The written report will be available on the school’s website at the end of June. 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.”

The Lisburn school have raised over £90,000 for the local charity over the years and have established a close affinity through their fund raising efforts. Senior teacher, Miss Heather Gracey, has been instrumental in much of this fund raising and commented: “Our association with the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children goes back to the late eighties when our first Read-On was held in memory of a student who had died. Within school we like to think that the funds raised have been a living legacy of Stephen’s life.”

The pupils of 11W met Cool FM DJ Mairead Campbell and also the Cash for Kids mascot, as well as presenting a cheque for £500 to NICFC representative Ruth Hobson. These young people have a special commitment to the charity and have raised significant amounts of money over the past few years in memory of their class mate Briagh Hull who died almost two years ago. From bun sales to jewellery sales, fun runs to collections they have worked tirelessly to help other children and their families.

Charity co ordinators at the school, Miss Laura Topley and Mrs Liz McClenagahn, also got into the spirit of the occasion by coming to school in their onesies and “having funsie in their onesie”, a key part of the Cash for Kids Day throughout Northern Ireland. Pupils and staff were also interviewed by Mairead, whilst the pupils of 11W produced a noisy link to promote the event.

In all, the Cool FM Cash for Kids Day raised over £100,000 for this great cause and all in the Wallace community were delighted to be involved in such a great day for a great charity and wish to pass on their congratulations to Cool FM for their superb fund raising effort.

Jenny Johnston from 11W has been one of the driving forces behind the effort with her class mates and explains why the charity is so important to her: “NICFC will always hold a special place in my heart because of the support they gave to my best friend when she was terminally ill. It makes me so happy that the Cash for Kids Day has thrust NICFC into the limelight and helped them raise an outstanding £100,000 because I know that the money raised is going to a great charity.”

The Charity Committee at Wallace have been busy throughout the past few weeks and months with regular Monday collections recently held for Action Medical Cancer and the Alzheimer’s Society, as well as a bun sale for Year 14 pupil Priscilla Moore who is travelling to South Africa with the United Field Mission this coming summer. Year 10 pupils raised over £500 for Comic Relief with their now annual fancy dress mile of the school. Each individual Year 10 class also donated money to their own selected charity, decided on amongst class members.

Preparations for the Habitat to Humanity trip to Malawi in June are nearing completion for the 12 pupils from Years 13 and 14, accompanied by staff Matthew Glenn, Laura Topley and Steven Alexander. They have undertaken a rigorous fund raising campaign involving quizzes, bag packing, coffee mornings and fashion shows for their two week trip where they will be building houses for orphaned children and also visiting and helping children in the local schools.

As part of the Habitat for Humanity trip and also to continue their support for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, over 60 pupils and five staff are running in the Lisburn 10k and fun run in June, an event that they also supported last year. Training is well underway and everyone is looking forward to being part of this local event.

The Young Enterprise Company Twist ‘n’ Spread established in The Wallace High School in September 2012 won the Northern Ireland Final of the Company of the year competition at the Company of the Year Awards gala dinner held in Belfast City Hall on Thursday 9th May 2013.

Twist’n’Spread followed in the footsteps of Generations who won in 2011 when they established a record label, designing, producing and selling CDs of music by Wallace pupils and other local artists. In 2012 Quirktees won the overall Company award when they established a  T-shirt designing company where they would come up with some quirky slogans and print them on to mainly T-shirts but also onto bags.  Customers were also able to design their own T-shirts which the company would then print for them.

Twist’n’Spread beat the five other regional finalists from across Northern Ireland by manufacturing, marketing and selling their innovative product ‘Butter Finger’ – a twistable tube filled with butter which is a mess-free alternative to conventional spreading. Having clinched the top spot, the firm will now go on to represent Northern Ireland at the national awards in London, which will take place in July.

The Young Enterprise Company Programme gave Twist’n’Spread the opportunity to establish and run their own business in school and to attend Trade Fairs in local shopping centres around the province, including Bloomfield Shopping Centre, Bangor where they had the challenge of selling their product to the public.

