Visit by the Minister for Finance and Personnel and the Minister for Environment The meeting began with a question from the floor, questioning whether or not an official opposition would improve the efficiency of the assembly. Mr Attwood agreed and stated that the SDLP, are in favour of an opposition and should in fact be part of one. Mr Attwood said “it is the next phase in the development of our democracy”. Mr Wilson also agreed, however pointed out that it would be much more difficult to effect proposals in the Assembly without a ministerial seat. Both ministers made reference to whether or not we should look back to the past. Mr Attwood’s response was that we must address our past and tie up unfinished business; whereas Mr Wilson stated that he did not want to drag another generation into the past. The case of the John Lewis store being cancelled was put to the ministers; Mr Attwood responded, saying that he believed that the store would have cost jobs, rather than create them. Mr Wilson conveyed his dismay at the John Lewis decision, stating that he feels the planning system in Northern Ireland needs urgent reform. A key question asked by the floor was whether or not the Ministers believe that Northern Ireland politics is dominated by two political parties. Mr Wilson agreed, but also added that smaller parties can be an effective thorn in the side of the larger parties. Both Ministers agreed that they must work together to ensure that the government is effective and efficient. Sam Baker Chair Politics Society

Congratulations to Rory Hamilton (12C) on being selected to represent Ulster Counties East Smallbore Shooting Association at the forthcoming Junior International Match at Bisley in August 2012.

Congratulations to the following pupils who will attend an Ulster Schools Rugby training camp at UUC on 20 and 21 December 2011. U17 Squad Chris Griffiths, Ross Todd, Michael Cartmill, Josh Davidson, David Cave and Scott Finlay U16 Squad Mark Adair, Fergus Jemphrey, Peter Cooper, Angus Macartney, Zach Bertenshaw, James Houston, Max Clarke, Jonathan Bryans and Ryan Spence.

Congratulations to Jill Luke who was runner-up in the UK final of the Historical Association’s Debating competition, held last weekend (11 March 2012) in Oxford.

Sullivan U13s vs Dalriada On Saturday 12 October 2013 Sullivan played against Dalriada Grammar School making this their seventh game of the season.  Sullivan beat the visitors 27-0, despite not playing up to their usual standards. Dalriada kicked the match off and for the first ten minutes or so both teams were very quiet and there was not a lot of action. Occasionally, Sullivan made some good breaks and at points were looking good. The Dalriada defence were on top form during the first half and were able to keep Sullivan from scoring early on in the game. Throughout the entire first half, Sullivan were pressing to score the first try of the game. They were very close at some points to scoring but once they had completed the hard part of the plays, they unfortunately were unable to finish the move up by scoring the try.  Sullivan were committing too many careless mistakes that led to them not scoring. There wasn’t going to be to long left of the first half and Sullivan were desperate to score a try. Thankfully they did and Sol Harper was the first name on the score sheet. Sullivan had a scrum just outside Dalriada’s five-metre line. Sullivan won the scrum and Sol got the ball at the back of the it and with his incredible speed ran around three defenders while also handing each of them off. He stormed through and over the try line to grab the first points of the game. William Hamilton unfortunately missed the kick from a very tough position. Five minutes later the first half ended and Sullivan narrowly led 5-0. With a convincing half time talk from their coach at the back of their heads, Sullivan kicked the second half off. Immediately Sullivan were playing better than they were in the first half. There were in Dalriada’s half and were pushing to score their second try of the game. Dalriada were giving it all they had to stop Sullivan from getting a second try. After about ten minutes through the second half, Sullivan got their second try of the game through Ben Holley. The ruck was formed just inside the five-metre line and Conor McKee gave the ball to Ben Holley who narrowly got through the defence to score. Conor McKee added the extra points with a good kick and Sullivan had increased their lead to 12-0.  Dalriada restarted the game quickly and the kick fell to William Hamilton who made an incredible run dodging and stepping past the Dalriada defence. He made about thirty metres of ground for Sullivan and he got passed at least six defenders. Unfortunately he was unable to make the whole way to the try line but that didn’t matter because Sullivan got their third try through this play. William Hamilton was tackled and Conor McKee passed the ball out towards the backs. The backs gave the ball out to one another and the space in the defence opened up for Jack McFerran who scored easily. This try was unconverted but Sullivan now led 17-0. During the second half, Sullivan made sure that Dalriada wouldn’t score against them and they were able to do a good job of that. Sullivan were on the attack and had been for quite a while. The forwards were charging through the defence and slowly Sullivan were making ground. Eventually after a lot of ground making, Henry Redpath-Woolley  scored Sullivan’s fourth try after he picked the ball from the back of the ruck from close range and rammed through the defenders. This conversion was also missed but it wasn’t an easy kick. Sullivan came close to scoring again not long after that when Finlay Greer was through  to score but unfortunately knocked the ball on just over the try line. There was only about five minutes left and Sullivan had done well to keep Dalriada from scoring at all during the match.  There was to be one more try before the end of the match and this was to be Sullivan’s fifth try. This try came through Oliver Faith. Sullivan had the ball on roughly the half way line and Rory Houston (who had been playing very well for Sullivan for the whole match) received the ball and made a good run up inside the Dalriada 22 metre line. The Sullivan forwards were picking and driving the ball and they had made it to the five-metre line. Oliver Faith picked the ball from the back of the ruck and ran through the Dalriada defence. This try was very similar to some of the previous tries for Sullivan. The conversion was missed and the final whistle blew, leaving the final score at 27-0. It wasn’t as good a performance as some in recent weeks, but Sullivan were nonetheless relieved to have recorded their fifth victory in a row. By Peter Casement

