Following the hour and a half trip from Lisburn to Enniskillen, the children unpacked their belongings and attempted to make their beds…a task which was trickier than expected! To blow out the cobwebs of a long journey, banana boating was first on the agenda. All of the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience and even requested the activity leader to increase the speed on numerous occasions.

After the successful banana boating activity, the children were ready for a decent meal and were more than happy with the excellent food and hearty portions provided by the Share Centre Chefs. To finish off our first evening, a swimming session at the leisure complex was organised allowing the children to relax with their friends.

On Thursday morning, the boys were fresh faced and ready for the day, however the girls looked a little weary eyed following an indifferent evenings sleep (maybe something to do with too much chatting!). Mountain biking was the first activity of the day. Pupils learnt a variety of techniques to allow them to negotiate the various courses on offer safely. Everyone relished cycling the more challenging ‘red route’, making for an enjoyable start to the day.

After lunch, the wet suits were back on as the boys and girls participated in a kayaking adventure around the various miniature islands near Smith’s Strand. The children worked in pairs (sometimes even in unison!) to paddle their way around the lake, taking in the breath taking views Lisnaskea had to offer.

As the sun set across County Fermanagh, the anticipation was mounting as the long awaited disco was finally upon us! With the children suited and booted (and a devastating amount of aftershave filling the air from the boys’ chalet) we followed the echoes of One Direction’s music to the disco hall. Despite several attempts from Mr Hanvey and Miss Tannahill to show the children a variety of dance moves, they ignored all advice and danced to their heart’s content.

As the sun rose on Friday morning, the pupils made their way to breakfast ready for the final rock climbing activity before they departed to Lisburn. Everyone made a valiant attempt to reach the summit of the climbing wall and even enjoyed a t-shirt making class while waiting for their turn. The trip overall was a roaring success with live long memories created at the Share Centre. The pupils were exceptionally well behaved during the trip and clearly enjoyed everything that was on offer.

Sports Day was held last Wednesday with blue skies and scorching sunshine greeting the competitors and spectators for this ever popular event. As always, there were two competitions running side by side with the more serious athletes taking part in the Individual Athletics event, whilst the House competition provided opportunities for everyone to get involved in events ranging from welly wanging to tug of war and long jump to relay races. For the first time ever the Army were also present as they set up Batak which tests reactions and peripheral vision and which proved popular with both staff and pupils alike, the best pupil scores going towards house points. Staff also took part in a 3 x 100 metre relay which entertained the pupils but left some staff clutching hamstrings and gasping for air.

The individual event was as competitive as ever with close scores in all four Year groups. Kelsie McDowell and Oliver McLuckie were the Year 8 winners, whilst Alyssa Jebb and Ben Morrison triumphed in Year 9. Andrew O’Hare and Harriet Matchett won the Year 10 event, whilst Chloe McCoosh and Michael Downey were the Year 11 winners. After lunch, all Year groups had a chance to enjoy themselves further as House and Year staff set up a number of fun activities around the school and, with the weather getting even better, the PTA ran out of ice cream. All in all, Sports Day was a terrific occasion and really promoted all that is good about sport at the Lisburn school.

On Thursday night, the school held the inaugural Sports Awards Dinner, an event which is usually held on the last day of term but which was moved to an evening event after the success of the Irish Schools’ Hockey Dinner in October. Distinguished past pupils Raymond and Lawrence Hunter and their wives were invited as guests for the evening and all at Wallace were delighted to welcome them back. Raymond is a former international cricketer and rugby player who also played for the British Lions, whilst younger brother Lawrence was a well known local cricketer who won two caps for the Irish rugby team on the wing.

Staff who have been involved with coaching sport at Wallace this year were invited for a Drinks Reception, whilst pupils mingled in the Assembly Hall which had been superbly set up for the meal. After the food was served each sport presented a report which reflected on the year past, before a multi media presentation which was enjoyed by the large crowd. Certificates and cups were then presented to individual pupils for colours, representative honours and certificates of achievement for junior school pupils, whilst the traditional cups in each sport were awarded. It was not only the traditional school sports which were represented as our successful fencers, Anna Boe in trampolining and Gary Dillon in motocross were also recognised for their outstanding achievements throughout the year.

Year 14 pupil James McCallan won the big prize on the night as he was presented with the WR Hunter Cup for Sporting Excellence. James has represented the school in a number of sports including rugby, cricket, badminton and tennis. He played for the Ulster Schools’ rugby team this year and was also a recent triallist for the Ulster Schools’ cricket team having captained the school 1st X1 to the semi final of the Schools’ Cup where they play Limavady Grammar School this coming Friday. He also represented junior underage Ulster badminton teams.

