The East of Ireland Open, held on the weekend 18th and 19th March in University College Dublin, is the 4th of Ireland’s 6 Senior National Circuit fencing events that are held each year. Four SU fencers took part: Alexandra Ong, Alexander Penny, Adam Caldwell and Noah Currie. After the men’s foil poule stage Adam and Noah unfortunately met in the last 32 of the knock-out stage. Adam took the win 15-11 to go through to the L16, though he lost there to finish 16th, with Noah taking 17th. Meanwhile Alexander made the quarter-finals, finishing 7th for a personal best in a senior open competition. In the women’s foil Alexandra finished 13th after a strong performance in a tough field. For both Alexandra and Noah, as the only under 16s competing in their events, this was valuable experience as they begin their transfer from junior to senior competition. The next event for SUFC senior fencers will be the Irish National Championships in Dublin on the 22nd and 23rd April. For the juniors it will be NI Junior Foil Series Round 4 in the Sullivan Upper Sports Hall on the 26th March. David White SUFC Coach 23 Mar 2023

Year 14 Alexander Penny travelled to Edinburgh earlier this month to compete in his first UK Senior Open competition of the year, the Holyrood Open, held at the Salle Holyrood club venue in Leith on Saturday 11th March. Alexander won 3 and lost 3 in a very tough poule, one that included the UK number 1 and number 7 ranked Under 20 fencers. This earned him a bye into the last 32, but lost there to finish 23rd. This was a major development opportunity for Alexander, competing against some of Scotland’s and the UK’s best fencers. The next event for SUFC’s senior fencers including Alexander will be the East of Ireland Open in Dublin on the 18th & 19th March. Next for the SU juniors will be Round 4 of the NI Junior Foil Series on 26th March. David White SUFC Coach 20 March 2023

Last Sunday 5th March it was Sullivan’s turn to host a round of the 2022/23 NI Junior Foil Series. This was Round 3 and had 19 SU fencers competing across U12, U14 and U16 age groups. Six medals were won by SU fencers in total, 1 gold and 5 bronze. U12s Elijah Kelly, Thomas Morrow and Hugo Hazle were the SU entrants to the boys’ U12s. Elijah won 3 from 5 in his poule, then in the knock-out stage defeated clubmate Hugo in the quarter-finals to go through to the semis where he put up a good fight, but lost 7-10 to finish with a bronze medal. Thomas and Hugo both went out in their quarter-final fights to finish 5th and 6th. There were no U12 girl entrants. U14s There were 3 SU girls competing in the girls’ U14s, Cassidy Ogle, Lois Donald and Erin Keough. After taking 3 wins from 5 in her poule, Cassidy defeated clubmate Lois in the quarter-finals, but was then beaten in the semis, finishing in third place. Lois was 5th, while Erin lost to the eventual gold medallist in the quarters, finishing 6th. In the boys’ U14s Sam Snoddy won 3 out of his 4 poule fights, but lost his quarter-final fight to end up just outside the medals in 5th place. Positions 9 to 15 were all taken by SU fencers: Tom Woolsey-Jensen, Rohan Nair, Adam Sugar, Thomas Gillespie, Ethan Dilworth, Riley Brown and Robin Tolerton. U16s, Amelia Penny took a convincing 15-4 victory in the final of the girls’ U16s to take the points lead in the U16F age group rankings, while Alexandra Ong’s semi-final finish earned her bronze and 3rd place in the U16F rankings table. In the boys’ U16s both Noah Currie and Myles Wilkinson won through to the semi-finals, Noah having knocked out clubmate Lennox Brown in the quarters. Both however went out at this stage to finish joint 3rd. Lennox finished 6th. This was another great competition turn-out of Sullivan fencers, with a great set of results. Well done to all 19, and thanks to SU senior fencers Victoria Morris and Alexander Penny who attended the event as a fight referees. Round 4 of the NIJFS will be on Sun 26th Mar 2023 in the Sullivan Upper Sports Hall. David White SUFC Coach 7 Mar 2023

