Edinburgh Open On the 10th of January SU fencer Cassidy Ogle began the new year by taking part in the 2026 Edinburgh Open. Competing against Scotland’s best female foil fencers she finished 9th overall. However, this also qualified her to compete in a secondary foil competition for those finishing outside the last 8. In this she was seeded 3rd after the poule stage and then went on to beat the no.1 seed in the final. Leon Paul Foil Open Myles Wilkinson travelled to London on the 1st of February for the Leon Paul Foil Open, one of the UK’s major foil competitions. In a very tough field Myles finished 49th, but as in the Edinburgh Open, this event also included a secondary foil competition which he then entered. Myles made the semi-finals where he lost to the eventual winner to finish joint 3rd. CEP Marathon Fleuret While Myles was in London, Cassidy spent the weekend 31st Jan - 1st Feb in Paris at the CEP Marathon Fleuret competition (fleuret = foil in english). This is a world famous junior foil competition run by the Cercle des Escrimeurs Parisiens club, where the competitors fence multiple times across Saturday and Sunday in 3 poule stages followed by a knock-out stage. Cassidy, in the U17F category, was competing in a field of 107 of the best young female fencers from around the world. In her first poule of day one, after a nervous start she finished 101st, but after gathering confidence bettered this to finish 65th in the second. In her third poule on day two she placed 80th, then after the knock-out stage achieved an overall finish of 81st. Well done Cassidy and Myles, a great start to 2026, both fencers gaining valuable competition experience and growing their competition skills and confidence. {video: Cassidy in red shoes on piste 108}

Sullivan Upper Fencing Club hosted the 5 th  round of the 2025/26 NI Junior Foil Series on Sunday 1 st of February in the school sports hall. This turned out to be the biggest event of the 25/26 series so far, with the hall packed with over 50 fencers from all over Ireland along with parents, coaches and event organisers. Twenty two SU fencers took part, 5 of whom were year 8 beginners in their first competition. SUFC fencers won a total 8 medals across U12, U14 and U16 age groups, 3 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze.   U12 In the U12F Ella Murphy had her 4 th  win of the series, while year 8 beginners Nico Suto-Murphy and Emma Markey finished 3 rd and 4 th . Vanessa Chiu was 5 th , Lydia Snoddy 7 th and beginner Emme McCleary  8 th . Year 8 beginner James Jebb was the highest placed SU fencer in the U12M, finishing 5 th , followed by Sam Ellames in 7 th .   U14s Flynn Woolsey-Jensen, William Penny, Mark Ross, Shion Suto-Murphy, Ronan O’Hagan and Rory Wilson were the SU entrants to the U14M. Ronan and Rory were knocked out in the last 16, finishing 10 th  and 11 th , while William, Flynn, Shion and Mark went through to the L8. From this 4 only William progressed further, going on to win convincingly in the final 15-5. Flynn, Shion and Mark finished 6 th , 7 th  and 8 th . In the U14F Grace Tsang took her 5 th  consecutive win, giving her a now unassailable points lead for the series U14F title. Year 8 beginner Maya Monroe finished 3 rd  to take bronze while Olivia Morse was 4 th .   U16s In the girls’ U16s Erin Keough and Lydia Hamilton took silver and bronze, with Amy Walker in 4th. This puts Erin, Lydia and Amy in 1 st , 2 nd  and 3 rd in the U16F series points race with one round to go. Ethan Dilworth and Patrick John were SU’s only representatives in the U16M. Both progressed from the L16, but unfortunately met each other in the L8, Ethan winning to go on to take 2 nd place, with Patrick 4 th .   Well done all 22 SU competitors! This was the largest NIJFS event in recent years, so a big thank you goes out to all those who gave up their time to organise, referee and assist at the event, to the SU staff for preparing the Sports Hall and to fencer parents for their support. Round 6, the final round of the 2025/2026 NIJFS season, will be held on Sun 8 th March in the SU Sports Hall.   David White SUFC Coach 03 Feb 2026

