We are over half way through the 2017/2018 NI Junior Foil Series, now that Round 4 (from 6) was held last Sunday 4 February 2018 at the Queen’s Leisure Centre in Holywood. Ten Sullivan fencers took part, three of them winning medals. U16 Boys Cormac Kitchen was the only SU representative in this age group. Cormac has steadily improved throughout this year’s series, finishing third this time to take his first ever NIJFS medal. U14 Girls Two SU medal winners in this category: Victoria Morris and Ruzi Statham, both taking bronze, a first medal win for Ruzi. Izzy Evans, Rachel McKillen and Alex Burke all reached the quarter finals, finishing 5th, 6th and 7th U14 Boys Arnav Arava and Alexander Penny were 11th and 13th in a tough age group. U12 Boys After a strong and much improved performance in the poule stage, Finn Neely made it into the quarters to take 6th, while Matthew Mallon returned from a break in his fencing to finish 10th. Round 5 takes place on Saturday 3 March 2018 in the Sullivan Upper Sports Hall. Team SU at NI Junior Foil Series Round 4 David White SUFC Coach 7 February 2018

District Schools Cross Country Competition at Campbell College on 6 February 2018 Sullivan pupils arrived at Campbell to a flurry of snow and with excitement for the competition. There were some great results with the first three teams and top 15 individuals qualifying for the Ulsters. The Mini Girls started the series of events and in a large field of over 140 runners they competed well, finishing second in the team event. Naimh Fenlon 8th and Rachel Anderson 13th Next came the Mini Boys who have been very faithful in their training at school. They had a great race and won the Team event. Individually: Jacob McKittrick 1st, Jamie Gaw 6th and Ryan Drain 10th The Junior Girls team were also very successful, finishing second only on place difference to Strathearn. Tara McDonough 1st, Rachel Wolseley 7th and Sarah Gaw 10th. In the Junior Boys: Rory Carson 11th and Joshua Baker 13th Our last qualifier was Nia McNally who came 15th in the Senior race. All these teams and individuals now go through to compete at the Ulsters on Wednesday 21 February 2018 at Mallusk.

The 1st XI started their defence of the Burney Cup with a home draw against Bangor Grammar and the match was to be played on the new pitch at Sullivan, just before the boys 1st XV played Down High in the Schools Cup – a big day at Sullivan. The game started with Bangor showing their intention of working hard and closing down Sullivan when they have the ball. After a few short corners Sullivan took the lead with Fergus Gibson’s drag flick putting them 1-0 up about halfway through the first half. Then after a few more close chances for Sullivan, Bangor grabbed a hard earned equaliser a few minutes before the end of the half. Halftime Sullivan 1 (Gibson) v Bangor Grammar 1 Bangor took as much of halftime as they could to rest from their constant closing down in the first half. This then started to tell in the second half, Sullivan took a lead from Patrick Crookshanks and then followed with a third from Fergus Kerr. Final Score Sullivan 3 (F Gibson, P Crookshanks & F Kerr) v Bangor Grammar 1 The draw has taken place for the quarter final and Sullivan have been drawn at home to Campbell College

Congratulations to Patrick Rose (Yr10) on his selection to panel of Ireland U16 players aiming for selection to the U16 six Nations European Tournament in July to be hosted in Ireland.

Congratulations to 1st XI players Fergus Gibson, Harry Morris and Tom Robson on their selection to panel of Ireland U18 players aiming for selection to the U18 Europeans in Santander in July.

Saturday marked the start of Sullivan’s Schools Cup journey. The 1st XV were drawn away to BRA and after a tough training camp in Bushmills, the team were ready to take the field against a BRA team they had beaten earlier in the season. With the weather playing up and Christmas snow falling in mid-January it was touch and go whether the match would be played or not. The game kicked off after a half an hour delay with Sullivan receiving playing into the wind. A strong BRA start saw them lead 11-6 for the majority of the first half but an Oliver Faith try before half time meant Sullivan went in 13-11 up at the break. Sullivan got the upper hand at the start of the second half with some stellar displays by captain Adam McKenna and Rory Kirkpatrick, who scored two second half tries. BRA did not go away easy and always kept within a converted score, however a strong Sullivan side saw out the game in the BRA half to win 25-19 and advance to the 4th Round. Sullivan will be at home to Down High in 4th Round on Saturday 3 February 2018 with a 10.30 am Kick Off. {gallery}rugbyschoolcup{/gallery}