The Competition required the team to write a ten page report highlighting their Young Enterprise year.  They also had to make a four minute presentation to judges and were questioned for a further 20 minutes by the judges.  Having competed and won the South East Regional final they then went on to repeat the process against the other five regional finalists before scooping the overall Northern Ireland Winner for 2013.

Twist’n’Spread consists of nine young entrepreneurs – Ruth Ferguson, Hannah Garrett, Rachel Johnston, Amy Pollock, Chris Robinson, Ruby Scott, Lucy Scott, Hannah Shelcott and Brian Weir.

The Company now goes on to compete in the Young Enterprise Company of the Year Awards UK National Final in Kensington Town Hall in London from 30^th June to 2nd  July.  If they are successful in the UK final they go on to compete in the JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition to be held in Wembley, London from the 17^th to 19^th July.

The team have been guided throughout the year by their Link teacher, Ms Karen Neill and their Business Adviser, Mr Steve McIlrath from Avalon Guitars.  Ms Neill the Head of Business Studies said, “This is a fantastic achievement for the school.  Young Enterprise is a brilliant scheme that provides our pupils with the opportunity to be entrepreneurial, to set up and run their own business, come up with an innovative business idea and take the risk of bringing the idea to market.  We are delighted to be representing  Northern Ireland for a third year in a row in the Company of the Year UK National Awards in July.”

Chris Robinson, the Managing Director of Twist’n'Spread was understandably delighted with the success and echoed many of the sentiments expressed by Ms Neill: “ Winning the N.Ireland Young Enterprise company of the year has been an incredible experience! In light of back to back wins from Generations and Quirktees, we felt obliged to bring the much coveted prize back to Wallace for the third year in a row! The team and I cannot wait to take our innovative and unique product, Butter Finger, to London in June for the UK finals! I also wish to thank Ms Neill and Mr McIlrath for their contribution and support throughout the process.”

The Boys’ House competition this year competed for the inaugural Crockett Cup, presented by the Crockett family in memory of past pupil Gareth Crockett who was tragically killed just over two years ago. Gareth’s sister Emma was present at the Assembly and awarded the cup to Hamilton House captain Cal McIlwaine.

Teacher in charge of the Boys’ House System, Mr David Simpson, told the hundreds of pupils present about Gareth’s life and explains: “Gareth, who was from Moira, attended Wallace from 1995 to 2002. He was in my year and also in many of my classes. He died trying to complete a mammoth task of running four marathons and cycling 500 miles in eight days, effectively taking him from Lisburn to London. He was attempting this in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, in memory of his friend who had died from the disease.”

He continued, “Gareth was wonderfully talented in many ways. He was a straight A student, along with being a very gifted sportsman. He was hugely competitive, but never lost his sense of fun, always thought of others and was always willing to help. What separated Gareth from the rest was his kindness, generosity and friendliness. He was everything the House system aims to be. Gareth loved Wallace and it is fitting that he will be remembered here with this House Cup, and I would like to thank his family for donating it.”

The boys competition was a real thriller as, having competed in a wide range of events from the annual quiz, charity fund raising and sports, Hamilton won the cup in the last event, defeating Conway in the hockey to claim victory by the narrowest margin.

In terms of winning margins, the girls competition was not as close but was as competitive as ever. Hanna House represented by Clare Elliott, Michaela Neill and Rachel Barnes lifted the cup, whilst Gracey were second and Seymour third.

Both Mr Simpson and Miss Alana Frey, teacher in charge of the girls’ system were keen to thank and praise the work of the Captains and their Deputies. After the Assembly Miss Frey commented: “The House System in Wallace remains an important part of the pastoral care system, encouraging participation and new friendships to be made outside of class sets and year groups. The House Captains and Deputies are de facto in charge of 1/6 of the entire school every Thursday morning and it is a great opportunity  for them to develop their leadership, communication and organisational skills as well as allowing them to give back to and share their knowledge and experience with the younger years.  It is no coincidence therefore that universities are quick to make offers to those students who show themselves to be an integral part of the House System. I wish to thank them all for their hard work throughout the year and for making the House competition such fun for all involved.”