Mr Jonny Reid, who organised the Sports Awards Dinner was delighted with the success of the evening: “This is the first time that we have had our Sports Awards Dinner in the evening and it’s fair to say that it was a great success. We were delighted to welcome Raymond, Lawrence and their wives and greatly appreciate their continued support of their former school. We are proud of all our sports teams and players in what has been a successful year for both teams and individuals and it was a great to see their achievements recognised in awards and in the multi media presentations. It is also a good way to thank our staff and coaches for the time they dedicate to our pupils.”

Having applied to study French and Spanish at Queen’s next year and having received an offer of a place, the university sent an e mail informing applicants of the annual competition which is highly prestigious and open to all prospective language students. The guidelines were that applicants could write one essay in each language of six hundred to eight hundred words which could be either a creative piece of writing or an essay on a contemporary aspect of one of the countries in which that language is spoken.

Ashton chose the themes of immigration and tourism in France and Spain respectively which she had studied as part of her A2 course and which she had found particularly interesting. She spent a week researching statistics and relevant texts on each of the themes and having completed the essays submitted them by the end of March deadline. At the end of May she was delighted to receive a letter notifying her of a second place prize in the Spanish competition and third prize in the French competition, amounting to a personal scholarship of £750. Ashton’s success also paid dividends for the Modern Languages Department at the Lisburn school who benefitted to the tune of £250.

As part of the prize Ashton and her parents, as well as Modern Language teachers Alex Millar and Pam Brown will attend the annual Queen’s School of Modern Languages prize ceremony and reception in July, an event that Ashton is very much looking forward to: “I can’t wait to attend the prize ceremony as it will help me get a feeling for studying languages at Queen’s as well as giving me the opportunity to meet some of the current students and members of staff. The essay writing competition has been of great personal benefit to me, not only because of the financial rewards, but also as a result of the confidence it has given me with regards to embarking on my university studies next year. It has taught me to make the most of every opportunity as you never know how successful you might be and is something I would recommend to students in the future who are looking to study languages at Queen’s.”

Head of the Modern Languages Department, Alex Millar is understandably delighted for Ashton: “This is a great achievement and one of which Ashton should be very proud. She worked hard to research and then write the essays and got justly rewarded for her efforts. The Modern Languages Department and pupils in the school will also benefit from her success as part of the prize money awarded.”

Among highlighted as outstanding are standards in information and communication technology.  The individual use of iPads is highlighted as an outstanding feature which helped ensure the outstanding achievements.

Other areas of strength highlighted in the report are the teachers’ child-centred approach to learning, the children’s application of their thinking skills and problem-solving capabilities to a range of learning activities, and the teachers’ use of skilful questioning.

Wallace Prep has always prided itself on being a close knit family.  Mrs O’Hare expressed her delight that the quality of the pastoral care has been assessed as outstanding.  She commented “To have our pastoral care arrangements assessed as outstanding with the inclusive ethos, mutual respect and excellent working relationships at all levels highlighted is very pleasing.  My colleagues and I feel proud that the Inspection Team has concluded our children feel happy in school, enjoy their learning and the range of extra-curricular activities.”

“I am delighted also that the excellent leadership of our relatively new Head of Department, Mrs Corinne Latham has been recognised.  She is identified as providing outstanding strategic and pastoral leadership.  In two short years she has led curricular change, shown a real interest in continuing professional development of her very able staff and focused her efforts on the development of the children and their learning.  The confidence our parents have in her was very clearly demonstrated in the questionnaires returned.  She has been a key appointment to our highly talented team of staff.”

As the Preparatory Department celebrated the excellent Inspection Report, news filtered through that Mrs June Wilson, a long serving Primary 3 teacher, one of the Prep family, had won the Northern Ireland Primary School Teacher of the Year Award.  Mrs Wilson has produced three decades of high quality musical performances, plays, concerts and accompanied numerous trips to London.  She is well known in Lisburn and wider afield as a caring, enthusiastic, child-centred, smiling and welcoming teacher.  Everyone at Wallace is delighted for Mrs Wilson.

