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SRC Newry Bricklaying student Matthew Carswell, who attends the colleges Greenbank campus, is one of five students from Northern Ireland to take home a medal at the 2024 SkillBuild National Finals in Milton Keynes. JP Corry in Newry generously provided Matthew with tools and workwear in advance of reaching the finals.
The national competition ran from 19-21 November with competitors tasked with constructing a project designed by an expert panel of judges, within an 18-hour timeframe. The project tested knowledge, skills, as well as the ability to work under pressure whilst managing time constraints.
To make it to the finals Matthew was one of the top eight highest scoring competitors across all regional qualifiers in the UK. Techniques Matthew was required to demonstrate in the finals, included a firm understanding of detailed drawings, making use of the various contrasting brickwork, measuring and cutting bricks accurately and to the required sizes, and ensuring limited wastage of materials.
Having competed in his local SkillBuild final in February and the Northern Ireland regional competition in May where he topped the leaderboard, Matthew had to wait it out until all regional qualifiers had been concluded, and the scores quality assured and moderated by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), before learning that he had made it through to the national finals.
Following this wait, Matthew was delighted to be part of the Northern Ireland contingent partaking within the national finals. This delight was topped off by winning the bronze medal in the finals.
Many hours of training and hard work went into this achievement with Southern Regional College lecturer Stephen Chapman commenting: "Matthew's performance at the SkillBuild National Finals was outstanding. Throughout the competition, he demonstrated remarkable focus and composure, maintaining a calm and collected approach from start to finish. Competing alongside seven of the UK’s top bricklayers, all vying for a place in the top three, Matthew’s achievement of securing third place is a testament to his skill and dedication. This is a significant accomplishment for Matthew, for me as his lecturer, and for the College."
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Students Alex Heaney and Ethan McFee from St Joseph's Boys' High School, Newry are two of the latest recipients of the PLAYR-FIT Elite Athlete Scholarship.
The scholarship program is available to two pupils in each school. As part of the scholarship program PLAYR-FIT sets up a fund that financially helps the pupils with the extra costs of being an elite athlete such as receiving the very best S&C, nutrition, physiotherapy and gym guidance and also allows them to focus on their studies.
Alex plays soccer and is currently on the books at Cliftonville FC and just recently played in the U19 Champions League for the club. He has won numerous underage cups with the club including the Northern Ireland Cup last year. Alex has played in the prestigious Milk Cup, now known as the SuperCup NI and he has also recently spent time at MK Dons in England.
Ethan is an outstanding young Gaelic Footballer from the Ballyholland Harps club. Ethan has captained his school and club and played in U15 and U16 development squads in Down and this year will be hoping to be a member of the Down Minor Football Panel. Ethan has had fantastic success with his club as a dominant full back and last year was an ever present on the schools historic winning Pat King Cup Squad. Ethan has a bright future in Gaelic Games.
If your school is interested in getting involved in this scholarship program you can inquire by emailing sales@playr-fit.com
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The gift of learning spans lifetimes
Southern Regional College are celebrating the gift of learning that spans lifetimes. The gift is brought to life in this wonderful seasonal video spanning 60 years and produced by their very own talented students and staff.
All at Southern Regional College are wishing you a festive season filled with joy, success, and endless possibilities.
Here's to another year of growth, learning, and achieving your dreams at Southern Regional College!
Christmas Greetings
#TheGiftofLearning
#SRCChristmasSpirit
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Parents, students, and staff from Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry gathered on Thursday 21 November to celebrate and acknowledge the GSCE class of 2024. An amazing total of 97% of students achieved A* - C in 7 or more subjects and a massive 56 students achieved A* / A in 9 or more subjects.
Guest speaker on the night was past-pupil, Ms Anne-Marie Mulholland. Since leaving Sacred Heart in 2014, Anne-Marie studied Dietetics in UU, Coleraine, before completing a master’s degree in Sports Nutrition in LJMU leading to a career as Performance Dietician. More recently, Anne-Marie has been working with the IRFU, leading Nutrition with the 7’s Rugby Programme and supporting the teams at the Olympic Games in Paris ’24. Speaking of her time in SHGS, Anne-Marie reminisced that school was about her beginning to discover her passions and interests, leading to her career in dietetics. In some final words of advice to the gathered students, she said ‘School gives you the tools to excel, but it is up to you to utilise them – your future success ultimately depends on your drive and passion’.
Principal, Mr Comer, in his speech, looked back at the world innovations during the 5 years of school leading up to the students GSCE’s, but noted that what really stood the test of time was how people treated each other, and acknowledged the great lengths that all staff go to in making school an enjoyable experience for the pupils in SHGS.