With much of Northern Ireland snow bound before Easter, 43 pupils escaped the wintry conditions in Lisburn to spend an exciting and sun filled five days in Barcelona. The teenagers, who are all studying Spanish at Key Stage 3 or 4 took every opportunity whilst in this most beautiful city to develop their language skills and also to get a real sense of the Spanish lifestyle.

Cultural highlights of the trip included visits to the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Parc Guell and Monserrat, whilst sports fans (especially Mr Glenn) enjoyed the visits to the 1992 Olympic Stadium and the world famous Camp Nou Stadium, home to Barcelona FC. Undoubtedly the highlight of the trip was the day spent in Port Aventura Amusement Park which was thoroughly enjoyed by both staff and pupils alike.

Commenting on the trip, Year 11 pupil Jess Rodgers said: “I loved every minute of our trip and it was great to experience the warm weather and the Spanish culture. As well as visiting famous monuments, we also went to an amazing Magic Show and did lots of shopping. It was a fantastic five days and has definitely helped improve my Spanish listening and speaking skills. I would also like to thank the staff who gave up their time to take us away and who looked after us so well.”

A group of Year 13 Politics students, accompanied by Mr Michael Lowry and Miss Alana Frey took part in a three day educational visit to London, allowing them to experience first hand the workings of the British political system and thus supplementing classroom learning.

Whilst there, they improved their knowledge of democracy by visiting Speaker’s Corner. They also embarked on a walking tour of Whitehall becoming familiar with the sights and sounds of the “Westminster Village”. A tour of Parliament also enabled students to firmly grasp how the mother of Parliament works.

An action packed itinerary also included a visit to The Wallace Collection with students having the opportunity to explore the links between Sir Richard Wallace and Lisburn. Undoubtedly the highlights were the question and answer sessions with Jeffrey Donaldson MP and former government member Kate Hoey MP, whilst the tour party were granted a rare meeting with Lord Justice Kerr, the only representative on the United Kingdom Supreme Court from Northern Ireland. This enabled students to increase their knowledge and understanding of the workings of the judicial system in the United Kingdom.

Mr Michael Lowry explained the educational benefits of the trip: “We have undertaken this trip to London for a number of years and the pupils always benefit greatly from the experience. It was a fantastic opportunity for staff and pupils alike to meet with Jeffrey Donaldson MP, Kate Hoey MP and also Lord Justice Kerr. These meetings and the other aspects of the tour can only help our pupils understanding of Politics in the United Kingdom.”

The Den is a place for young people aged 14 – 18 to showcase their creative talents and get more involved in the arts. They meet weekly, taking part in workshops and exhibitions in Belfast and planning events and projects for other young people to enjoy at the MAC.

Tiffany was instrumental in the one off magazine “Created” which was made and distributed by the Den Collective as part of the Andy Warhol season at the MAC. The magazine features an interview with local comedian Paul Currie, some Warhol poetry and a potted history of punk rock in Northern Ireland, alongside a whole host of other articles and features. Tiffany’s own work is showcased through a screen print section, as well as taking part in a 1960s photo shoot with the catchy title “The Rusty Zip”. She also wrote a thought provoking article entitled “Spare Fiver” in which she looks at how some people appreciate the value of this relatively small sum of money, especially in the current economic times.

The magazine project was made possible by the generous support of ARTIST ROOMS On Tour, a partnership with Arts Council England and the Art Fund, which makes available the ARTIST ROOMS collection of international modern and contemporary art to galleries throughout the United Kingdom.

As someone who wishes to pursue a career in the art world Tiffany was understandably delighted with the opportunity to become involved in such a project: “I’ve been involved in the Den at The MAC from the beginning and it has been a brilliant chance to get involved in the arts. The magazine is a prime example of all the potential young people harbour and The MAC has been a great opportunity for me and everyone else in The Den to delve in, get creative and express their passion for all the different forms of art. I would recommend as many people as possible to go to the Mac.”