The Open is N Ireland’s premier and largest fencing competition of the year and was held last weekend the 24 th  & 25 th of January in Thornhill College in Londonderry. Ten Sullivan fencers took part.   Women’s Foil Four SU girls were competing: Amelia Penny, Cassidy Ogle, Lydia Hamilton and Grace Tsang. Amelia and Cassidy both fared well in the poule stage, but unfortunately ended up meeting each other in the quarter-finals, resulting in a narrow 15-13 win for Cassidy. Cassidy then progressed into the last 4 but lost her semi-final 13-15 to finish joint 3 rd  (bronze medal), with Amelia finishing 6 th . For Grace and Lydia the NIO was their first ever senior (adult) competition, both testing the waters of senior competition while still competing as juniors. A tough event for both, though they both won fights in their poules and finished a respectable 9 th and 10 th .   Men’s Foil Six SU boys had entered: Myles Wilkinson, Adam Sugar, Tom Woolsey-Jensen, Ethan Dilworth, Flynn Woolsey-Jensen and William Penny, with juniors Ethan, Flynn and William all experiencing their first senior competition. All 6 performed well in the poule stages, but only Myles made it out of the last 32 of the knock-out stage into the L16. Myles then defeated a higher seeded competitor to go into the L8, but went no further, finishing 8 th . This showed a significant improvement for Myles over the previous year’s finish.  Flynn finished 19 th while Ethan, Adam, William and Tom took places 21 to 24.   This was a tough senior competition, especially for the SU juniors, with all the best Irish fencers (North and South) in attendance along with some from abroad. Both competitions mentioned above were won by Italian fencers currently studying in Dublin universities. The next event for SUFC fencers will be for U12, U14 and U16 juniors at Round 5 of the NI Junior Foil Series on 1 st  February in the Sullivan Sports Hall.     David White SUFC Coach 26 Jan 2026

Five SUFC fencers travelled south last Sunday the 18 th  to the Loreto Abbey Sports Centre in Dalkey in the south of Dublin to compete in the Pembroke Cup junior fencing tournament run annually by the Pembroke Fencing Club. Grace Tsang, Olivia Morse, William Penny and Flynn Woolsey-Jensen represented SUFC in the U14 age group, Lydia Hamilton in the U16s.   In the U14F Grace and Olivia met in the final, Grace winning to take home the Girls’ U14 Pembroke Trophy and Olivia taking the silver medal. Meanwhile in the U14M, William and Flynn had both made the semi-finals, though William then suffered a narrow defeat, while Flynn won to go through to the final, though lost there to last weekend’s NIJFS U14M winner. Lydia made the U17F semi-final stage, but progressed no further to finish joint 3 rd .   This was a very successful SUFC Dublin excursion, with all 5 SU fencers winning podium places in their respective age group categories. Well done all 5. SUFC fencers will be competing again next weekend at the N Ireland Open, the first senior competition of the year.   David White SUFC Coach 19 Jan 2026

Round 4 of the 2025/26 NI Junior Foil Series took place last Sunday 11 th  January in Shankill Leisure Centre in Belfast. Twenty two Sullivan fencers took part, 7 of whom were year 8 beginners in their first ever fencing competition. A total of 8 podium finishes were won across U12, U14 and U16 age groups with 2 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze.   U12s Sullivan girls Ella Murphy and Lydia Snoddy dominated in the U12F, finishing 1 st  and 2 nd , thus setting up a close race between the two of them for the U12F championship with 2 rounds to go and Lydia leading 74 points to Ella’s 72. Year 8 beginners Vanessa Chiu and Kate Stewart finished 6 th  and 7 th , each having achieved one poule stage win. In the U12M all the SU entrants were beginners: Sam Ellames, Isaac Foord, Teddy Tremlett and Jamie McClure. Sam had an amazing start to his 1 st  competition with 3 wins in his poule and finishing 5 th , while Isaac, Teddy and Jamie were 7 th , 8 th  and 9 th .   U14s William Penny and Flynn Wolsey-Jensen both made the semi-finals in the U14M, though both lost there to Dublin based rivals. William then won the fence-off with Flynn for 3 rd  to win bronze. William’s 3 rd place was enough to take him to the top of the U14M points table. Shion Suto-Murphy and Mark Ross made the quarter-finals, but went no further and finished 5 th  and 6 th . Ronan O’Hagan was 9 th and year 8 beginner Rory Wilson 10 th  (Rory in the U14s, not the U12s due to his birthday being in 2013 and not 2014 as with the other year 8s). Grace Tsang and Olivia Morse were again unchallenged in the U14F, taking gold and silver.   U16s The post R3 U16M championship points leader Sam Snoddy was absent from R4 due to his recent appendectomy (get well soon Sam), leaving it up to Adam Sugar, Ethan Dilworth and Patrick John to keep the SU U16M flag flying. All 3 performed well, but ended up in 4 th , 5 th  and 6 th  respectively. In the U16F Erin Keough took 2 nd  place while Amy Walker and Lydia Hamilton tied for 3 rd . This put Erin and Lydia equal on 81 points and joint 1 st  in the U16F championship with 2 rounds to go.   This was great set of results for SUFC and a very strong turnout, well done all 22 fencers. Thanks to Amelia, Cassidy and Tom W-J for refereeing and to Eric for coming along to support SUFC despite the broken collar bone! Round 5 of the NIJFS will be on Sunday 1 st  February in the Sullivan Upper Sports Hall.   David White SUFC Coach 13 th  Jan 2026

