Improving standards in public exams highlighted

DEPARTMENT of Education inspectors have praised the 'visionary and purposeful leadership' of St. Patrick's High Principal Dr. Seamus Quinn after they visited the school earlier this year. The Inspectors said Dr. Quinn's leadership which was 'ably supported' by Vice Principal James Ward and the Senior Management Team had brought about 'significant improvement in provision for learning'.

The other main strengths they found at St Patrick's were

• An 'inclusive ethos and respect for diversity' permeating the school
• Improving standards attained by the pupils in public examinations
• 'Collegial and dedicated staff strongly committed to continuous improvement'
• A quality of the teaching which was 'good or better' in most of the lessons and in a minority of the lessons, 'excellent'
• A good focus on the development of active learning strategies to make the learning relevant and interesting for the pupils.

Following the report's publication Dr. Quinn paid a warm tribute to his teachers. "Success like this is as a direct result of the quality of teaching offered by my staff," he said. "This report identifies the quality of teaching in St Patrick's as good (or better) to excellent. "Such high quality instruction, in small pupil centred classes has enabled our school to continue to improve. "Our GCSE and A level results this year, achieved following the inspection, copper fasten the Inspectorate's judgement about this school placing St Patrick's, once more well above the Northern Ireland average."

Dr. Quinn also felt the importance of a clear vision for education 'could not be over emphasised'.

In St. Patrick's, he added, this had created a 'collegial leadership system' to organise and manage the needs of the school while establishing clear lines of communication.

He said this had been "central to ensuring and sustaining improvement.

"I am confident my staff, parents and pupils will continue to contribute to the success of St. Patrick's." he continued.

Pupils put their maths skills to the test

Niall Tanuvasa, Tiernan O'Meallaigh and Michael Waterworth	Alex Martin an Tiffany Shirlow of St Patricks High School put their maths skills to the test

YEAR 8 pupils from St Patrick's High School put their problem solving skills to good use in the Sentinus 'Fun Maths Roadshow' recently.

The 120 pupils worked through a series of mathematical puzzles -with shapes, numbers, currency and cracking codes.

They then worked in teams to solve a selection of puzzles and were guided throughout the day by experienced mathematicians.

Brian Campbell, Chief Executive of Sentinus said: "Considering the recent decline in the number of students opting to study mathematics, it is vital that we open up the exciting world of mathematics to young people.

"The Fun Maths Roadshow provides an excellent opportunity to show that mathematics can be stimulating and fun," he continued.

Ulster Star
17/10/2008