Ian McElhinney Guest of Honour at Friends’ GCSE Reception
Actor Ian McElhinney received a warm welcome back to Friends’ School when he was the Guest of Honour at the annual GCSE Reception.
In a lively and entertaining address, he paid tribute to the pupils who were receiving their Progress Files and expressed his delight at the performances of the Jazz Band and the Choir.
Ian McElhinney, whose credits include Game of Thrones and The Fall, spoke fondly of his school days at Friends’, saying that they were indeed some of the best days of his life. He said that while some of the pupils at the Reception would have a clear idea of what they wanted to do in life, for others there was less certainty. He advised them to follow their interests, to take time to explore the world and to enjoy the opportunities that might come their way, even unexpectedly. He spoke about the benefit of having choices and being flexible in the decisions we take, particularly when it comes to university and the world of employment.
After presenting GCSE certificates and Progress Files to all who had taken GCSE examinations last summer, Ian McElhinney joined pupils, their families and members of staff for refreshments in the Dining Hall and reminisced about his time here.
At the Reception, Stephen Moore, Principal of Friends’, spoke about the Friends’ pupils who had taken GCSE exams last summer, noting that, in awarding Progress Files and GCSE certificates to each one, the School recognised and valued the achievements of all and acknowledged the hard work behind the pupils’ success. He added: ‘What is particularly admirable is that the young people here this evening manage to balance their academic work with commitment to activities inside and outside School. Not that finding a balance is necessarily easy, and we want to be sensitive to the fact that it is possible to feel overwhelmed with so much going on. I do believe, however, that when we take a snapshot of what has gone on for this group of pupils over the last year we can see that, as well as enhancing their academic credentials, they have been involved in activities that enrich their lives and help prepare them for the future, when I am confident that they can find personal fulfilment and make a real difference to our society’.
Mr Moore said that all of the pupils present should be congratulated on their success. All of those taking GCSEs last year gained the benchmark figure of seven or more passes at grades A* - C, including English and Maths. 69 out of 145 pupils gained 8 or more passes at A and A*, and of all the grades achieved in all subjects, 30% were at A*, 66% at A* - A and 90% at grades A*-B.
Special mention was made of Hannah Agnew, Zach Campbell, Curtis Dundas, Victoria England, Bethany Lockhart, Alexandra Mulholland and Petra Reid who each achieved 8 A*s and 2 As, and Christopher Loan who achieved 8 A*s, 2 As and 1 B. Hannah Al-Qaryooti, Morgan Gregg, Rheo Hue, Andrew Joyce, David Kearns, Eve McCready and Ben Spiers all achieved 9A*s and 1 A, with Aisling Broder-Rodgers and Anna McDermott achieving 9 A*s and a further two As. Meghan McClure, who achieved 5 A*s and 6 As, also took 11 subjects at GCSE.
Old Scholars’ Prizes were awarded to David Elliott, Alexandra Hunter, Matthew Lewis, Sara McGucken, Rebecca McNeill, Christopher Nesbitt, Olivia Novaes, Amy Scott and Jinkun Zhong who each had a perfect record of ten A* grades. Mr Moore said that that this showed remarkable consistency across a varied range of disciplines as, along with everyone else, these pupils sat at least one Science subject and at least one Modern Language along with their compulsory subjects.
Mr Moore said that there was yet more delight in that four of these pupils were placed by CCEA in the top three in Northern Ireland in their subjects. Olivia Novaes was 1st in English Literature; Matthew Lewis was 1st in Moving Image Art; Aisling Broder-Rodgers was 3rd in Engineering, a subject delivered in collaboration with the South Eastern Regional College; and Rebecca McNeill was 3rd in Journalism. Mr Moore added that Matthew’s success in MIA would come as no surprise to those who had seen his editing of the footage recorded by so many pupils of last April’s Colour Run, an event that he said captured the carefree exuberance that he believed was a hallmark of life at Friends’.
Mr Moore spoke of the wide range of interests the pupils present enjoyed outside the classroom: ‘On the sports field, many of the pupils here began contributing in Year 12 to the most senior teams in school: to 1st XV rugby, to the senior netball squad and to both boys’ and girls’ 1st X1 hockey teams; they will undoubtedly use the experience gained as they take their place as leaders in these teams over the next two years. Curtis Dundas has been involved in the Ulster U17 set-up in rugby. Rosie Henderson represented the Ulster U18 Girls’ Hockey team at the recent Interprovincial Tournament and has been selected for the Irish U18 squad; she also took part in the UK School Games. Also in hockey, Beth Ravey was selected for the U18 squad to play against Wales last summer. In Netball, Rachael Mason gained her first cap for Northern Ireland in the European Championships in March and Emily Simpson, Rheo Hue and Shannon Aiken have been selected for the U19 SE Region Development Squad.’
He went on to speak of success in individual sports: ‘At the recent Ulster Schools’ event, Alexandra Hunter added to her list of achievements this year by winning Silver in the 100m Fly; in the same competition, Christopher Loan won Bronze in the Backstroke. James Edgar has had a remarkable year, winning Gold in the 3000m final at the Irish Interprovincial Athletics Championships last June and following this up with a fantastic victory in the Camlough Triathlon. Matthew Armstrong has recently been awarded a cycling scholarship that will take him to the mountains of Spain in the New Year.’
Mr Moore said that the first term in Sixth Form had been a busy one: ‘Our young Enterprise Group, under MD Rheo Hue, has got underway and Year 13 representatives Hannah Al-Qaryooti, Matthew Lewis and Ryan Lunney have been active on the School Council, looking at issues of rubbish around school and meeting with the architects who designed our new building. Ryan also deserves mention for his fantastic artwork, which can be seen on the posters he has created for the Eco Committee’s Big Pedal and for our recent production of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.
‘Year 13 pupils have taken part in a Senior Girls’ Hockey tour to Barcelona, a Spanish homestay visit to Santander and a Scripture Union weekend to Ballycastle. The Charity Committee, chaired by Kate McCandless, has been busy, taking assemblies and organising a Jeans for Genes day as well as a Wear It Pink day to raise money for breast cancer research. Not to be outdone, our Jazz Band took part in a concert in Lurgan to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust; and the enjoyment of those who were involved in the band during our sell-out production of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ was truly infectious. Carlie Rosbotham wasn’t involved in ‘Charlie’, but she deserves mention for her accomplishments in singing this year: having been named the first ever Spar Star she went on to achieve a remarkable 100% in her Associate Diploma in Musical Theatre. And just this week, Hannah Al-Qaryooti and Olivia Novaes were successful in the first stage of the Rotary Youth Leadership Development Programme and will go on to represent Lisburn and Lagan Valley at the next stage on Friday.’
‘Mr Moore concluded: ‘At a time when there is so much bad news and so much to shock us in the world, it is heartening to see our young people develop here in school, to see them flourish as they navigate their way through the challenges of GCSEs and into the Sixth Form, to see them so obviously enjoying their sport and music and a range of other activities. If outside School there might be cause for pessimism, when we look at the young people in front of us tonight, it is hard not to be optimistic about the future.’
