront Hall. The Girls Choir was to be seen and heard at the City airport last October, not jetting
off for a performance abroad, but to welcome the tenor Jose Cura to the Belfast Festival at Queen’s.
Other highlights over the past twelve months have included the Summer Serenade in St George’s Parish
church in late June, and the concert in St Anne’s Cathedral as part of the Belfast Festival. A new
venture this year was an inspirational piano masterclass given by Richard Meryck to over 150 staff and
pupils as part of a programme to promote classical music. In early March several of our choir members
participated in a Joint Schools Celebration Concert in Central Hall Westminster. Then of course there
was the Easter Concert in the Waterfront Hall, an event that has become well established in the
Province’s calendar, which included a performance of Carmina Burana. Friday lunchtime recitals in the
Chapel are very popular because of the range of musical styles that they display. Over the year the
audience has been treated to pieces by composers as diverse as, Mozart, Hoagey Carmichael, Gershwin,
Leonard Cohen, David Gray, Handel, and Razorlight as well as a number of traditional Irish pieces.
The musical year was rounded off at the end of June when the Band, conducted by Mr Denis Totton,
performed at a garden party to celebrate the 80th birthday of Shirley Brown, the Band’s most senior
official patron. Not surprisingly a number of our musicians were selected for the Ulster Youth
Orchestra, these included Megan Lynn, Clare Reavey, Sarah Brown, Patrick Mulholland, Malachy
Frame and David Bennett. Sarah Brown was also the first recipient of the Catherine Judge Award, a
national competition sponsored by the Bank of Ireland in memory of one of their employees who
believed that young people should have more opportunities to achieve their potential. Sarah received
£5000 from the Bank of Ireland for her outstanding abilities as a classical musician to help her progress
to third level musical education.
Eventually the pupils reach the point when they have to move on from the school, and they are well
prepared for this momentous event by the Careers team in the school. There is a tremendous amount of
support and advice given in-house, but the college also extends its support to other schools, serving the
community through the annual Options careers and higher education conference. The conference has
now become a major event in the careers service calendar. The fourteenth conference took place at the
College on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 September. As always, it was attended by young people from all
over Northern Ireland with exhibitors from universities and the world of employment providing
information to help Sixth Formers and their parents, make informed choices about their future.
Parents are the final piece in the partnership that helps our pupils to achieve success. Without the
involvement and support of parents, Saturday mornings at Pirrie Park would not have the same
atmosphere. The rowers on the Lagan would not be encouraged by the cheering from the banks or
warmed by the soup from the cauldron. School plays and concerts would not play to packed halls of
enthusiastic audiences and the exam results would not be as good.
The College is very fortunate to have an active and thriving Parents’ Support Group. This year Brian
Kelly succeeds Mr Costley as Chair and Mrs Gillian McDaid takes over from Mabel Quinn as Secretary
and I wish them the same success as their predecessors. On Thursday 22 March the PSG organised an
extremely successful fundraising evening. International TV personality and MCB parent, Eamonn
Holmes hosted a chat-show type entertainment. As well as talking to the audience Eamonn interviewed
well-known Northern Irish personalities Marie Jones, David Humphries, May McFetridge, William
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Crawley and Mike Edgar. Musical entertainment was provided by the Jazz Band. The evening was
well-attended and very enjoyable.
The educational issues that concerned the staff and governors last year still persist, and with the
penultimate Transfer Test due to be taken next month the final decision on the future of academic
selection has still to be taken. We therefore find ourselves operating in a vacuum. I am a historian not a
scientist, but I do know that in a vacuum things that have previously flourished have a tendency to
perish, no-one can hear you scream and it is abhorred by nature. It is time for our political leaders to
take a clear decision on this key educational issue. That will allow schools, Primary and Post-Primary,
to plan properly and effectively to provide the education that our present and future pupils deserve. As
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “In a moment of decision…the worst thing you can do is do nothing.”
Whatever the future brings you can rest assured that the staff at Methody will continue to do their best
to provide the best for your sons and daughters. As the educational landscape changes the College will
adapt and improve to meet the new challenges. It is vital that we do so to ensure that the successes that
we celebrate today are perpetuated in the future. Like the old prefect’s badge, what we have and cherish
requires constant care and attention in order to keep its shine. If we are complacent in any way then the
College will not be able to sustain or improve on its current high standards. We cannot be complacent
and we will not be. The Revised Curriculum requires that pupils are active learners, able to think
critically, creatively and independently. The Revised Curriculum aims to produce well-rounded
individuals who are able to contribute to society. Methody is very well placed to meet these aims. The
tenets of the new era in education in Northern Ireland; inclusion, tolerance, citizenship, the nurturing of
individual talent, these are already deeply embedded in the ethos of the College but it is clear that there
is also a commitment to build on these strengths, to continue to evolve so that we can meet the new
challenges that we face and so that we continue to provide the best for our pupils. The results of that
commitment are evidenced in the success of the pupils whose achievements we have gathered together
to celebrate today.
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