Alongside the usual weekly collections for local and national charities there have been several big events, with £1479.41 raised for Children in Need as teachers and pupils took part in Ant and Dec’s “Red or Black” in the Assembly Hall in November, whilst Physical Education teacher Gareth Kidd took part in “Movember”, growing a moustache and sending a cheque for £338.93 to the Prostate Cancer Charity.

The Year 14 pupils put on their traditional Christmas Pie show just before Christmas with pupils taking part in various sketches, as well as show casing their singing and dancing skills. Expertly hosted by Boyd Rodgers and Callum Scott and superbly written by Andrew McIntyre,
the show also featured some brilliant video footage taken by the talented Matthew Gamble.

As always, Christmas Pie not only provided great entertainment for teachers and pupils alike, but also raised over £2000 for worthy causes which was split between The Children’s Trust Tadsworth, Friends of the Cancer centre and Homeplus NI.

Commenting on the term, Matthew Glenn said: “It always amazes me how generous our pupils and staff are with their support of the weekly collections and also the events. The Children in Need Day and Christmas Pie were great fun for everyone involved and the money
donated to all the charities has been gratefully received.”

Mrs Deborah O’Hare, Principal, was delighted by the immense generosity of spirit exemplified by the students and staff of Wallace. She commented “One of the core values of Wallace is that of respect. Our young people give generously to their chosen charities; this is very much a decision taken by the student led Charity Committee. The rich variety of fun activities dispersed through the school calendar allows us to help those less fortunate than ourselves. It was a pleasure to
welcome back so many former students to join in with the Christmas Pie celebrations at the end of term.”

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Wallace’s event was on Monday 12 th December and a large contingent of staff volunteered to bake. Much to the amazement of some of his male colleagues Dr Liam Halferty proved himself to be a whizz with the wooden spoon , producing a range of very attractive cupcakes. Pupils also had the opportunity to eat ,if not to bake , as the charity committee took charge of sales at lunchtime.

The event was much enjoyed by all and generated a swopping of recipes and musings about running a version of a bake off! Over £300 was raised and staff are already planning to repeat the event “bigger and better” next year.

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House Captain Aaron had been voted “Principal for the Day” by the school community to raise funds for Comic Relief. Pupils at the Clonevin Park School were delighted when their Principal, Mrs Deborah O’Hare, agreed to relinquish control for the day.

Aaron’s day began in style as he parked his Ford Fiesta, complete with R plates, in the Principal’s parking spot before taking up position at her desk and enjoying a morning coffee made by Mrs O’Hare.

He then took to the stage for morning assembly, outlining his rules for the day which included allowing junior pupils access to Sixth Form corridors, relaxing the uniform regulations and extending break time.

He showed he meant business by calling all teachers to a break time briefing and carrying out an inspection of the English Department.

High points of the day included playing dance music over the school’s Public Address system and leading a conga line of students around the cricket pitch. Between Principal’s duties he still managed to attend A Level classes, even completing a Mock examination for English Literature.

Aaron was certainly a popular choice amongst pupils and staff, with Sixth Former Colin Matthews joking, “He’s the people’s choice – I reckon Aaron should reconsider his hopes of becoming a Sports Journalist and opt for teaching instead.”

Aaron added, “It was a great day and I’m delighted that so many people voted for me. It was an honour to lead Wallace for the day and it was great to work with Mrs O’Hare. The generosity of our school community is outstanding – I’m proud to say that in this week alone we’ve raised £3000 for charities including Comic Relief, Food for Thought, Diabetes UK and the Japanese Earthquake Relief Fund.”

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The biggest event took place at break time with the highlight being 1st XV rugby player Stewart Evans getting his legs waxed in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.

Teacher in charge of Charity at the school, Grace Bill, was understandably delighted with the response: “It never fails to amaze me how generous our pupils are and to raise £2000 for such a fantastic cause so close to our hearts is just brilliant. I would like to thank all the staff and pupils who contributed to the day.”

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This lively event included a quiz, the announcement of the shortlisted books and a presentation by the author Chris Bradford who was on a week’s visit to Northern Ireland. Chris, the author of the celebrated Young Samurai series, visited Wallace on Thursday afternoon when he enthralled pupils with a dazzling display of sword skills and other martial arts.

The presentation included a reading from his novel The Way of The Warrior and authentic footage from a Japanese high school. Despite the flashing blade of the sword all pupils left with their limbs intact and enthused by the inspirational multi media show. Wallace librarian Mrs C O’Neill noted “Author visits are genuinely inspirational for pupils. They provide an amazing insight into the creative process. Chris really gave the pupils a sense of his passion for the Orient as well as his passion for writing.”

The Read-on assembly saw top fundraisers Briagh Hull and Stephanie Clokey present a cheque for £5,013.67 to Rachel Burgoyne schools’ worker with The Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children. Wallace has a long association with the fund having held the first of its eleven sponsored reading events in 1988 in memory of a pupil who had died during his GCSE studies.

