Speech by the Guest Speaker:  
Plunkett Campbell, Chairman of the Southern Education and Library Board

Canon Stevenson,  Chair of the Board of Governors, Principal,  Vice Principal, Distinguished Guests, Ladies, Gentlemen and Students:

Thank you for the invitation tonight and I am glad to be able to acknowledge and celebrate your success.

I have a long association with Saint Patricks:

$1·         I did my teaching practice here.

$1·         I was appointed to a teaching post in the college at the same time as I was appointed Vice Principal in St. John's Primary School, Gilford.

$1·         I became a member of the Board of Governors.

$1·         As a Senior Manager with CCMS, I worked closely with governance issues in the school.

So it can be said I am no stranger to the school.

Responding to an invitation from Mrs. Mallon, the Principal, to visit the school in the spring, the former Chief Executive Officer of the SELB (Mr. Tony Murphy) and I were very impressed at how the school has been transformed by the Minor Works Improvements Schemes that have taken place. You will no doubt have noticed these improvements and I feel Mrs Mallon will have another wish list for us in the Board. We were also very impressed by Mrs. Mallon's vision and enthusiasm and her determination to make St. Patrick's a 'centre of excellence' - and with the courteous manner in which we were greeted by the Head Boy and Girl and the students.

As you know it is the added responsibility of the Education and Library Boards to work closely with non-controlled schools to bring forward and arrange the contracts for minor works. Such works are ongoing in St. Patrick's and I can confirm that, by the end of this financial year, a total of £591,000 will have been spent in this school's improvement scheme.

The importance of modern teaching accommodation cannot be overstated in this rapidly changing world of ours. If we are to lift teachers' and students' aspirations, we must lift horizons with the types of surroundings and equipment provided for learning. To prepare for a modern world, we need to provide education in a modern setting with all the technological benefits this can provide.

Those of us born before 1950 must have been a hardy bunch when we think of the ways in which the world has changed and the adjustments we have had to make.

We lived before credit cards and bank cards and rarely saw birthday cards. We lived before split atoms and laser beams. Course work was a piece of very rough piece of plastering and a chip was a piece of potato that had been fried. Hardware meant nuts and bolts and software wasn't even a word! We never heard of FM radio and in our days, a wireless had wires!. Rock music was a grannies lullaby, but we survived. I wonder what list of things you will be able to compile for your grandchildren in 50 years time? "Things I never had when I was growing up".

 Good teachers inspire our young people to be lifelong learners, creating a culture of independent enquiry with this enthusiasm and passion. ( I know this because I see it quite often when I visit schools.) Good teachers have the skills to know exactly how to get the best out of each and every young person in the school. You have those teachers in St. Patrick's.

It would be remiss of me, on behalf of the Southern Board, not to acknowledge the support and co-operation of the Trustees, the Board of Governors, the principal, staff and students during the period of time that wok has been undertaken. You all responded in such a positive way during stages of what could have been, at times, a disruptive process.

Let me turn at this point to the young people who are in the audience and reflect on what was, for you, a memorable year. Through hard work and determination, many of you have exceeded your own expectations and that must give you great satisfaction. You are now being rewarded for your study. Congratulations and well done.

Staff and parents are no doubt immensely proud of your achievements. Your GCSE exam results have been truly outstanding with 65% achieving 5 GCSE s A*-C including Maths and English. This percentage is well above the NI average  for a school of this type and this has not gone unnoticed by the Board.

As students you have been privileged to receive your education thus far in a school that values equally all its pupils, recognising their different gifts and abilities and developing them to a full potential. The school community has provided you with a happy environment at an important time of your growing up. You have had the benefit of dedicated teachers who have done all in their power to enable each one of you to reach your full potential as individuals. Your parent's and guardian's  interest in your welfare and their co-operation with the principal and staff have contribute in no small measure to making St. Patrick's a success.

Some here tonight will be familiar with the Department of Education's policy document: EVERY SCHOOL A GOOD SCHOOL. The focus of the policy was to set out the core characteristics of a school: child-centred provision, high quality teaching and learning, effective leadership and the school connected to its local community. Would anyone suggest St. Patrick's doesn't meet all these criteria?

Exams often mark the end of a school career or mark a transition in life, in your case tonight's ceremony formally marks the end of your time in St. Patrick's. A chapter in your life is now completed and you have already commenced a new chapter  you have already made your first steps in life's journey beyond this college. Sometimes the next step in life will be clear, at times, it won't.

How we see life, our philosophy of life or what we would like from it, THE DREAM - is one thing - THE REALITY  is another story. All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

We can all have our dreams, our plans but success will depend on many things like:

$1·         The quality of decisions we make.

$1·         The opportunities that are presented to us now and in the future

$1·         A bit of good fortune (being in the right place at the right time, having the right qualifications for a job when it appears)

$1·         Having good friends, people you can trust to give you good advice.

$1·         Having the health to do what you want to do.

But above all, success will depend on

$1·         Making good use of your talents and personal qualities.

Talents

$1·         knowing and making good use at what you are good at/competent at, eg. flair for design, a carer, nursing, a profession such as joinery.

and

Personal Qualities such as

$1·         having a positive attitude - being aware that the way you think and behave contribute to how you are seen and are judged by others.

$1·         Being ambitious - not being afraid to want to achieve; to improve; to gain additional qualifications.

$1·         Being committed and dedicated to what you do; being willing to get involved; to show a sense of duty or responsibility in relation to what you are doing.

$1·         being trustworthy/dependable; having respect for others, their property and possessions so that they, in return, can develop their trust in you and know that they can depend on you, just as you want to be able to trust and depend on others.

$1·         perhaps most important of all, being willing to learn from experience - "the person who never made a mistake never made anything"

In addition, success or survival is also about drawing on all your knowledge and skills you have at your disposal to improve your chances of success and secure the best possible outcome.

And finally, I would like you to reflect on the following:

As you swim through the waters of life I hope you will find them

$1·         calmer rather than rough

$1·         warmer rather than cold

$1·         that the tide of life is with you more often than it is against you

$1·         that you plan to survive rather than hope to survive.

$1·         that you learn from experiences of your own life and the lives of others around you

$1·         that you remember the friends you have made here and choose the new ones wisely

$1·         that you give to the world you live in as well as take from it

$1·         that you will have regard and consideration for those less fortunate than yourselves and those whose culture is different from your own.

$1·         that you remember kindly the support you have had from your families and your teachers over the years

$1·         that you use wisely the knowledge and words of wisdom they have given you so that you will be successful in the big examination of life itself that lies ahead.

May God strengthen your hand in facing the exciting challenge ahead.