Twenty Sullivan fencers took part in the 2nd round of the 2022/2023 N Ireland Junior Foil Series held last Sunday 5th February in RBAI in Belfast. Four of these were year 8s taking part in their first fencing competition: Elijah Kelly, Hugo Hazle, Rebecca Horner and Robin Tolerton. U12s Year 8 Elijah Kelly had an amazing start to competitive fencing, winning 3 out of his 4 poule fights, then winning through to the semi-finals to take a bronze medal. Thomas Morrow made the quarter-finals, finishing 8th, with Hugo Hazle ending up just outside the last 8 in 9th place. There were no SU U12 girls entered. U14s In the girls’ U14s, after knocking out SU clubmate Phoebe Henderson, Cassidy Ogle made the semi-finals but was beaten there to finish 3rd and take a bronze medal. Lois Donald, Phoebe, Erin Keogh and Rebecca Horner filled places 5th to 8th respectively. Tom Woolsey-Jensen was the highest placed of the 9 SU fencers in the U14 boys’ category, making the quarter-finals to finish 8th. Rohan Nair and Theo Beggs finished just outside the last 8 in 9th and 10th, while Adam Sugar, Riley Browne, Ethan Dilworth and Robin Tolerton also made the last 16 in 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th. Patrick John and Thomas Gillespie finished 17th and 18th. U16s Girls and boys were combined for the U16s and Amelia Penny, as the 2nd highest finishing girl in 9th place, took the U16 Girls’ silver medal. Noah Currie and Lennox Brown won bronze medals for joint 3rd, both having made the semi-finals, while Myles Wilkinson placed 11th. A great turn-out of SU fencers at this competition, with some excellent results. Well done to all 20, and thanks to one of our senior fencers, Alexander Penny who attended the event as a fight referee. Round 3 of the NIJFS will be held on Sun 5th March 2023 in the Sullivan Upper Sports Hall. David White SUFC Coach 7 Feb 2022

The N Ireland Open is always the first NI senior fencing event of the calendar year, and this year 7 Sullivan fencers made the journey last Saturday 28th January to the Templemore Sports Complex in Londonderry to take part. The 7 consisted of 2 of our senior fencers and 5 juniors who still compete at U16 level but have begun their transition to adult competition. The seniors: Alexander Penny and Adam Caldwell; the juniors: Alexandra Ong, Amelia Penny, Cassidy Ogle, Noah Currie and Myles Wilkinson. In the men’s foil event Alexander Penny made the last 16, but was knocked out there by the eventual silver medallist, finishing in 9th place. Noah was placed 19th, Adam 21st and Myles 23rd. The women’s foil event saw all 3 SU girls in the last 16, though unfortunately Amelia and Alexandra ended up fencing each other for a place in the last 8. Amelia won to go through to the quarter-finals, but lost there to finish 7th, with Alexandra taking 10th place. Cassidy won her last 16 fight to go into the quarters, but was then beaten by the eventual gold medallist and finished 8th. This was a good turn-out of SU fencers in a tough senior competition and was valuable experience for the SU juniors competing. The next event for SUFC fencers will be for U12s, U14s and U16s at Round 2 of the NI Junior Foil Series on 5th February at RBAI in Belfast. David White SUFC Coach 31 Jan 2023

