First up for the Lisburn youngster was the girls’ singles title which she then followed up with the girls’ doubles and mixed doubles titles.

Alannah recently represented Ireland at under 15 level in Slovenia and has her sights set firmly on Irish success at the under 15 competition in February.

Commenting on her triple success Alannah said,”I am delighted with both my individual and doubles success and can now look forward with confidence to the Irish competition in February.”

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The Lisburn lads started their cup final day with a coaching session for local primary schools from Downshire, Ballymacash, Pond Park and their own Prep under the expert guidance of Iain Lewers who plays professional hockey in Holland. This was a great start to the day as the local children enjoyed their session whilst the Wallace players could forget about their big day ahead for a couple of hours.

Wallace started the game in good form and, after robbing the Banbridge centre back, Matthew Murphy failed to convert a one on one opportunity. Still the 1st X1 attacked their illustrious opponents and a Stephen Hunter reverse stick effort went spectacularly but narrowly over the bar. The Banbridge goal keeper also had to be in top form to stop three Murphy penalty corner drag flicks whilst two further efforts were superbly taken off the line, Peter MacDonnell robbed on both occasions.

Centre back Richard Arneill was having an outstanding game keeping Banbridge dangerman Stephen Dowds quiet, ably assisted by his partner Adam McCann and left back Glenn Reid who continued his fine form with another solid performance. It was therefore something of a shock that Banbridge went in at half time one goal up after a well worked goal down the right hand side.

The Wallace coaching staff instructed their forwards to put more pressure on their opponents defence and by stepping up they forced another penalty corner early in the second half which Murphy dispatched into the bottom corner with a trademark drag flick. This was his 35th goal of an excellent personal season and brought the Lisburn team right back into the game.

A period of stalemate then ensued before Banbridge followed up a penalty corner rebound after a good save by Luke Williams to go 2 – 1 up. A feature of the Wallace success this year has been their never say die attitude and this was again to the fore as co captain Stephen Hunter produced a wonderful finish to a superb move to again bring them back into the match.

At this point it appeared that there would only be one winner and as Wallace won a string of penalty corners it looked like it might at last be their day. However, despite valiant efforts from all the players Banbridge scored two late goals to kill the game off and give them victory in the first major Ulster Schools’ competition this year.

Big games are always decided by small margins and this was to be one of those days. The Banbridge goal keeper had an outstanding game and was well supported by his defenders who took three goal bound shots off the line. All the players involved in the big day from the Wallace side should be very proud of their achievement, firstly in getting to their second final this year (the Irish Schools’ being the other) and also for their display of fast, attacking and attractive hockey.

This really was a superb advert for local schools hockey with the best two teams from the first half of the season going all out for victory. The Wallace players will now have to channel all their energy into the post Christmas Burney Cup and will hope to add some silverware to their two final appearances this year.

Certainly the experience of playing in front of a large and vocal crowd will stand them in good stead and they will be now be hoping for a favourable draw in the first round of the Burney which will be released on Tuesday.

Wallace McCullough Cup final squad: Luke Williams, Glenn Reid, Stephen Murray, Jonathan Crean, Adam McCann, Richard Arneill, Peter MacDonnell (co captain), Chris Rowland, Michael Keery, Matthew Murphy, Timmy Crean, Stephen Hood, Conor Kelly, Jonathan Dunn, Stephen Hunter (co captain) and Seb Buser.

Final Score : Wallace 2 Banbridge 4

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Getting Ready to Move from Primary to Post-Primary School : A Guide to Parents

The following are some answers to questions raised in the Department of Education’s recent communication to parents:

Where and when will the tests be taken and how will they be organised?

The AQE tests take place on Saturday 14 November 2009, Saturday 28th November 2009 and Saturday 5th December 2009 from 10am to 11am. Our Familiarisation Morning is Saturday 7th November 10am -11am.

What topics will the papers cover?

The AQE CEA paper will take account of the English and Mathematics components of the present primary school curriculum. An example paper and details of the CEA specification can be accessed by following these links: Exemplar material | CEA specification

How will the tests be marked?

Each paper will be marked twice, by different markers and quality assurance measures will be carried out by a third marker. Marking will take place in two centres in the presence of chief examiners.

What sort of grades or results will issue and when?

AQE Ltd will publish your child’s score in the CEA on Saturday February 6th 2010. This will be a standardised score with the average being 100.

How will results be used?

For those applying to The Wallace High School the scores will be grouped into bands of 5 score widths Higher scores will precede lower scores. Places will be allocated to all  applicants in the bands above the the band containing the 170th applicant. In this band, which contains the 170th applicant, all applicants will have the other criteria applied to allow the Admissions Committee to allocate places exactly to 170 children.

What happens if my child is sick on the day of the test or has some other problem on the day of the test? Will there be a reserve or supplementary paper?

In the event of such circumstances you could claim for Special Circumstances to be taken into account. The arrangements for dealing with Special Circumstances are set out in Appendix 1 of the School’s Admissions Criteria. There is no supplementary paper as AQE Ltd has set 3 assessments to minimise the need for the application of Special Circumstances, the best two scores of the three assessments for each child being used to calculate the final score.

What happens if my child is affected by a medical problem or other problem throughout the entire period in which the papers are taken?

