St Patrick's High School, Keady

History

The school was founded in 1970 by the De La Salle Brothers to educate pupils from Derrynoose, Keady, Madden, Ballymacnab, Granemore, Clady and Middletown. St Patrick's now also has students from Armagh and Monaghan. Upon opening the school had 450 pupils and 22 teachers which has now grown to an enrolment of 1015 pupils, which includes 240 Sixth Form pupils, and 70 teachers.

In September 1999, St. Patrick's moved into a new purpose-built school with facilities including a 500 square metre sports hall, assembly hall, drama studio, lecture theatre, and oratory. The school has since been further enhanced with the completion of the Keady Recreation Centre. As part of this innovative ‘Dual Use Scheme’ with Armagh City and District Council, the school now has a synthetic pitch with floodlighting, a pavilion with a meeting room, a grass pitch and a two floor fitness suite. The latest addition to the school was a sixth-form study centre.

The school has been acknowledged as one of the top non-selective secondary schools in Northern Ireland for many years.

33.9%). At A Level, the number of pupils who achieved 3 A Levels at Grades A*- C was 20% above the NI average.

Principals

The first principal of the school was Brother Gerard Deegan who led the school for nine years. His successor was Brother Francis Manning, principal from 1979-1980.

Mr Patrick McAleavey became principal in 1980, and was in the role until September 2010 when he retired. Having been a teacher in the school for ten years previously, Mr McAleavey was part of the school for a total of forty years. He was integral to promoting the school to one of the top five non-grammar secondary schools in Northern Ireland.

The current principal is Ms Pat McGuckian. She was appointed as new principal in April 2011. Ms McGuckian was previously the vice-principal of St Malachy's College, in Belfast.

Leadership Team

Key Stage 3

Students at Key Stage 3 in St Patrick's are offered the following subjects in line with the Northern Ireland curriculum: English, Maths, Science, Religion, Geography, History, Irish, French, Spanish, Technology and Design, Art and Design, Physical Education (P.E.), I.C.T., Music, Drama, Home Economics, Citizenship and Employability, Careers Awareness and Personal Health and Social Education (PHSE).

Key Stage 4

At GCSE level, all pupils must study the core subjects of English Language, Mathematics, Science and Religious Education. Pupils may then choose from a number of subjects including: Double/Single Award Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), English Literature, French, Irish, History, Geography, Home Economics, Music, Art and Design, Physical Education (P.E.), I.C.T., Technology and Design, Economics, Business Studies, Motor Vehicle and Road User Studies (M.V.R.U.S.), Learning for Work and Life (LLW), Child Development, Construction, and Occupational Studies (VEP), Moving Image Arts.

Sixth Form

At A-level, St Patrick's offers many of the subjects at Key Stage 4 alongside; Applied Business Studies, Double Award Applied Business Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Travel and Tourism, Moving Image Art, Economics, Key Skills (Communication, Application of Number and I.C.T) and Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (C.O.P.E). Students may choose three or four A-Level and/or AS courses.

Sports

St Patrick's has been active in the sporting field with all sports and from all age ranges, including;

Sporting Achievements include: