Press Release
Date: Monday 14 February 2011 (NR/11/2)
Top GCSE Students Celebrate
Lisburn Civic Centre was packed with talent on Friday when The Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) held an awards ceremony in honour of the top achieving GCSE students from the summer 2010 examinations.
The GCSE ‘Celebrating Excellence’ event brings together those students who achieved first place in their GCSE subjects.
Over fifty of the most successful 16 and 17 year olds from Northern Ireland and further afield attended the memorable event with their family, teachers and principals.
Gavin Boyd, Interim Chief Executive at CCEA was there to congratulate the students. He commented:
It is always such a pleasure to be a part of this important ceremony. Today I get the opportunity to celebrate excellence with a room full of impressive students, together with your teachers, friends and relatives. Celebrating your success is a pleasure and we hope the recognition you receive today will help motivate you as you study for your A-levels, or gain work experience.
In congratulating the students, I would also like to take a moment to recognise the vital role played by your teachers, family and friends. Your success doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It has been carefully nurtured by dedicated teachers from Primary 1 though to Upper 6th.
It is an increasingly challenging and competitive marketplace out there for both jobs and education. So it is more important than ever that skills and learning are constantly evolving to meet the demands of a changing world.
The people in this room are certainly in a position to look to the future with optimism and I have no doubt you will play an important role in growing our society and economy.
Stephanie McConkey, pupil at Enniskillen Collegiate, achieved top in Technology and Design and was awarded the prestigious David Mack award for Technology and Design. She commented:
I really enjoyed the awards ceremony today and being presented with the David Mack Award was a real honour. I am currently studying for A-levels in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I hope to have a physics or chemistry-related career in the future.
Enniskillen Collegiate pupil Stephanie McConkey celebrates her GCSE achievements at Lisburn Civic Centre with CCEA Chief Executive Gavin Boyd. As well as a Top Candidate award for Technology & Design, Stephanie received the special David Mack award for Technology & Design.
Additional Information
Celebrating excellence – GCSE awards ceremony
Programme of events:
Opening Remarks - 12.30pm
Award Ceremony - 12.40pm
David Mack Award for Technology and Design - 1.15pm
Closing Remarks - 1.20pm
Lunch - 1.30pm
Top Candidates – Celebrating Excellence Award Winners
| Subject | School | Candidate Name | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science: Physics | Abbey Grammar School | Stephen Peter Grant | Joint 1st |
| German | Aquinas Grammar School | Pascal J J McBride | 1st |
| Physical Education | Ballyclare High School | Laura K Douglas | 1st |
| Religious Studies Short Course | Ballymena Academy | Matthew S McConkey | 1st |
| Science: Biology | Ballymena Academy | Rory P McCaughan | 1st |
| Science: Physics | Ballymena Academy | Rory P McCaughan | Joint 1st |
| Business Studies | Belfast Royal Academy | Deborah L Forbes | Joint 1st |
| Science Double Award Modular | Bloomfield Collegiate School | Rachel J Waterman | 1st |
| Hospitality | Campbell College | Tsz-Chun Tang | 1st |
| Leisure And Tourism | Castlederg High School | Jacqueline Hunter | 1st |
| Manufacturing | Castlederg High School | Mark Hamilton | 1st |
| ICT Short Course | Coleraine High School | Rachel A Wilson | 1st |
| Religious Studies | Coleraine High School | Sarah M McDowell | Joint 1st |
| English Literature | Cookstown High School | Leah S Watson | 1st |
| Religious Studies Short Course | Cookstown High School | Leah S Watson | 1st |
| Construction | Cullybackey High School | Thomas Toner | 1st |
| History | Down High School | Rebecca Kate Robinson | 1st |
| Technology & Design | Enniskillen Collegiate | Stephanie Lesley McConkey | 1st |
| Additional Mathematics | Friends School | Matthew Ross Patterson | Joint 1st |
| Economics | Friends School | James Albert Thompson | Joint 1st |