Sullivan are Spot On! It has been an exceptionally busy year for the Drama Department and pupils have continued to wow us with their commitment and dedication. Our examination groups have worked extremely hard to overcome the many obstacles posed by the global pandemic. Year 11 delighted their peers with their own devising performances and Year 13 dazzled our Year 9 with their devised work based on Grimm’s Tales. The Year 12 impressed audiences with their Scripted Performances which included works from Oscar Wilde, Denis Kelly, and Lisa McGee. Year 14 had a spectacular finish to the year with comedic performances from The Importance of Being Ernest and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. It is not just the seniors who have been exploring new things. Year 8 have been researching the Ancient Greeks and Melodrama. Year 9 have been investigating Kabuki, Wayang Kulit and Noh Theatre as part of their World Theatre exploration. Year 10 ended the year using Stage Combat to explore Shakespeare! It was a busy but exciting year. The Junior Drama Club, despite restrictions still being in place, managed to run and performed in an online seasonal production in December. With restrictions easing towards Spring, we were able to prepare for our Night at The Musicals - a joint venture between the Drama and Music Departments. We had helping hands from all over school, but a particular note of thanks must go to Mrs Trainor, Mrs Cinnamond, Mrs McVeigh, and Miss O’Neill who directed our scenes. This was a fantastic opportunity for Year 8-11 to perform extracts from 'Shrek, the Musical', 'School of Rock', 'Mary Poppins', and 'Matilda'. We began the Senior Drama year with multiple screenings of live performance by the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and Theatre Albi (to name but a few). We were lucky enough to snatch tickets for the touring production of the highly acclaimed production 'Six' at The Grand Opera House, followed by 'The Heathers', 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' and 'Everybody is Talking About Jamie'. During the festive season, the entire Year 8 visited The Grand Opera House too! They were lucky enough to see the mesmerising 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' and we still have not figured out how they did all those special effects. It was spellbindingly breath-taking! The Grand Opera House was not the only theatre visited by the Senior Drama Society! We focus on providing a variety of cultural experiences for our young people. This year we visited The Mac, Belfast to watch 'X’ntigone' and 'Half Moon'. The beautiful play 'Half Moon' is particularly memorable as it was written by past pupil Alice Malseed. This was an extremely exciting experience indeed! We also visited The Lyric Theatre, Belfast to see 'Translations', 'The Shedding of the Skin' and 'Blue Stocking'. These were stunning productions with 'Blue Stocking' resonating firmly with our young people and provoking lively discussion. We already know that Sullivan Upper School is bursting at the seams with talent and now this talent has been recognised by the National Youth Theatre. Four of our gifted pupils were selected from a pool of over 5000 applicants to spend a few weeks in Nottingham during the summer honing their craft with the NYT. We do not like to blow our own trumpets but TOOT, TOOT, TOOT!!! After completing the audition process, Emma Burns, Serena Cochrane-Browne, Lydia Dobson, and Eve Mansfield- Watt spent time, working with world-renowned professional directors and facilitators. We cannot wait to host the National Youth Theatre auditions again this year and provide further opportunities for our pupils here at Sullivan. The workshops did not stop there! Bruiser Theatre Company facilitated multiple workshops in school for all year groups. This was a terrific opportunity for our pupils to work with professionals and develop their skills as performers. The company’s exciting physical and stylistic approach was new for some of our pupils, and they found this challenging, but it encouraged them to create theatre in a new way. It is impossible to discuss every wonderful moment experienced by the Drama Department this year as there have been so many! However, there was one constant which ensured that all these opportunities for our young people were able to happen- Mrs K Millar! We would like to thank Mrs K Millar for her support and dedication to Drama throughout her career at Sullivan. So, Mrs Millar, should you find retirement boring just give us a bell! We have some exciting projects planned for this year in which we are sure you would love to be involved!!

Dublin based Pembroke Fencing Club held their annual Christmas Cup junior fencing competition last Sunday 11th December at the Loreto Abbey Sports Centre in Dalkey in the south of the city. Two SU fencers took part, Myles Wilkinson and Adam Sugar. Myles made the semi-finals in the U17 age group, taking home a bronze medal for joint 3rd, while in the U14s Adam finished just outside the medals in 6th place. Well done to both! David White SUFC Coach 12 Dec 2022

