Slideshow: Crumlin Integrated College prize-giving

Speaking at the school’s prize-giving on Thursday night, Mrs Lynda McGarry said she was pleased to present a report which paints the picture of a pupil-centred, purposeful, achieving and highly successful school.

“In fact a report of which any school would be proud,” Mrs McGarry said.

She added: “We celebrate the enormous strides that the college has made over this past year and the journey travelled and pay tribute to the hard work of the pupils, staff, parents, governors and the local community, all of whom deserve the highest of praise.”

Mrs McGarry said that in their follow up visit of March 2014, the Education Training Inspectorate stated that “the pupils were benefitting from the continuing focus on raising standards of provision and improving outcomes”.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the GCSE results of August 2014 are testament to the tremendous improvement in GCSE results over these past three years – from 52% of pupils achieving five A*-C grades or equivalent to a marvellous 67% in 2014 and when five A*-C grades, including English and Maths, are taken into consideration, the results have increased by 100% from 25% last year to an outstanding 50%,” 
Mrs McGarry said.

She added: “This is now well above the N.I. average of 38% for non-grammar schools.

“The percentage of pupils progressing to further education is also well above the average for non selective schools.

“In fact 33% of pupils who left in 2013 went on to post 16 provision in other schools and when the future of the college is secured in 2016 many of these young people will be able to continue their education with us.

“Our aim is to ensure that all pupils make progress in external examinations irrespective of their different levels of ability. Once again, the results in 2014 highlight the significant improvement in the value added both academically and pastorally for everyone.”

Mrs McGarry went on to pay tribute to some of the school’s top students: Pierce Slaney – who produced the best results the college has ever seen - a marvellous array of A* and A grades comparable to any grammar school; Kirsty Hutchison, Georgia Stewart and Carla Kidd all of whom achieved seven GCSEs at top grades; Reece Kennedy who achieved eight GCSE’s at grade C and above.

Mrs McGarry noted that the significant progress in the pastoral work of the school was recognised in the ETI follow up visit when they stated that “the original shortcomings identified in the 2010 inspection report have been addressed fully and resulted in a more purposeful, positive and pupil-centred ethos which is described by the pupils as a significant strength 
of the school”.

She added that with ongoing support from NICIE (The NI Council for Integration) under the leadership of Mrs Noreen Campbell, the Chief Executive, staff and pupils continue to embed the integrated ethos of the school and showcase events such as integration week and special thematic assemblies.

“Integration is the very heartbeat of this school and its community, and the values are evident in the very positive school ethos which has been commented on several times during the ETI visits,” Mrs McGarry said.

Mrs McGarry said that within the school, clubs and societies continued to flourish.

“Such activities help young people to develop inquiring minds, artistic and sporting skills and hopefully will serve them well as they pursue various interests and leisure activities into adulthood,” she said.

She added: “I am confident in reporting that it has been a busy and action packed year which has served to enrich the lives of the young people who have participated in these various programmes.

“Central to all of our endeavours has been the role of parents. Their strong commitment to the school and partnership are valued, and the huge turnout this evening is testament to the support that is evident to the overall education and development of these young people.

“FOCIC - friends of Crumlin Integrated College now in its third year also worked tirelessly in the background to raise the profile and support the school.

“A team of governors under the leadership of Mr Stanley Smith continue to guide and support the school and to them we also express our appreciation.

“The willingness of the entire staff to go that extra mile in the interests of these young people has greatly contributed to the results this year, and they deserve huge credit and as I draw to a close may I repeat that the GCSE results in 2014 for 5 or more A* -C grades - 67% and when English and Maths are included 50%.

“The Year 8 intake which has almost doubled from 2013 is also indicative of the confidence that the community now has in us!

“It was with much delight that in July I received a letter from Dr David Hughes at the Department of Education informing us that we had made significant progress thus enabling us to exit the Formal Intervention Process.

“He commended the school staff for their hard work and commitment which was necessary to bring about these improvements and wished the whole school community every success as we build upon the positive findings 
in the ETI report.

“A marvellous and well deserved recognition of the complete turnaround that the school has made over these past four years.

“It was not surprising, therefore, ladies and gentlemen, that the ETI follow-up inspection in March 2014 concluded and I quote, “In the areas inspected, the quality of education provided by Crumlin Integrated 
College is – good”.

“Finally, in a recent article the Minister for Education, Mr John O’Dowd commented that “Integrated Education is an important part of the education landscape here and I fully support the valuable contribution it makes to a peaceful and stable future for our young people”.

“The college is already part of this landscape and with the support of all sections of the community we can be a leading school in this landscape as we move towards a new 11-19 , all ability school in Crumlin.”