Mrs O’Hare commented “From ‘Annie’ to ‘Oliver Twist’, from musical theatre classes after school to carol concerts and Nativity Plays, June Wilson has provided a breadth and depth to the Prep Department’s curriculum.  She is an absolute one-off, a teacher who provides a unique learning environment and has done so for two generations of families of Wallace Prep children.  Mrs Wilson enjoys seeing our children’s confidence grow, watches them with interest as they move from the Prep to the grammar school and continues to show an interest in our former pupils as they develop into adults, many sending their children to the Prep School.  She is a most deserving recipient of this accolade.”

Mark Hylands and Ryan Moore have led the way for the 1st X1 who will play local rivals Friends in the quarter finals of the Ulster Bank Schools’ Cup. Hylands in particular has been in consistent form with the bat, scoring a number of attractive 40 and 50s. He also was instrumental in the 10 wicket defeat of Carrick Grammar School in the previous round of the Schools’ Cup, hitting an unbeaten 48 not out as the Lisburn school triumphed by 10 wickets. Individually Hylands and Moore, alongside captain James McCallan have been nominated for an Ulster Schools trial which will take place in the coming weeks.

The under 15 team have been a little inconsistent, losing a series of tight games after a positive and winning start to the year. They were narrowly defeated by Grosvenor Grammar in the first round of their cup competition, a loss that was hard to take as Grosvenor needed three runs from the last ball which they managed to achieve. Toby Kerr was the standout performer in this game with the ball taking three cheap wickets and helping to put the team into a winning position before the heart breaking final ball. A win against Parkhall in the plate competition means that they will now travel to Armagh Royal in the next round, a game they should be going into with great heart after a great victory against Sullivan last Saturday, Mark Armstrong was the man of the match with four wickets and an excellent 51 not out with the bat. Captain Ross Waite has also been selected for the Northern Cricket Union under 17 side, a great achievement for the big hitting Waringstown player.

Josh Hamilton’s under 14 team continue to improve under the leadership of coach Mr Ian Latham and will now play the traditionally strong Foyle and Londonderry College in the second round of their cup, having beaten Carrick Grammar School by 8 wickets. Matthew Miller top scored with 18 not out and has batted and bowled consistently throughout the year, whilst newcomer Andrew O’Hare continues to impress with his clean striking of a cricket ball. Craig Getty also scored an excellent 45 not out as the team defeated Belfast Royal Academy in the league fixture, Jacob Hermon hitting the winning runs with an over to spare.

The under 13s have played some very good cricket and as always under the positive captaincy of Ben Nelson play with an high intensity approach. Jonathan Warke and Nelson himself have led the way with runs and wickets, helping the team to the quarter finals of their cup competition where they will now play Belfast High School. Jonathan Waite has, like big brother Ross, also been selected for the Northern Cricket Union where he will represent the under 13 team in the coming weeks.

Last, but by no means least, the under 12 team continue to develop at a rapid pace and took part in one of the undoubted games of the season so far as they defeated Foyle and Londonderry College in the cup. Despite posting a low total of 44 in 20 overs, they bowled and fielded superbly to restrict their opponents to just 43, therefore winning by one run. Adam Irwin was one of many heroes as he bowled the last pressure over, holding his nerve to only concede one run and cement an unexpected victory. They will now face Belfast Royal Academy in the quarter finals knowing that a better batting display is needed for cup progression to occur.

All teams will continue to play Saturday fixtures until the end of the season. Details of games can also be found @wallacesport

The project once again included a number of workshops facilitated by Co Operation Ireland, which also included a guided tour of the docks themselves.  Pupils investigated the history of the docks and what life was like for those working class men you risked their lives on a daily basis in some atrocious working conditions.

The Year 11 pupils then successfully completed a short movie detailing what life was like in the docks of Belfast during the early part of the 20th Century. Their story revolves around a young girl who discovers her grandfather’s diary, which retells a particularly tragic day in Harland and Wolff. The film was shot on location at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum by the pupils. The pupils devised the initial concept as well as creating the story boards and script. After the filming process the movie was edited using Final Cut Pro in one of our Mac Suites.

This project creates a number of exciting opportunities for the pupils involved. Many have never worked on creating a movie and enjoyed immensely the filming and production process. It also allows the pupils to create a strong working group who took full responsibility for each aspect of the project, as well as developing their creative skills.

The picture was premiered as the final showcase which was held at the Titanic Belfast Centre.  Congratulations to all involved on their hard work and dedication to this worthwhile and challenging project.

Chloe Carson and Christopher Robinson have each been awarded places at the UNIQ Summer School. UNIQ is a week long residential course hosted by Oxford University and it is the university’s flagship widening access programme. Competition for places is high with 4400 students applying for 850 places in 2013.