The 1st round of the 2022/2023 N Ireland Junior Foil Series took place last Sunday 4th December at the Royal Belfast Academical Institute in the centre of Belfast. Twenty-three Sullivan Upper Fencing Club junior members attended, nine of them year 8 beginners competing in their first ever fencing competition: Riley Browne, Thomas Gillespie, Ethan Dilworth, Erin Keogh, Sarah Burns, Mitchell Brown, Patrick John, Molly McGrillen and Thomas Morrow. U12s Year 8s can end up in either the U12 or U14 age group depending on whether their 12th birthdays fall before or after the calendar year end. This year there were only 2 SU U12s, Molly McGrillen and Thomas Morrow. In the boys’ event Thomas finished 5th, while Molly was third and won a bronze medal in the girls’. U14s In the girls’ U14s Cassidy Ogle and Erin Keogh both made the semi-finals, Erin reaching this stage only after a nail-biting 15-14 quarter-final win against club teammate Phoebe Henderson. Cassidy and Erin were both knocked out in the semis but took bronze medals in joint 3rd place. Phoebe was 5th, Sarah Burns 6th and Lois Donald 7th. Carrie Martin-Brooks unfortunately fell ill in the poule stage of the competition and had to withdraw. Tom Woolsey-Jensen also won a bronze, making it to the semi-finals of the boys' U14s. Rohan Nair and Theo Beggs were close behind, just outside the medals, making the quarter-finals to finish 6th and 7th. Sam Snoddy, Adam Sugar, Riley Browne and Patrick John all made the last 16 in 10th, 13th, 15th and 16th places, with Ethan Dilworth 17th, Mitchel Brown 18th and Thomas Gillespie 19th. U16s Last year’s girls' U14 series winner Amelia Penny had a superb start to her year as an U16 with a convincing 15-7 win in the U16 final, while Alexandra Ong finished third to win a bronze. In the U16 boys’ event Noah Currie also won bronze, while Myles Wilkinson had a very narrow 15-14 victory over club teammate Lennox Brown to reach the quarter-finals and place 7th with Lennox finishing 11th. Overall, a great set of results from our SU fencers, winning a total of 1 gold and 6 bronze medals. Well done to all 23, and thanks to one of our senior fencers, Alexander Penny who attended the event as a fight referee. Round 2 of the NIJFS will be on Sun 8th Jan 2023 in Hunterhouse College in south Belfast. David White SUFC Coach 7 Dec 2022

The Derry Open senior fencing competition was held last weekend the 19th & 20th of November in the Ulster University Magee Campus Sports Centre in Londonderry. Four SU fencers took part: Victoria Morris in the women’s foil event and Alexander Penny, Adam Caldwell and Noah Currie in the men's foil. For Noah, while still competing this year in junior events as an Under 16, this was his first senior competition. On the Saturday Victoria had a good start, winning half of her 6 poule fights. Then in the knock-out stage she made the semi-finals, but lost to the top seed, taking a bronze medal. In the men’s foil on the Sunday Alexander won 4 from 5 in his poule, with Adam and Noah 3/5 and 2/5 in theirs. Unfortunately Adam and Noah met in the last 32 of the direct elimination stage, Noah narrowly winning 15-13 to go into the last 16 and Adam finishing in 17th place. Alexander also went through to the last 16, where both he and Noah were knocked out, Alexander finishing 10th and Noah 16th. Good performances by all 4 fencers and congratulations to Victoria on her bronze medal win. The next event for SUFC fencers will be Round 1 of the NI Junior Foil Series on the 4th December in Belfast. David White SUFC Coach 22 Nov 2022

The Lord Killanin Trophy is a junior fencing competition held annually in Dublin by the Pembroke Fencing Club. This year's Killanin was run last Sunday 6th November and 2 SU fencers made the trip: Amelia Penny and Cassidy Ogle. Amelia finished 5th in the U17 (Cadet) age group, just outside the medals, while Cassidy won a bronze in the U14s, having lost only one fight in her poule. Both gave strong performances in this the first junior event of the year, preparing them well for the upcoming Round 1 of the NI Junior Foil Series on Dec 4th in Belfast. David White SUFC Coach 08 Nov 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

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