The 2023/24 NI Junior Foil Series kicked off last Saturday 4th November in Shankill Leisure Centre in Belfast. Sullivan Upper Fencing Club had 14 fencers competing in the U14 and U16 age groups. Nine medals were won in total by SU fencers, 2 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze. U14s Erin Keough, the lone SU competitor in the girls’ U14s, made the semi-finals, winning a bronze medal. In the boys’ U14s Sam Snoddy, Adam Sugar, Patrick John, Thomas Morrow and Ethan Dilworth all made the last 8. Sam was only one of the 5 who made it through to the semis, but lost there 13-15 in a close fight, finishing with a bronze. Adam, Tom, Ethan and Patrick were placed 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. U16s Three SU fencers, Amelia Penny, Cassidy Ogle and Lois Donald had entered for the U16 girls’, and all 3 made the semi-finals. Lois was knocked out by Amelia to take a bronze, while Cassidy won the other semi. This led to an all Sullivan final, with Amelia winning 15-12 for the gold medal, Cassidy taking silver. The boys’ U16s had 5 SU competitors: Noah Currie, Myles Wilkinson, Lennox Brown, Tom Woolsey-Jensen and Theo Beggs. All 5 made the last 8 and 4 of the 5 made the semis, making it an all Sullivan fight for the medal positions. Myles beat Lennox in one semi and Noah defeated Theo in the other. The Myles vs Noah final was a nail biting affair with Noah taking a narrow win 15-14 for the gold medal. Myles took silver, Lennox and Theo joint 3rd and Tom 5th. This was an excellent competition turn-out of Sullivan fencers, with a great set of results. Well done to all 14. Round 2 of the NIJFS will be on Sat 2nd December 2023 in the Shankill Leisure Centre. David White SUFC Coach 5th Nov 2023

On Saturday 30 September, the Sullivan Community came out in force to run the Bangor 10k in memory of Kirsty Merriman. With runners and supporters, there were in excess of 80 people wearing a “for Kirsty” Cancer Focus t-shirt in Bangor that morning. The run itself started at the city hall, went down Main Street, then along the sea front to Ballyholme before heading out to Groomsport. At Groomsport, which is just over halfway, the return to Bangor was via the promenade at Ballyholme before finishing at Ward Park. Those that ran were hugely appreciative of the support and encouragement they received around the course, particularly from those who were at 9k and the draining hill of Shandon Drive! Kirsty would have been immensely proud of all the runners and supporters. She would have gained as much pleasure from watching the Year 14 boys who flew round the course in just over half an hour to those for whom just finishing was a real achievement. It was a very special morning with memories created for all those who were there. There was a real sense of togetherness. A chance to share in an experience, to remember Kirsty and raise money for a charity which meant such a lot to her and her family. Finally, a few thank yous: to Mrs McDowell for personalising the t-shirts, to the PE department for cancelling hockey matches to allow pupils to participate and a special thank you to all those who have donated so generously. The total raised for Cancer Focus NI to date is £9,357.

On Wednesday 4 October, Year 14 Nutrition & Food Science pupils enjoyed a full day interactive workshop at the College of Agriculture, Food & Rural Enterprise. This supported the delivery of their A2 Nutrition and Food Science course. Eva Weiniger (Year 14 pupil) provided feedback on the day: When taking part in the practical section of our educational visit we dressed ourselves in PPE and familiarised ourselves with the production line of burgers. We learnt about the importance of food hygiene by analysing the steps taken to produce burgers and identified critical control points that could cause danger to consumer health and safety. The presentation on HACCP and involvement in the practical session has given me a head start to what we will later be learning later on in our A2 course. It will help us to understand the need for HACCP in the food supply chain. We were also given a careers talk which highlighted a variety of courses, including CAFRE’s opportunities for careers in the food industry. Eva Weiniger, Year 14

The 2023 Irish Open was held Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd October in the Irish National Indoor Arena at Blanchardstown in Dublin. Four Sullivan fencers took part: Myles Wilkinson, Noah Currie and Harry McNeice competing in the men’s foil competition and Amelia Penny in the women’s foil. The Open is always the biggest Irish fencing event of the year with fencers from Europe and further afield competing along with the best in Ireland. In the men’s foil Myles finished 24th and Harry 30th, while Noah, seeded 24th after the poule stage, knocked out the 9th seed to take a place in the last 16. Amelia finished 18th in a tough women’s foil event. All 4 put in strong performances and gained valuable experience fencing at senior level. The next event for SUFC fencers will be at Round 1 of the 2023/2024 NI Junior Foil Series in Shankill Leisure Centre on Saturday 4th November. David White SUFC Coach 25 Oct 2023

The Derry Open senior fencing competition was held last weekend the 7th & 8th of October in the Ulster University Magee Campus Sports Centre in Londonderry. Seven SU fencers took part: Amelia Penny, Alexandra Ong and Cassidy Ogle in the women’s foil event and Adam Caldwell, Noah Currie, Myles Wilkinson and Tom Woolsey-Jensen in the men's foil. Five of the seven, all except Alexandra and Adam, while still competing this year in U16 junior events, were taking a significant step-up into senior competition. On the Saturday in the women’s foil event Cassidy won all her fights in the poule stage, making her top seed. Then in the knock out stage Amelia met Alexandra in the semi-finals, Amelia winning to go through to fence Cassidy in the final. It was a close match, Amelia taking the win 15 to 13, Cassidy taking silver and Alexandra a bronze. The men’s foil was on the Sunday, a tough event with several of Ireland’s top 10 ranked foilists competing. Myles finished just outside the last 8 in 9th, with Adam and Noah close behind in 10th and 11th, and Tom 13th. Well done all seven fencers. David White SUFC Coach 10 Oct 2023

