A Great Great Result

We have just received a letter telling us that Shimna student Friederike Thomas has achieved on of the top five marks in A level German. Friederike was a pleasure to have as a student at Shimna, and we are delighted that she has received this accolade.

Great Results

Our year 13 and 14 students received their terrific A level and AS results yesterday. By today, the vast majority of students had been placed on their first choice of course. We are very proud indeed of our students, and wish them well as they head off to their chosen future, or buckle down to fulfil their promise in year 14. As well as the hard work of our students, we salute the hard work of the staff and the support of the parents/guardians.

Winning a Farm Visit

We have just appeared on the website of the Year of Food and Farming as winners of a farm visit. Our prize is for twenty students to visit a beef farm and to follow the beef to the point of sale. As a vegetarian, I don't think this visit is for me, but it will be fantastic for our first home economics classes which start in September.

James Spotted

Did you all spot James Dillon in the picture in the Mourne Observer of local young people receiving their awards for their efforts in improving local policing. The ceremony took place at the St Patrick Centre and each member of the Down Advisor Group was thanked for their contributions to the initiative which was established just over 12 months ago. The Police Service's Down District commander, Chief Inspector Brian Hanna stated, "The Down Youth IAG has eceeded all my expectations and it richly deserved the accolade of making it into the finals of the prestigious PSNI Police with the Community Awards." Involvement with the group has been demanding and required a huge commitment, particularly for students, like James, who are also completing demanding A levels.

Oxford Aspirations

Edward, Bronagh and Tanya headed off with Alicia, Gerard and governor Isobel Jones to Oxford University open days. They were hosted in various colleges, attended a Bach recital, met tutors, watched presentations on interview skills, haunted Blackwell's bookshop and met lots of students currently studying at Oxford. A wonderful time was had by all, and all were very grateful to Isobel for giving her time and expertise.

Boasting

While Kevin was in Liverpool, Ellen took his place at the first conference of Specialist Schools, and gave a presentation for schools which might consider applying to become specialist. It was a real pleasure to get to boast about all the work our staff and students have done in our first two years as a Specialist School. The warm response is a tribute to everyone in Shimna.

Support from our Sponsors

We are very proud that our main sponsors as a Specialist School are the Communication Workers Union. Kevin was again invited over to their conference, in Liverpool this time, where he reminded the conference of the origins of the link between the college and the union through our joint response to the death of Newry postman Frank Kerr. The union has again been extremely generous, and the money raised will go directly into our new ICT facilities for languages.