| Irish | Gaelscoil An Chaistil | Luíseach Mathers | Joint 1st |
| Music | Glenlola Collegiate School | Maeve A E Stacey | 1st |
| Applied Science | Hazelwood Integrated College | Angelika Nowicka | 1st |
| Applied ICT A | Immaculate Conception College | Daniel M Wardin | 1st |
| Mathematics | Larne Grammar School | Sherry Jiang | 1st |
| Economics | Loreto College Coleraine | James V McCullagh | Joint 1st |
| Geography | Loreto Grammar Omagh | Brona Mary Dyson | 1st |
| ICT | Loreto Grammar Omagh | Aimee O'Kane | 1st |
| English | Methodist College Belfast | Syamala A Roberts | 1st |
| Home Economics | Methodist College Belfast | Chloe R V Gilkes | 1st |
| Business Studies | Methodist College Belfast | Emma J Sharkey | Joint 1st |
| Religious Studies | Methodist College Belfast | Syamala A Roberts | Joint 1st |
| Religious Studies | Nendrum College Comber | Lee R T Brown | Joint 1st |
| Child Development | Oakgrove Integrated College | Sarah C McConnell | 1st |
| Drama | Our Lady & St Patricks Colege | Lara T Smyth | Joint 1st |
| Drama | Rathmore Grammar School | Deirbhile R Leyden | Joint 1st |
| Spanish | Royal Academical Institution | Ben Alexander Wylie | Joint 1st |
| Drama | Sacred Heart Grammar School | Aoibheann P Matthews | Joint 1st |
| Applied Art & Design | St Brigid's High School | Darren Cush | 1st |
| Applied Business A | St Columb's College | Michael Gerrad Martin | 1st |
| Gaeilge | St Dominic's Grammar School | Aoife Ni Chiarain | 1st |
| Irish | St Dominic's Grammar School | Siobhan McDonnell | Joint 1st |
| Irish | St Dominic's Grammar School | Orlagh McMenamin | Joint 1st |
| Irish | St Dominic's Grammar School | Caitlin Ni Dhubhthaigh | Joint 1st |
| Spanish | St Dominic's Grammar School | Stephanie Toner | Joint 1st |
| Science Double Award Non-Modular | St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt | Maeve McCarney | 1st |
| Economics | St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt | Ruby Marie Rice | Joint 1st |
| Irish | St Mary's Grammar School | Caitríona M McAteer | Joint 1st |
| Drama | St Michael's College | John Major | Joint 1st |
| Learning For Life & Work | St Patrick's Academy | Orla Margaret McQuaid | 1st |
| Engineering | St Patrick's College, Dungiven | Diarmuid McLaughlin | 1st |
| Financial Services | St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Conor Loughran | 1st |
| Health & Social Care | St Pius X College | Shannon Rose Rocks | 1st |
| Science Single Award Modular | St Pius X College | Niamh Emily Cassidy | 1st |
| French | Strathearn School | Elinka Moore | 1st |
| Religious Studies | The High School Ballynahinch | Alexandra S J Halliday | Joint 1st |
| Motor Vehicle & Road User Studies | The Royal School Dungannon | Alister Trevor Irwin | 1st |
| Science: Chemistry | The Royal School Dungannon | Anastasiya Kret | 1st |
| Journalism | Wallace High School | Jonathan Alan Scott | 1st |
| Additional Mathematics | Wellington Colege Belfast | Dale Walmsley | Joint 1st |
Media enquiries to Ruth Maguire on (028) 9026 1216, Mobile 07796947993. E mail rhmaguire@ccea.org.uk
ENDS
Note to Editors
CCEA is the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
CCEA places learners and those who have a concern for their educational and personal development at the forefront of its thinking. CCEA's mission is:
"To enable the full potential of all learners to be achieved and recognised"
What we do
CCEA is a unique educational body in the UK , bringing together the three areas of curriculum, examinations and assessment.
Advising Government – on what should be taught in Northern Ireland ’s schools and colleges.
Monitoring Standards – ensuring that the qualifications and examinations offered by awarding bodies in Northern Ireland are of an appropriate quality and standard.
Awarding Qualifications
– as Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body we offer a diverse range of qualifications, such as GCSEs, including the new GCSE Double Award specifications in vocational subjects, GCE A and AS levels, Entry Level Qualifications, and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages.
- CCEA also offers a range of Awards and Certificates in Education, Training and Skills (ACETS) targeted at learners who want to get
the knowledge, understanding and skills needed
to hit the ground running in the world of work.
