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.

Our pupils achieved an overall pass rate of 98% with over two thirds of grades (67%) at A*-A level. 99.3% of the cohort achieved 5x A*-C grades including English and Mathematics, and 30% of the year group achieved at least 10x A*/A grades. Five Sullivan pupils achieved the impressive feat of 11x A* grades: Ruby McKillen, Owen Montgomery, Amelia Rodger, Olivia Thompson and Sarah Warren and an additional seven pupils gained 10x A* grades.   The Principal, Craig Mairs, said: “We are very proud of the achievements of our pupils and are delighted that their hard work has been rewarded. We are also grateful for the efforts of our committed and skilled staff team whose dedication has helped our pupils fulfil their potential. At Sullivan we talk to our pupils regularly about how it is not their grades that will define them, but their character. Many of these young people have illustrated this character through their superb contributions to the wider life of the school’s extra-curricular programme. We wish our pupils every success as they begin their A Level courses this autumn.”

Erin Playfair and Cora Hayes have continued to train with Ulster Rugby Girls U17s over the summer and had the opportunity to represent Ulster against the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy (EIRA) - a USA Rugby National Development Programme team who were on tour.

Congratulations to Charlie McVeigh (9c) who represented Ireland in the Tennis Summer Cup European Tournament in Dijon, France in July. Charlie won 6 matches beating the number one players from Spain, Finland, Luxembourg and Belgium along the way. An amazing achievement on his international debut!

Congratulations to Henry Calvert and Finn McGuigan on their selection for U17 Ulster Schools v EIRA. They won 32-0!

Lucy Andrews and Isabella Wray who were selected to play for the NCU U15 team at the Interpros against Leinster and NWCU. The team were unbeaten in the T20s

Four Sullivan pupils recently represented NCU in the U13 team, competing  at the Interpros in Foyle College against Leinster and NWCU. Congratulations to Martha McKeown, Katie Bond, Emma Kennedy and Kelsie Mulligan.

The following Sullivan pupils successfully auditioned for the following musical groups  and attended summer residential courses culminating in concert performances.    NYCNI Junior Choir   Sarah Burns and Mitchell Brown participated in the Junior Choir summer course culminating in a concert in Campbell College in July.   NYCNI Training Choir    Elsie Buckley, Nina Crawford, Lucy Boyd, Alice Short, and Georgie Horner attended a week’s residential course which culminated in a concert in Campbell College.  NYCNI Senior Choir     Joel Gallagher and Emma Burns attended a week’s residential course which culminated in a concert in South Belfast. Ulster Youth Orchestra    Jamie Cadden (bass trombone) and Smokey Sizaret (clarinet/ bass clarinet) attended a ten day residential course which culminated in two concerts in the Guildhall, Londonderry and Ulster Hall,Belfast.

Great to see five Sullivan pupils in the U17 Girls NCU team. They competed at the Interpros in Dublin against Leinster and NWCU. Congratulations to Erin Mitchell, Emily Calvert (Captain), Lucy Andrews, Sophie Merriman and Erin Bond.

Sixth form pupil, Hollie Wilson, was selected to attend the European Scout event -  Roverway 2024 🇳🇴.   She recent set off  for her adventure at Roverway 2024 in Norway. Surrounded by majestic mountains, fjords, and valleys, the team will experience unique activities before joining the main camp in Stavanger.