The prizegiving concluded with the awarding of medals for the 5 pupils who achieved 10 A* grades in their GCSE’s, the 36 pupils who achieved 10 A*/A grades and certificates for the 15 pupils who achieved A*/A in 9 GCSE subjects. Cups were awarded to pupils who had achieved the highest marks in their subjects, with an amazing 6 students achieving top grades in 2 or more subjects.
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Southern Regional College students have completed four intense days of competition at the 2024 WorldSkills UK National Finals in Manchester and Greater Manchester. The students showcased their talent and skills and earned 10 medals and secured a remarkable second place on the WorldSkills UK leaderboard in the process.
Lee Campbell, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College commented: "Congratulations to all students who won medals at the 2024 WorldSkills UK National Finals, and to those who reached the final stage of the national competition. This event is about more than just medals; it's about determination, learning, and growth. These results reflect the tremendous effort students have put into their preparing for the finals, with the support of lecturers and employers during pre-competition training. Both medal winners and finalists should be immensely proud of their achievements."
Winning a gold medal in the Industry 4.0 category was Caolan McCartan, a current Engineering (Technical Design & Manufacture) foundation degree student. Caolan competed in the Industry 4.0 category alongside recent BEng Engineering SRC graduate Patrick Sheerin from Portadown.
Caolan currently works as a Quality Engineer at Collins Aerospace. Caolan has had a long-term interest in engineering, due to what he says is his “fascination with analysing and solving problems.” For Caolan, “engineering was the perfect career choice due to its ever-evolving field and wide range of branches to specialise in.”
In the mechatronics category, Newry student Jason McVerry alongside teammate John Doherty won a silver medal, improving upon their bronze medal position in the 2023 national finals. Jason currently works within Redrock Machinery as a Design Engineer. This involves designing parts and assembling agricultural machines and the production of technical drawings for fabricators.
Also competing in the mechatronics category, were Neil King from Warrenpoint and Sean Treanor from Monaghan. Neil and Sean faced tough competition, as three of the six finalist teams were made up of SRC students. While Neil and Sean finished outside the medal table in this 2024 competition, there is the opportunity for this duo to return to the 2025 competition activity.
SRC lecturer Sean MacDiarmada commented: “In the fields of automation and mechatronics, Sean and Neil are talented, skilled and insightful. They are also motivated to push current boundaries and innovate. I am sure they will excel and do themselves proud.”
Other Newry students competing on the national stage were Clara Rose Cooney in the Health & Social Care category, Phelim McArdle in Restaurant Services and teammates Ethan Park from Rathfriland and Eve Hillen from Hilltown in Automation. Out of thousands of entries these students made it through to the final stage of competition.
Finalists and medallists were celebrated at a closing ceremony in Manchester on Friday 22 November. The WorldSkills UK National Finals showcases the best of the UK’s young talent. Designed by industry experts, the competition series develops personal and professional skills through the advancement of technical and employability skills, through competition-based learning.
Southern Regional College students have excelled in recent years at WorldSkills UK. This year has seen a continued dominance in the areas of mechatronics, laboratory technician, electrical installation, automotive refinishing and culinary arts, with students securing medals in these areas, in consecutive years.
The 2024 WorldSkills National Finals took place from Tuesday 19 November to Friday 22 November across eight venues in Manchester and Greater Manchester. The next National Finals will occur between 25-28 November 2025 across venues in South Wales. Competition activity for the 2025 cycle will commence in March 2025.
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Schoolboy Lubo Mulkerns from St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook was this year’s winner of the local final of the Springboard FutureChef Competition, held at Southern Regional College’s (SRC) Newry campus on Wednesday 13th November.
Lubo now moves forward to the regional final of FutureChef, held in Belfast Met early next year; the penultimate stage in the battle to become one of 12 national finalists. The national final will be held at Westminster Kingsway College in London next March.
To compete within the local finals, competitors had to design, prepare and cook a main course for two people, within a cooking time of just one hour. Participants were challenged to create a cost-effective meal with an advisory budget of £5 to be spent on ingredients for both portions.
With his budget, Lubo created the winning dish of Chicken Roulade with Walnut Stuffing & Redcurrant Jus, Butternut Squash Risotto & Seasonal Vegetables. Lubo will now be paired with a local chef, who will mentor him ahead of the regional finals, early next year.
Judging the local final was Geoff Baird, Executive Development Chef for Henderson Foodservice.
The FutureChef competition is an opportunity for secondary school students aged between 11 and 16 to showcase their culinary talents, receive feedback from industry experts, and grow their confidence. The competition is a school-based programme across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that supports the development of key life skills whist inspiring young people to pursue an exciting career within the hospitality sector.