Principal Deborah O’Hare paid tribute to the achievement of the pupils in Years 8 and 9 which she said reflected the spirit of generosity for which the school is known. She added “particular thanks are due to Miss Gracey for co-ordinating the scheme over many years, to Mrs O’Neill for managing this year’s event, to the English teachers for facilitating the scheme, to the Bursar’s staff for counting every penny and most importantly to the pupils for their enthusiasm and commitment.”

Whilst the school had a particular link to this charity Wallace prides itself on the range and scale of its charitable commitments, co-ordinated by the school’s charity committee under the inspirational leadership of Miss Grace Bill.

Accepting the cheque Rachel noted that the Wallace community has given £89,290 to the fund, a total which is unparalleled. As an expression of the charity’s gratitude she presented the school with an engraved crystal trophy which was accepted with much pleasure by the Principal.

Reading events will continue with a “Reading for pleasure” week in the English Department. Head of Department Miss Gillian McGarry, a finalist in next week’s UK teaching awards ,said “As English teachers we are passionate about books and we really want our pupils to have the chance to develop their own reading tastes and to share those tastes with others.”

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Upper Sixth pupil Chris Williams explained, ”Pie is a real highlight of the school year here in Wallace and all of Upper Sixth have thoroughly enjoyed scripting and rehearsing this year’s show. This year we took the very topical issue of the credit crunch and wrote an hour long show based on the theme. ”

Phoebe Preston went on, ”The breadth of talent displayed by our from was amazing. The choreography of Jason Irwin, Tonee Cummins and Emily Sloan meant that the dances to this year’s big hits “Disturbia” and “Womaniser” were incredible and the band were amazing too. We had such fun during rehearsals and it was great fun working creatively together. ”

Head Boy Richard Johnston added, ”Thanks must go to several teachers including Dr Fulton, Mrs McIvor and Mrs Flavelle. A special mention must go to Mrs Dumigan and Miss McGarry whose patience and support every step of the way made our experience amazing. Pie simply wouldn’t have taken place without them.”

Directors Julie Dumigan and Gillian McGarry concluded, ”It was a pleasure to work with such a bunch of talented young people. Christmas Pie raised £1700 for Childline/NSPCC and thanks must go to the generosity displayed by the entire school community in raising such a fantastic sum, as well as the Upper Sixth pupils for their hours of extra curricular commitment over recent weeks.”

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The show was hosted by Sixth form students Jordan Humphries and Michael Forde and saw teachers stand on their heads, play musical instruments and dance to disco classics such as “YMCA” and “Dancing Queen”. Head of History Dr Carol Fulton also went form class to class, dressed as Queen Elizabeth, collecting money from her loyal subjects.

Charity Coordinator in Wallace, Grace Bill, commented, “I was delighted that so many staff took up the challenge to “do something different” and that our pupils responded with such generosity, raising almost £1000 for Children in Need.”

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Each performance, lasting over one hour, had been scripted and choreographed by the pupils as the result of several weeks of extra curricular effort. “Pie” Committee member Janine Mathews explained, “We decided to base our charity show on “Jamie’s School Dinners” television programme, interspersed with a witty look at daily life in Wallace High.

The past few weeks have been brilliant. Whilst it has been hectic getting everything ready for the performances, our year group has had such a laugh during rehearsals. Everyone looks forward to seeing Pie each year and taking part in it is a real highlight of Sixth year at Wallace.”

Jamie Brown went on, “Musical performances of this year’s big hits including “Umbrella” and were really enjoyable and our dancers really showed the talent of our year group.”

Assistant Head of Year Julie Dumigan concluded, “Congratulations must go to the steering committee, cast and crew for their wonderful performances. I hope our pupils will remember this experience for many years to come. It has been a pleasure to work with such a motivated and talented group of young people. Over £2000 was raised for to give educational opportunities to those less fortunate– an incredible sum which is testament to the generosity of the entire school community.”

Much to the delight of pupils, several members of staff also performed a short sketch based on the 1980’s show “ ‘Allo,’Allo”, which added greatly to the end of term festivities.

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Marty explained, We were amazed by the wealth of talent in our school. Many acts auditioned and it was very difficult reducing the shortlist for the evening to only fifteen acts. There really was something for everyone at the show, with everything from dog tricks to unicycling, a harpist to a saxophonist.

Stephen went on, “A highlight of the evening was a short video we had made which showcased teacher’s talents. Our judging panel of teachers Dr Fulton, Mr Yamin Ali and Miss Ferguson , along with past pupil Keith Lunn, had a very difficult job.

They selected three finalists – Year 8 rappers Jon McGrath and Jake Clements, Upper Sixth singer and pianist Nathan Jess and Lower Sixth Irish Dancer Chloe Sudlow- and then it was up to the audience to vote for the winning act. Jon and Jake were chosen as they had wowed the crowd with their performance of Numb.”

Marty concluded, “We would like to thank the many people who helped make the evening such a success. Our Parent Teacher Association very generously donated the prize money of £100 and our Moving Image Arts Department and Sound and Lighting Team provided invaluable assistance.

The energy and enthusiasm of Miss Bill also ensured the evening was so enjoyable and raised so much money for such a worthwhile cause.

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