Last Saturday 13th December saw the 3rd round of the 2025/26 NI Junior Foil Series held in Shankill Leisure Centre in Belfast. Fifteen Sullivan Upper Fencing Club members took part and achieved a season high total of 10 podium finishes across U12, U14 and U16 age groups with 4 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze. U12s After missing round 2, Ella Murphy returned to competition with a strong U12F performance and a dominant 10-1 victory over the round 2 winner to win gold and put herself back in championship points contention. Lydia Snoddy finished 3rd, which after adding to her points gained from rounds 1 and 2 takes her to the top of the points table. There were no SUFC U12M entrants. U14s William Penny had a perfect day’s fencing, going 5 wins from 5 in his poule, then fighting his way through to the final where he defeated the U14M points leader to take gold. Flynn Woolsey-Jensen, Mark Ross, Shion Suto-Murphy and Eric Hutchinson all made the last 8, finishing 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th respectively. In the U14F Grace Tsang and Olivia Morse again finished 1st and 2nd in the U14F. U16s Sam Snoddy, Ethan Dilworth and Adam Sugar were ranked 1, 3 and 4 after the poules in the U16M. Adam went out in the quarters, while Ethan and Sam went through to fence each other in the semis. Ethan won this nail-biting fight 15-14 to progress to the final, but lost there 10-15 to the winner of last week’s Pembroke Christmas Cup U17M in Dublin. Sam finished 3rd, Adam 5th. Sullivan girls dominated the U16F category, with Erin Keogh taking gold, Lydian Hamilton silver and Amy Walker bronze. This was a superb set of results for SUFC, well done all 15 SU fencers. Round 4 of the NIJFS will be on Sunday 11th January in the Shankill Leisure Centre. David White SUFC Coach 15th Dec 2025

Dublin based Pembroke Fencing Club held their annual Christmas Cup junior fencing competition last Sunday 7 th  December at the Loreto Abbey Sports Centre in Dalkey in the south of the city. Five SU fencers made the trip south for the event: Sam Snoddy, Lydia Hamilton, Grace Tsang, Flynn Woolsey-Jensen and William Penny; Sam and Lydia competing in the U17 age group, Grace, Flynn and William in the U14s. Lydia took the U17F winner’s trophy, while Sam finished with a 2 nd  place silver medal in the U17M. William also finished with silver in the U14 Mixed age group, with Grace 5 th  and Flynn 6 th  (insufficient girls for a separate girls’ U14F category). An excellent set of results for SUFC, congratulations to all five fencers. SUFC fencers will be competing again next weekend at Round 3 of the NI Junior Foil Series in Belfast.   David White SUFC Coach 9 Dec 2025

The 2 nd  round of the 2025/26 NI Junior Foil Series took place last Saturday 8 th  November in Shankill Leisure Centre in Belfast. Sullivan Upper Fencing Club had 15 fencers competing and brought home a total of 7 medals (2 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze) from 5 age group competitions.   U12s Year 8 Lydia Snoddy, Sullivan’s only representative in this category, won bronze in the U12F.   U14s Five SU boys took part in the U14M, William Penny, Eric Hutchinson, Shion Suto-Murphy, Flynn Woolsey-Jensen and Mark Ross. All 5 made it to the quarter-finals, with William and Mark progressing into the semis and Shion, Flynn and Eric finishing 5 th , 7 th  and 8 th . William won his semi-final for a place in the final, but lost there to take silver, while Mark lost a fence-off for bronze to finish 4 th . Year 10 Grace Tsang and year 9 Olivia Morse repeated their Round 1 results in the U14F, Grace gold and Olivia silver.   U16s Sam Snoddy, Ethan Dilworth, Adam Sugar and Patrick John were Sullivan’s U16M entrants. Sam repeated his Round 1 result with another strong performance to take gold, while Ethan finished 5 th , Adam 7 th  and Patrick 8 th . In the U16F Lydia Hamilton and Erin Keogh finished in silver and bronze medal positions, with Amy Walker in 4 th .   An excellent Sullivan fencer turn-out, with a great set of results. Round 3 of the NIJFS will be on Sat 13 th  December in the Shankill Leisure Centre.   David White SUFC Coach 13 th  Nov 2025