Today, Thursday 24 August 2023, Sullivan Upper School’s Year 12 cohort are celebrating superb GCSE results, which are reward for all their efforts during their courses. Much of the reporting of today’s results nationally will focus on a drop in grades following the grading systems used in recent years. However, we are delighted that Sullivan pupils have been able to maintain such high levels of performance. Our pupils achieved an overall pass rate of 99.6% with 80.9% of grades at A*-A level. 99.4% of the cohort achieved 7x A*-C grades, and over one-third of the year group (35.2%) gained 11x A*/A grades. Eight Sullivan pupils achieved the impressive feat of a full set of A*grades. The Principal, Craig Mairs, said: “We are very proud of the achievements of our pupils and are delighted that their hard work has been rewarded. We are also grateful for the efforts of our committed and skilled staff team whose dedication has helped our pupils fulfil their potential. There are some very impressive headlines here, but we are proud of all our pupils, and we wish them every success as they begin their A Level courses in the autumn.” C J D Mairs Principal

Today, Thursday 17 August 2023, Sullivan Upper School’s A Level cohort are celebrating superb A Level and AS Level results, which are reward for all their efforts during their courses. At A Level our pupils achieved an overall pass rate of 99.6% with 82.3% of grades at A*-B level. 89.5% of the cohort achieved 3x A*-C grades and 46.8% of the cohort achieved at least 3x A grades. Sixteen Sullivan pupils achieved the impressive feat of at least 3xA* grades. The Principal, Craig Mairs, said: “We are very proud of the achievements of our pupils and are delighted that their hard work has been rewarded. We are also grateful for the efforts of our committed and skilled staff team whose dedication has helped our pupils fulfil their potential. There are some very impressive headlines here, but we are proud of all our pupils, and we wish them every success as they take up their places on competitive degree courses this autumn.” Sullivan’s Year 13 pupils have also enjoyed great success in their AS Levels with 74.2% of grades at A*-B level and 76.6% of pupils achieving 3x A-C grades. This gives them a very good platform to build upon next academic year. C J D MAIRS Principal

The following four Year 9 girls represented North Down Athletics Club at the Northern Ireland and Ulster Relay Championships on Saturday 20 August 2022, winning Silver in the u13 Girls 4x100m relay. Great to see 4 Sullivan girls running together for their athletics club and taking home a medal! Eva Cupitt, Caoimhe Fenlon, Abbie Irwin and Hannah Monaghan

Year 8 Induction Morning Friday 26 August 9.00 am – 12.30 pm The staff are looking forward to welcoming new Year 8 pupils to Sullivan Upper on Friday 26 August 2022. Please ensure that your son/daughter is aware of the following information. Pupils may be dropped off at the Pavilion Hall from 8.50 am onwards. Pupils will then be directed into the School Hall for a short assembly to welcome them to Sullivan. Mrs Dorman (Head of Year 8) and the Year 8 Pastoral Team will be present at the Pavilion Hall/School Hall to welcome and assist. Pupils will be required to bring their schoolbag and a healthy snack for break. (Pupils are reminded not to share food due to allergies). During the morning pupils will remain in their Form Class where they will spend time taking part in activities to get to know one another, get a copy of their timetable and have a tour of the school. I hope that pupils are looking forward to starting Sullivan. However, I appreciate that some pupils may be feeling slightly anxious – this is to be expected. Hopefully the Induction Morning on Friday will help ease the transition into Sullivan. Please note school buses will not be available on Friday 26 August 2022. Buses will be available on Wednesday 31 August 2022. Best wishes Mrs C L Moore (Vice-Principal Pastoral)

Congratulations to Emily Calvert (Year 12) on her selection for Ireland U15 Girls Cricket Team. She played in a three day tournament in August against Yorkshire and Kent.

Congratulations to the five SU fencers selected to represent N Ireland in the 2022 Commonwealth Fencing Championships held in the University of East London in August: Alex Atkinson, Izzy Evans, Victoria Morris, Keir Murray and Alexander Penny. All five took part in individual and team events at U17 and U20 levels, competing for N Ireland against fencers from 29 other nations of the Commonwealth. David White SUFC Coach 31 Aug 2022

The 2022 Irish Open was held last Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd of October at the Irish National Indoor Arena at Blanchardstown in Dublin. Three Sullivan fencers (plus coach) travelled south for the event: Victoria Morris competing in the women’s foil competition; Alexander Penny and Adam Caldwell in the men’s foil. Victoria made the quarter-finals in her event, but was knocked out by the eventual silver medallist, finishing 8th. In the men’s foil Alexander finished 19th, while Adam was 24th in his first ever senior competition. All 3 put in strong performances against the best in Ireland. The next events for SUFC fencers will be a the Killanin Trophy in Dublin, a junior competition on 6th Nov, then the Derry Open, a senior competition on the 19th and 20th Nov. David White SUFC Coach 25 Oct 2022