This is dealt with through The Wallace High School’s Special Provisions procedures to be found in our Admissions Criteria.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Principal for any further clarification.

While the Board of Governors has endeavoured to ensure that the information published here is accurate and correct, the Board cannot warrant its completeness or accuracy nor that it will not be revised in future. The Board cannot commit to ensuring that this website remains available, nor that this website is kept up-to-date.

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Information for Prospective Parents and Pupils:

The Wallace High School is one of a large number of Grammar Schools using AQE tests, designed, administered and assessed by AQE Ltd as a means of assessment in its application of admissions criteria 2010. AQE Ltd has provided the school with the names of young people who have been allocated this school as their test centre.

At the end of September a letter, was sent to the parent(s)/ guardian(s) of all young people sitting AQE tests at Wallace with details about the date and time of the Familiarisation Morning and the three mornings of tests.

AQE Common Entrance Assessment Familiarisation Morning  will take place on Saturday 7th November 2009 10am-11am. Children sitting the tests in this centre and their parents/guardians will receive an invitation by post with further details of this event.

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A’Level results were very pleasing, not just in how the high grades reflect the academic abilities of our students, but also in the currency these high grades have provided for so many in opening the doors to exciting and challenging University places. 75% of students were successful in gaining their first choice offer for University and 13% were happy to take up their second offer. With only 3% going into “clearing” it is evident that University applications have been effectively completed, students have made sound, realistic choices and have been expertly supported by the Careers and Subject Departments and the team of UCAS reference writers.

AS results were also of a high standard with just over 67% of the grades awarded being at either A or B, it is clear that Upper Sixth 2009-10 have laid solid foundations for success at A’Level. The transition from GCSE to AS level can be a challenging one; these students are all to be commended for their application and industry.

At GCSE level the excellent results demonstrate the considerable aptitude of this group of young people. The most commonly achieved grade was an A grade. and the % A-C was 96%. With such excellent grades our students in this year group have opened up many opportunities for themselves in A’Level study and career pathways.

On behalf of the teaching and support staff of Wallace, congratulations to all our students.

Mrs Deborah O’Hare
(Principal)

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“The most commonly achieved grade this year again is an A grade, an excellent achievement by our students widening their A’ Level and career options and demonstrating their hard work, application and maturity,” she continued.

“Our school community is delighted with these results and credit must be paid to the experienced and dedicated teaching and support staff in particular. Careful pastoral support, a stretching academic programme of 10 GCSEs and an exceptional breadth of extra curricular activities have helped students reach their considerable potential. Parents too are to be commended for the evident support and encouragement they have provided for their young people. ”

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The exhibition which chronicles forty years of life in Northern Ireland was organised by the Northern Ireland Press Photographers Association. It has received widespread acclaim on its international tour and is currently housed in the historic setting of Crumlin Road Gaol.

Year 11 student Alex Philpott commented, “Our day at Crumlin Road Gaol was very thought provoking. As well as exploring the very moving photography of the Troubles, we also had the opportunity to take a tour of the prison and learn about the justice system in Northern Ireland, a topic which many of us are currently studying in History classes too.”

Journalism teacher Gillian McGarry concluded, “The exhibition was superb and I’d like to thank John Harrison from NIPPA for all his efforts in organising such a memorable event for our students.”

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The sunny evening was perfect for both the Treasure Hunt, which saw the competitive teams hunt around the Ballyskeagh and Malone Roads and the BBQ, which was held in the school grounds.

Chairperson of the Parent Teacher Association, Beverly McClean, commented, “I’d like to thank all those who helped make the evening such a success. Our Committee of parents and teachers put a great deal of effort into planning the event and we are also thankful to the many local businesses who donated excellent raffle prizes.

As well as being a thoroughly enjoyable social event I am happy to say that it was also a very successful fundraising venture. The Committee is already busy planning a busy calendar of events for next year.”

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The P7 pupils had the opportunity to chat with current first years about the daily routine of school life as well as meet their new class tutors.

Queries about the House System, lockers and new subjects such as Technology and Design and Learning for Life and Work were dealt with efficiently by the current Wallace pupils who are nearing the end of their first year at grammar school.

A series of fun events had been planned for the rest of the afternoon, including Drama Workshops ,an introduction to the various sports offered by the school and a chance to try out some innovative scientific experiments.

Mrs Cairns, was delighted with the success of the event. ” Our Year 8 induction day was very enjoyable for all concerned and we hope it has helped answer some queries about life at “Big School” . We hope that our new Year 8 pupils have a wonderful summer and we’re looking forward to seeing them again in the autumn.”

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Friends batted first and lost their first wicket in the fifth over when Mark Hylands clean bowled Allen for 8 with the score on 23. The introduction of Jake Clements curtailed the run rate further and when he clean bowled Ferguson for 1 Wallace were in the ascendency. Robinson batted well for Friends hitting some powerful boundaries before Ryan Moore had him caught by Beckett for 19.

Friends offered little resistance down the order and were all out for 68 in 20 overs. Pick of the Wallace bowlers was Jake Clements with 3 for 14 from 4 overs. Ryan Moore had 2 for 9 and Mark Hylands 2 for 11 from 4.

In reply Wallace eased to victory in 12 overs for the loss of Hylands for 9. James McCallen displayed some excellent timing and strokeplay as he finished on 49 not out. Wallace won by 9 wickets.

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