Mrs Kerry McMullan, an Art teacher at the Lisburn school added: “All the Art staff at Wallace are very proud of Tiffany and what she has achieved. We believe she has a very bright and creative future and wish her all the best when she completes her studies with us at the end of the school year.”

If you have read this article, are between 14 – 18 years old and keen to become involved the Den Collective is recruiting. Please contact Jess Worley, the MAC’s Learning and Participation Officer on 02890892960 or on jess@themaclive.com.

The 2nd X1 qualified for the final of the Prior Shield before Christmas but a combination of poor weather and other teams struggling to get matches played resulted in their much anticipated match taking place on a glorious sunny day in March at Stormont. They played a very talented Ballyclare High School 1st X1 who included some underage representative players and were more than a match for them in a superb game of hockey. Despite both teams creating many chances in normal time, the game remained goalless, thus requiring extra time. The Lisburn lads visibly tired and were eventually beaten by three goals to nil, a rather unflattering scoreline for Wallace who pushed their opponents all the way. Great credit must go to coach, Mr Neil Armstrong, captain, Chris Mark and goal keeper Stephen Crean who had a magnificent game in the final having only taken up this key position at the start of the school season.

The under 15 team reached the final of the Richardson Cup taking several notable scalps on the way including Friends in the quarter finals and RBAI in the semi final. The semi final success was most impressive as the team travelled to Belfast to face a good RBAI outfit on their own pitch and emerged as very convincing 4 – 0 winners (co captain Nathan Cartmill, Craig Getty, Kyle Mawhinney and Jacob Hermon the goal scorers). They knew that they faced an excellent Sullivan Upper team in the final, a team who put the fancied Banbridge Academy out at the semi final stage and who also possessed a number of underage interpro players. Despite going a goal down early in the game, they battled back to equalise through a Jacob Hermon penalty corner before half time, whilst they also had a Craig Getty goal ruled out by the umpire just before the break. The second half saw chances for both teams but it was Sullivan who took theirs to emerge as 3 – 1 winners.

On the same Tuesday the under 13 team faced the traditionally strong Banbridge Academy in the Bannister Bowl final at Lisnagarvey Hockey Club. The 13s defeated Killycomaine, RBAI, Friends and Campbell College on their way to the final, the quarter final against local rivals Friends a real thriller as a Ben Nelson goal in extra time of a replay secured their progress to the semi finals where Year 8 pupil Jonny Lynch was the hero with two of the three goals in a 3 – 1 victory. Their final got off to the worst possible start as they went two goals down very early against a hungry Academy side. It is to their credit that they coped with these early setbacks and came back strongly in the second half to give Banbridge a real fright. Jonny Lynch again found the net with an opportunistic strike and was unlucky on several occasions not to score having tested the opposition keeper. Co captain Ben Nelson was also a constant thorn in the side of his opponents as he drove his team forward, whilst Ben Johnston made several superb saves to keep his team in the game. Coach, Mr David Simpson, was understandably proud of his players who showed excellent character to cope with the early setbacks and dominate much of the game thereafter with their high tempo game plan. The squad have improved immensely throughout the year and will now look forward to trying to achieve success in the Ferris Cup next year.

On the final Thursday of Finals Week the under 14s squad finally brought some silverware back to the school when they defeated a talented Sullivan Upper team at Lisnagarvey Hockey Club. There is little doubt that they won the Ferris Cup the hard way having defeated two very good teams in RBAI and Royal and Prior (both away matches) in preceding rounds. The final was a nervy affair and it took a great run and reverse stick finish from Wallace captain Scott McCabe to break the deadlock in the first half. Into the second half and a poachers finish from Andrew Clarke put the game beyond doubt although goal keeper Lewis Taylor was called upon to make a great save at the end to preserve the clean sheet. A large portion of this squad have also been selected for Talent Development Squads having been through a number of coaching sessions throughout the year. Scott McCabe, Jacob Hermon, Jordan Taggart, Craig Getty, William Carey and Andrew O’Hare now go directly into Ulster under 16 squad sessions at University of Ulster, Jordanstown over the coming weeks and all involved in hockey at the school wish them all the best.