2B XI Squad  Jenny Beattie  Ali Gibson  Daisy Barker  Laura Murray  Martha Fitzpatrick  Emma Hill  Ali Kirkwood  Georgia Begley  Alix Murray  Anna Gregg (Captain)  Rebecca Kelly  Sarah Storeng  Sarah Elks  Amy Rothwell  Katie Noteman Won this section of the League to progress to knock-out phase: Beat    Sullivan 3rd    3-1  Beat    Banbridge    4-0  Semi-final – Beat    Ballyclare    2-1  Final – Beat    Omagh Academy    2-0 Undefeated this season  Played 21, won 19, drew 2, lost 0 Goals for 64, Goals against 5 Sullivan beat Omagh Academy 2-0 Ali Gibson and Sarah Storeng scored the goals.

Congratulations to the following pupils who have all qualified for the Ulster Schools Athletics Finals on Friday 17 & Saturday 18 May 2013 Name Track Time Name Field Time Jamie Hardacre 400H 10.00 am Amy Rothwell Javelin 10.00 am Chris Jordan 100m 11.00 am Jonny Hill TJump 10.00 am Ali Adams 200m 11.54 am Lisa Fulford Discus 11.15 am Chris Jordan 200m 12.00 pm Mark Burton TJump 11.30 am Hope Gibson 75H 12.25 pm William Hamilton LJump 11.30 am Adam Hill 110H 12.45 pm Adam Hill HJump 11.30 am Inter Boys Relay 1.45 pm  (if qualify – 5.55pm) Harry Speers St’Chase 2.21pm Jonny Hill LJump 1.00 pm Conall Kirk 800m 3.30 pm Amy Rothwell Shot 1.45 pm Conor Brady 800m 3.55 pm Laura Potts Discus 3.00 pm Harry Speers 1500m 5.23 pm *Jenna Speers St’chase Friday Evening:  5.30 pm

