SPEAKING at the recent Celebration of Achievement, Blackwater Integrated College Principal Dr Olwen Griffith said that the College had recorded some significant experiences in the past year.
These were the the College’s first production, ‘Cinderella’, which played to packed houses in January; participation in KEY and LET programmes with Young Enterprise; a student’s selection to carry the Olympic torch as it passed through Northern Ireland; successful collaborative work within the Lecale Learning Community ; and the College’s continued improvement in GCSE attainment.
Dr Griffith noted that trophies were being awarded “not just for excellence in particular spheres but also for involvement in the community life of the college, to recognise and encourage commitment and talent in all possible areas of learning.”
Congratulations went to the class of 2012 on achieving the College’s best GCSE results since it opened in 2008 were echoed by Ms Denise McBay, Chair of the Board of Governors, who also thanked staff and parents for their work in supporting and encouraging the students.
Ms McBay also looked forward to current students building on this success and spoke of her confidence in the College community going into the future.
Guest of honour, Paul Gray, Director of Learnspark Limited, a recently established training company, delivered a motivating and inspiring address, exhorting students to develop self-belief and resilience as key attributes for a successful career.
The programme included music and dance by students of the College and a pianist from a partner school within the Lecale Learning Community.
Prizes were given to GCSE students: last year’s Deputy Head Boy, Dean Kane, was awarded the Quoile Cup for best GCSE results having achieved 9 A* and B grades: also commended were Nicole Kelly for 9 A*-C at GCSE; Patrick Murphy for 8 A* -C; Conail Bridges for 8 A*-C
The following trophies were also presented:
Baroness Blood Cup for Community Service to Grace Stewart;
Governors’ Shield for contribution to the ethos of the College to Penina Turova;
Blackwater Cup for contribution to the life of the College to Lewis Spring;
Steers and Ritchie Cups for academic achievement to Sarah Johnston and Maria Mackin;
Dougherty Award for Business Enterprise to Tristan Denvir;
Murphy Cup for Creative and Expressive Arts to Eileen Neill ;
Junior Cup for English to Rachel Neill and Shaw Cup for English to Charlotte Curran;
Tonaghneave Cup for Environment and Society to Marc Davey; Blackwater Geography Cup to Sophie Bailie;
Blackwater History Cup to Jonathon McDade;
Macroom Trophy for Home Economics to Curtis Croskery;
Mackin Cup for Home Economics to Rebecca Hawkes;
Junior ICT Cup to Lauren Gould; ICT Cup to Jessica Matchett; Junior Languages Cup to Rachael Faulkner;
Daly Trophy for Languages to Macaulay King; LSC Trophy to Harry Tighe; Blackwater Mathematics Cup to Kyle Poustie;
McDonnell Trophy for Excellence in Mathematics to Matthew Campbell;
Telford Music Trophy to Rebekah Flynn;
Blackwater Religious Studies Cup to Calum Donaldson and Megan McClurg;
Junior Science Cup to Conor Mckibbin;
Kerr Cup for Science to Esme McMillan;
Kilgore Cup for Technology and Design to Lewis Gracey; Hagen Trophy for Personal Achievement to Milo Stock;
David Healy Cup to Morgan Shannon and Holly McKibbin;
Parents’ Council Cup for Sporting Achievement to Jamie Hamilton;
Thompson Attendance Shield and Pollock Trophy for Form Endeavour to 8DMA;
Maggie Burns Memorial Trophy to Rebecca Gardiner and Dylan Kelly.