Having received STEM funding from the South Eastern Education and Library Board, twenty students worked in teams of five to build robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS Education and then programmed them using NXT to investigate the use of the sensors. They then had to create programs for their robot and the day ended with an obstacle course challenge, a fun end to an action packed day.  A video of the first STEM event was also made detailing all the activities which the students had undertaken.

Ruth Foster, Head of Computing at the school says the students were very enthusiastic: “They had a sense of satisfaction and achievement with a completed robot that they have been involved in building and it was great to see their confidence grow as they successfully solved problems when controlling the robots. The day also increased the students’ understanding of sensors and their knowledge of software programming, whilst their enthusiasm for ICT and computing-related subjects has also grown.”

Mrs Foster says that another year group will be given the opportunity to take part in the Robot Day in June and in the future the robots will be used to deliver some of the Key Stage 3 curriculum as part of programming lessons.

“This will allow many more children to enjoy the experience, as full year groups of 180 students will be involved,” she says. Pupils involved were equally enthusiastic with Dawson Cleland commenting.  ”It was great fun to work as part of a group in completing the building of a robot. As the day went on we learnt lots of interesting skills such as programming using Lego software and working with sensors.”

For more information about LEGO MINDSTORMS Education, visit the
website at www.legoeducationuk.com.

Following on from this tremendous achievement could have been considered daunting, but this years company Twist’n'Spread will attempt to emulate last years success in the coming weeks.

The Lisburn school company is made up of nine highly enthusiastic students with Chris Robinson (Year 13) taking on the role as Managing Director. They have produced a product called Butter Finger which is a twistable tube filled with butter and as the sound bite goes “a child friendly product which is a convenient and mess – free alternative to the conventional spreading method”.

Butter Finger had already scooped the Mystery Shopper Award and Best Product at the South Eastern Board Young Enterprise trade fair in Bangor in February, before winning the South Eastern Regional Young Enterprise Company of the Year in March. They have now qualified as one of the six finalists for the Northern Ireland competition with the winner announced in Belfast City Hall on Thursday 9th May.

Managing Director Chris Robinson is understandably delighted with the success of the company and commented: “We had an unexpected but brilliant situation at our first trade fair in Bangor, selling out in less than two hours and to now progress to the Northern Ireland Finals is amazing. It’s great to follow in the footsteps of Quirktees who enjoyed such phenomenal success last year. We have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback from Butter Finger and we are naturally delighted with the success we have achieved so far. I would also like to thank our teacher Ms Karen Neill for all her help, advice and encouragement over the course of the past few months.”

Team Members:

Chris Robinson Managing Director

Ruby Scott Secretary

Brian Weir Finance director

Rachel Johnston Sales Director

Ruth Ferguson Creative Director

Lucy Scott Sales Assistant

Amy Pollock Marketing Director

Hannah Shelcott IT Director

Hannah Garrett Human Resources

The students who received their certificates recently at a special ceremony in the Principal’s study were Beth Doherty, Natasha Gillies, Amy Murtagh and Andrew McStea. Andrew deserves a special mention as he completed two of the modules during the 2012 Summer holiday. The subject areas covered by the students in their chosen modules ranged from Genetics to Mathematics and Sport Science. All the students agreed that the skills of time management, editing and referencing which they had developed through their studies were invaluable and had extended and complemented skills gained through A2 study.

Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator, Mr Michael Lowry, said ” The YASS scheme really proves its worth when students apply for high tariff courses such as Medicine as some universities have openly noted they use YASS as a tie breaker in oversubscribed situations. It also gives students firsthand experience of university level work prior to university and that can only be a confidence builder.”