Thirteen Sullivan fencers took part in Round 3 of the NI Junior Foil Series, held on Sunday 14 January 2018 at Hunterhouse College in South Belfast, across 5 of the 7 series age groups. In the U16 Boys, Cormac Kitchen finished just outside the medals in 5th place, his best result so far this year. Round 3 was the first event of the series for Anna Vaughan and Cece MacMahon in the U16 Girls, Anna making 2nd and Cece 3rd. There were 5 SU entrants in the U14 Girls category, all of them reaching the quarter finals. Izzy Evans again progressed to reach the semi-final stage, though losing this time to take a bronze medal. The other 4 filled the 5th to 8th places: Ruzi Stathem, Angharad King, Rachel McKillen and Alex Burke respectively. Alexander Penny, Arnav Arava and Cameron Kitchen finished 13th, 15th and 16th in the U14 Boys. John Kane was 5th in the U12 Boys, Finn Neely 6th. Round 4 takes place on Sunday 4 February 2018 at Queen’s Leisure Centre in Holywood. Some of the SU fencers attending the NI Junior Foil Series Round 3 David White SUFC Coach 24 January 2018 . Some of the SU fencers attending the NI Junior Foil Series Round 3 David White SUFC Coach 24 Jan 2018

The BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) conducted an interview with Eva Clarke (survivor) and Year 14 pupils after the Holocaust Memorial Event held in school on Tuesday 16 January 2018. For those interested in listening to Eva Clarke talk about her experiences and learning more about the work of the Holocaust Educational Trusts “Lessons from Auschwitz” project, these interviews will be broadcast on Sunday 22 January 2018 between 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm on BFBS stations world-wide, or on-line at BFBS.com. BFBS is also available on SKY. Please see links to Twitter feeds below: https://twitter.com/SUSHistory2016/status/954278882479353857 https://twitter.com/SUSHistory2016/status/954285499107172352 Please see link below to a video showing the Holocaust Memorial Day event run at PRONI which Sullivan pupils, Cora and Beatrice, spoke at. You can also see the Rabbi’s full talk too. https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/reflections-holocaust

Congratulations to former pupil, Robyn Stewart (née Beggs), who has been selected to complete for Northern Ireland in cycling at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia in April. Good luck Robyn!

Support is welcome for the Sullivan Upper 1st XV Schools Cup match against Belfast Royal Academy on Saturday 20 January 2018. The match will kick off at 10.30 am at Roughfort Playing Fields.

Greenpower International and Kit Car Final 2017 Six Sullivan pupils (Luke Cunningham, Adam Cinnamond, Rosie Adams, Lucy Fitzpatrick, Zoë Brown and Sam Brown) had the opportunity to build and race an electric car in cooperation with the University of Ulster and in order to participate in the Greenpower International Competition which challenges teams to design, build and race an electric car and includes hundreds of teams from across the world. For this team of Holywood Young Engineers the adventure began at the heats at the Kirkistown race track. After 6 weeks of preparation at the University of Ulster, the car was ready to race. The group was split into 2 teams; the boys and the girls and both came 2nd. As a result, the team had qualified for the international final which took place in October at Rockingham Race Track near Luton, England. The kit car final was on Saturday and the team came 16th out of 56. The international final was on the Sunday and, having qualified in 77th place, the team was delighted to finish 46th out of the 84 qualifiers, particularly given the high level of experience and expertise involved. The pupils certainly enjoyed the rewarding and exciting experience. {gallery}greenpower{/gallery}

The Annual RYA Scotland Winter Championships 2017 took place on 9-10 December 2017 at Largs Sailing Club. This is a sprint format championship for all Royal Yachting Association pathway classes with over ninety boats on the water. The weekend fell during the coldest period we have had this year. Freezing temperatures and snow over the two days found competitors clearing ice from their boats before launching and longing for the warmth of the changing rooms at the end of each days racing. Northern Ireland was represented by three RYANI youth sailors in two classes including Sullivan Upper pupil Sam Rutherford (11M). Despite the light and changeable breezes Sam managed a creditable 10th overall amongst some of the best youth sailors in Scotland.