The 2025 Irish Open was held last Saturday 18 th  and Sunday 19 th  October in the Irish National Indoor Arena at Blanchardstown in Dublin. Four Sullivan fencers took part: Amelia Penny and Cassidy Ogle competing in the women’s foil and Myles Wilkinson and Adam Sugar in the men’s foil.   The Open is always the biggest Irish fencing event of the year with fencers from Europe and further afield competing along with the best in Ireland. In the men’s foil event on the Saturday Myles finished 13 th and Adam 23 rd , then on the Sunday Amelia was 7 th  and Cassidy 9 nd  in the women’s foil. All 4 put in strong performances and gained valuable experience fencing at senior level.   The next event for SUFC fencers will be at Round 2 of the 2025/2026 NI Junior Foil Series in Shankill Leisure Centre on Saturday 8 th November.   David White SUFC Coach 20 Oct 2023

Year 13 Cassidy Ogle opened Sullivan’s 2025/2026 competitive fencing season on September 7 th  with her participation in the Leon Paul Autumn Open in London, finishing just outside the medals in 5 th  place.   Year 9 William Penny travelled south to Dalkey, Dublin on October 5 th  to take part in the Lord Killanin Trophy, the first Irish junior fencing competition of the season. William made the U14M final, a close fight which he lost 9-10 to take the silver medal.   The Irish Intermediates fencing competition took place on 12 th  and 13 th October in University College in Dublin. This event restricts entrants to those who have never placed first in a senior fencing competition. Myles Wilkinson took part, finishing 10 th .   David White SUFC Coach 19 Oct 2025

The 2025/26 NI Junior Foil Series began last Saturday 11 th October in Shankill Leisure Centre in Belfast. Sullivan Upper Fencing Club had 18 fencers competing across U12, U14 and U16 age groups with a total of 8 medals won: 4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.   U12s Sullivan had 2 year 8 girls in this category, Ella Murphy and Lydia Snoddy. The rest of our 19 new intake year 8s did not take part as they’re beginners who’ve still to learn the basics of fencing before they can compete. Ella and Lydia however, have had previous fencing experience at another club, which they put to good use by winning U12F gold and silver respectively.   U14s There were also only 2 SU girls in the U14 age group, Grace Tsang and Olivia Morse. Grace had her first ever NIJFS win, taking gold in the U14F, Olivia taking silver. Seven SU boys took part in the U14M, William Penny, Eric Hutchinson, Shion Suto-Murphy, Flynn Woolsey-Jensen, Mark Ross, Ronan O’Hagan and Zach Fyffe. William and Eric made it to the quarter-finals (5 th and 8 th ) but went no further, while Shion, Flynn, Mark, Ronan and Zach all went out in the L16.   U16s Sam Snoddy, Ethan Dilworth, Adam Sugar, John Patrick, Erin Keough, Lydia Hamilton and Amy Walker were Sullivan’s U16 entrants. Sam gave a dominant performance to take U16M gold, while Ethan finished 5 th  after suffering a narrow 14-15 defeat to just miss a semi-final place. Adam and Patrick both made the quarters in 6 th  and 7 th . Lydia made it a Sullivan U16 clean sweep with gold in the U16F to take her first ever NIJFS win, while Erin took silver and Amy bronze.   This was an excellent competition turn-out of Sullivan fencers, with a superb set of results. Well done to all 18. Round 2 of the NIJFS will be on Sat 8 th  November 2025 in the Shankill Leisure Centre.   David White SUFC Coach 14 th  Oct 2025

Sullivan Upper School’s A Level pupils are celebrating excellent A Level and AS Level results, which are reward for all their efforts during their courses. They represent the most impressive results at the school for many years (excluding those affected by the pandemic).   At A Level our pupils achieved an overall pass rate of 100%, with over half of all grades (52%) being awarded A*/A and 81% of grades at A*-B level. 88% of the cohort achieved 3x A*-C grades and 29% achieved at least 3x A grades.   Our top performer was Eve Moore who achieved the remarkable feat of 5x A* grades. Robbie Barnett, Conor Carton, Isabelle Myles and Holly Robinson gained 4x A* grades; whilst Josh Andrews, Anna Brewster, Katie Carson, Niamh Fulton, Rowan Jess and Megan Mountford all achieved 3x A* grades.   The Principal, Craig Mairs, said: “Once again, we are delighted that the hard work of our pupils has been rewarded. They have worked diligently, and they deserve this success. I would also pay tribute to the skill and dedication of our staff team who provide high quality teaching and tailored individual support. At Sullivan Upper our vision is that we become the best at treating pupils as individuals, and today we celebrate the success of each individual in the class of 2025 as they prepare for the next stage of their educational journey.   Sullivan’s Year 13 pupils have also enjoyed great success in their AS Levels with 52% of grades at grade A and 77% at grades A-B. Of those pupils who took at least three modular AS levels this summer, 81% gained at least 3x A-C grades. This gives them an excellent platform to build upon next academic year.