The students can expect to receive intensive tuition and mentoring from Oxford academics whilst enjoying debate and discussion with other academically gifted students. Chloe will be studying Languages throughout her week long stay; meanwhile Christopher will be focusing his studies on Spanish in particular.

In what promises to be a busy summer for Christopher, he will also be participating in an online course for prospective Law students at Cambridge, completing university standard material. This course culminates with a one day seminar at Cambridge University in June.

Christopher will also be attending a week long residential course at Villiers Park, again focusing on the study of Law. Courses at Villiers Park, which is situated close to the university hub of Cambridge, give young people a genuine opportunity to bond with others who have similar academic interests as well as nurturing the critical thinking skills that competitive applicants to Oxbridge must possess in their chosen fields.

Demand for the courses has become higher every year and Wallace can feel proud of its tradition of winning places annually. The courses are specifically designed to encourage and challenge students at AS levels who are considering applying for the top universities in the UK. Previous attendees from Wallace found the experience invaluable in helping them secure interviews for Oxbridge.

Finally, Paige McKeown will be attending a week long residential course hosted by the University of Southampton as part of the Sutton Trust programme which provides courses for those students wishing to attend Russell Group universities. Paige will be taking part in a course called “Design Triathlon” which is geared towards students wishing to study engineering at university.

This engineering course will introduce students to the three areas of Ship Science, Aeronautics and Astronautics and Mechanical Engineering. Over the course of four days, students will design and build a glider, a Greenpower car and a fastcraft for water as part of a team.

Wallace students enjoy participation in a wide range of enrichment activities and programmes designed to foster intellectual independence or leadership skills. They also attend academic conferences to complement the personalised help and guidance they receive from teaching staff.

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember… the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you”.

The timeless wisdom of AA Milne’s Winnie The Pooh proved a fitting introduction to a unique evening in the Wallace High School recently.  Principal Deborah O’Hare welcomed the family, friends and former classmates of the late Briagh Hull to a reception to celebrate Briagh’s life and legacy and to formally unveil the art work designed as a joyful reminder of the girl her friends affectionately called “our wee banana”.

Distinguished local artist Ross Wilson spoke movingly of the impact the project had made upon him as he worked alongside Briagh’s classmates interpreting their ideas to highlight Briagh’s unique qualities.  The finished piece, formally unveiled by Briagh’s sister Caoimhe, is an engraved, coloured screen which features a repeated motif of a butterfly surrounded by a collage of quotations, reminisces and spiritual insights.  Briagh’s mother, Mrs Catherine Hull, speaking on behalf of the family, expressed the wish that it would bring peace and comfort.

Addressing the specially invited audience Mrs Hull expressed thanks to the school communities of Wallace High School and St Colman’s Primary School.  She spoke eloquently of the support and compassion shown by hospital staff and support workers from compassionate friends and the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.  Referring to the images of butterflies Mrs Hull noted their centuries old significance as symbols of renewal and rebirth.

In her introductory remarks Mrs O’Hare referred to Briagh as an embodiment of the virtues of “kindness, humility, strength, faith and charity”.  In her short but well-lived life Briagh was a passionate believer in the importance of charitable giving and this has been a dynamic, living legacy to her friends.  Speaking on behalf of the class set, five pupils (Rachel K Hanna, Clare Hanna, Bethany Henry, Jenny Johnston and Rachel Noble) shared memories of their intense friendship with Briagh and outlined their fundraising efforts which currently total over £3,600 adding to the school’s total of over £90,000.

The formal part of the evening concluded with a short address and dedication of the screen by Reverend William Henry who shared his belief that this visual symbol of Briagh’s life can only serve to touch the lives of current and future students.  Earlier in the evening guests had mingled in the library listening to the musical talents of pianist Kathryn Yeo and enjoying one of Briagh’s favourite foods, chocolate fudge cake!

The written report is available by clicking here. However, in the verbal feedback the Head of Department, Mrs Corinne Latham and the Principal, Mrs Deborah O’Hare were delighted to learn that the provision was outstanding and very good in all areas. In particular the pastoral care of the children, the standards they achieve, the leadership and management of the Department and the innovative use of ICT to promote and stretch learning were reported as significant strengths.

Mrs O’Hare commented “The staff in the Preparatory Department deserve the recognition this report will bring. They work tirelessly to develop, stretch and care for our very talented children. The appointment of Mrs Corinne Latham as our Head of Department two years ago was a pivotal step in the development of The Preparatory Department.”