Sullivan Fencing Mid-Season Update Victoria is Number One! Congratulations to year 14 pupil Victoria Duxbury on reaching the number one spot in the Senior Irish Women’s Foil Rankings. Victoria is now a clear 50 points ahead of her nearest rival, Dublin based Portuguese fencer Joanna Ramahlo. This achievement is due to some remarkable 2013/14 competition results, including wins at the West of Ireland and North West Opens, 3rd place at the Scottish Open and 8th at the Welsh Open. On Saturday 25th January, Victoria won at the N Ireland Open in Belfast and became the first female NI fencer to win foil at our main home fencing event for 9 years. These are deserved successes for Victoria whose remarkable dedication to her sport has set an excellent example for the younger fencers at Sullivan and has been an inspiration for young fencers across N Ireland. Victoria maintains a strict training regime including fencing and fitness training 4 days a week at Sullivan Upper Fencing Club, Belfast Fencing Club and in one-to-one training with her personal coach, ex Olympic fencer Johnny Davis. Victoria is also away numerous weekends from September to May, competing across the UK and Ireland, and most recently competing in World Junior (U20) International events in Slovakia, Poland and Croatia. Rachel Philpott Year 12 pupil Rachel Philpott has also set a superb example for junior fencers at Sullivan, having competed in every major Irish fencing event in the 2013/14 year so far, and having brought home either silver or bronze in every one.  Bronze medals were won at the Irish Open in Dublin, NI Open in Belfast, South of Ireland in Cork and West of Ireland in Galway, and silver at the North West Open in Derry. These results have earned her 3rd place in the senior Irish women’s foil rankings, just 2 behind Victoria. She has also represented N Ireland at the 2013 Fencing Five Nations Tournament and at the Sainsbury UK School Games. Later this month she will be travelling to London to compete in the British U17 National Championships. SU Junior Fencing Sullivan fencers are also making an impression in junior competition.  In the NI Junior Foil Series, with 3 rounds completed out of 5, Erin Maginn currently leads the U12 girls rankings, with Rosemary Adams holding 3rd. In the U12 boys Turlough Smyth also holds 3rd. In the U14 girls Ella Reid and Rachel Smyth are currently joint 3rd, while last year’s U14 girls champion Emily Maginn currently leads the U16 girls, with Iona O’Neill holding 2nd place. David White SUFC Coach 3 February 2014

Visit by Lady Sylvia Hermon MP Lady Hermon began the meeting by denouncing Conservative MP Nadine Dorries’ decision to leave Westminster for the Australian jungle. Lady Hermon also spoke of her surprise when Ms Dorries referred to other MPs as rats, although Lady Hermon assured us that she most certainly was not referring to her! She then went on to tell us that since the 2010 election when she became an independent MP, her blood pressure has gone right down, mainly because she is her own boss and doesn’t have any party leaders telling her what to do. The first question she was asked by pupils was: What were your reasons for leaving the Ulster Unionist Party? Lady Hermon started by saying that she had not left the Ulster Unionists but that they had left her in selecting another candidate for her seat.  She thought that the way the party had treated her was wrong, making us laugh in telling us how she found out about their link – up with the Conservatives. She was doing her shopping one day when see saw a newspaper saying “Unionists to join with Tories”. Lady Hermon said she picked up the paper wondering what Peter Robinson had done only to find out it was her own party! Lady Hermon finished this question by categorically stating she ‘was not a Tory!’ Another question asked was: Have you ever considered doing the Labour Party, or bringing any mainland party to Northern Ireland? Lady Hermon quickly replied “No! Of course not!” She said she would never return to a party for the sake of her health though she did say that since becoming an independent MP she had been invited by Labour and UKIP to join them! Overall, Lady Hermon provided a great insight into how Parliament and party politics works and what she loves about it. Jamie Woods Chairman of the Politics Society

Sullivan pupils’ success at Irish National Fencing Championships Congratulations to Victoria Duxbury (Y12) and Rachel Philpott (Y10) who competed at the Irish National Fencing Championships on the 24 March 2012. In the Senior (adult) competition, Victoria came 1st and Rachel 3rd. In the Cadets (U17), Victoria came 1stand Rachel 2nd. Victoria is now Irish Senior and Cadet women’s Foil champion.

List of pupils who qualified for the Ulster Schools Athletics Competition on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May 2012. ULSTER SCHOOLS QUALIFIERS 2012 SENIOR David Matthews – 400m H (2nd) Adam Hill – 110m H (1st) HJ (1st) Beth Wilson – Discus (1st), Shot (1st) Cydnie McCullough – Jav (3rd) INTER Conall Kirk – 800m (1st), 1500m (1st) Jamie Hardacre – 100m H (3rd) Calum James – 100m H (1st) Harry Speers – 1500m Steeplechase (1st) Jonathan Hill – LJ (3rd), TJ (2nd) Lisa Fulford – Discus (3rd) Laura Potts – Discus (2nd) Jemma Speers – Steeplechase JUNIOR Chris Jordan – 100m (1st) Nameer Shahzad – 100m (3rd) Mark Burton – HJ (3rd) Michael Montgomery – Discus (2nd) Chris Ball – Shot (2nd) Joanna Kirkwood – HJ (3rd) Amy Rothwell – Shot (1st)  Junior Boys Relay (1st) MINI Isobel Meharg – 100m (3rd) Maggie Gillies – HJ (2nd) Mini Girls Relay (3rd)