Jillian Audis, Operations Manager Hospitality & Tourism at Southern Regional College commented: “Congratulations to Lubo as he moves forward to the regional finals of FutureChef. Lubo’s creation, a delectable Chicken Roulade with Walnut Stuffing & Redcurrant Jus, accompanied by a creamy Butternut Squash Risotto and a medley Seasonal Vegetables, was a mouthwatering dish and worthy winner of the local finals. We eagerly anticipate following his journey through the rest of the competition.”
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This month sixteen students from Southern Regional College (SRC) are venturing to Manchester to take part in the WorldSkills UK national finals from 19th – 22nd November. Amongst the sixteen students making up the team from SRC, are eight local students from Newry and surrounding areas, who all study at SRC’s Newry campus. These students will be demonstrating their many learned skills with hopes of bringing home bronze, silver or gold medals.
Competition areas students are competing in include automation, automotive refinishing, culinary arts, electrical installation, health & social care, restaurant services, industry 4.0, laboratory technician and mechatronics.
The Students
Neil King from Warrenpoint who is competing within the mechatronics category at this year’s finals. Neil is no stranger to WorldSkills UK competition, having won silver in last year's automation category with teammate Sean Treanor from Monaghan. Neil and Sean are pairing up once more to take on five more teams within the mechatronics category. Both are currently studying the Level 6 Engineering (BEng) Hons degree at SRC’s Newry campus through the higher level apprenticeship route and working within Norbrook Laboratories.
Clara Rose Cooney from Kilkeel who is one of eight finalists within the health and social care practitioner category. Clara Rose, a level 3 Health and Social Care Advanced Technical Award Extended Diploma student at SRC’s Newry campus, first became interested in studying health and social care when she began caring for her granda who was living with pulmonary fibrous. This has inspired Clara Rose to make a positive difference to the lives of those who require services within the health & social care sector.
Automation teammates Eve Hillen from Hilltown and Ethan Park from Rathfriland who are currently studying the Engineering Advanced Technical Award level 3 Extended Diploma. The teammates have made it through to the final six teams within the automation category. On making it to the finals Eve commented: “I feel proud of what we have accomplished so far by making it to the finals and am really excited for the next stage.”
Phelim McArdle from Newry. Phelim is competing within the restaurant services category. Phelim has completed the level 1 Hospitality and Catering Certificate at SRC in association with Clanrye. Tricia O’Neill, programme coordinator at Clanrye gave this advice to Phelim in advance of the competition: “Be yourself, trust yourself and do what you do best.”
Caolan McCartan from Camlough. Caolan is competing alongside teammate Patrick Sheerin in the Industry 4.0 category. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0 is the concept of revolutionising modern factories using a range of new and emerging technologies. Caolan currently works as a Quality Engineer at Collins Aerospace. The role involves ensuring products coming off the end of the production line meet quality controls and customer requirements. Caolan’s manager, Eoin McCavera at Collins Aerospace had this advice for Caolan going into the WorldSkills UK finals “Enjoy this exciting opportunity and embrace this learning and development opportunity.”
Jason McVerry from Belleeks, Newry. Jason is returning to the WorldSkills UK finals to compete once more in the Mechatronics category, having won a bronze medal in the prior year competition with his teammate. Jason is excited to once more be a finalist within the competition and is eager to improve on last year’s results and score highly and be considered for Team UK’s WorldSkills Squad for the Shanghai competition.
Southern Regional College has been hugely successful at WorldSkills UK in recent years, being named the top performing College in the UK, in both the 2023 and 2024 national finals. Hope remains high for students participating in this year’s finals.
Following the WorldSkills UK finals, students who have exceeded scoring requirements may be invited to join Squad UK and participate in the EuroSkills and WorldSkills competition series.
Lee Campbell, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College commented: “I am incredibly proud of our exceptional students who will be representing Southern Regional College and Northern Ireland at the upcoming WorldSkills UK finals. These remarkable individuals have showcased their unwavering dedication, remarkable talent, and relentless pursuit of excellence. I wish them every success in this prestigious competition, and I am confident that they will not only make our College proud but also inspire others with their remarkable achievements”.
WorldSkills UK is a four-nation partnership between the education sector, industry and the UK government to build a ‘skills economy’ by embedding world-class training standards to drive investment, jobs and economic growth.
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St Patrick's PS Crossmaglen emerged as winners in both the Boys Team and Girls Team sections at last week's highly anticipated annual Be Active P7 School’s Cross Country event.
Pupils from a total of 37 schools across the district gathered at Kilbroney Forest Park in Rostrevor for the event with an energetic musical warm-up, creating an electric atmosphere alongside a giant inflatable finish line.
Despite the damp and windy weather conditions, spirits were high as the children ran 1,100m within the lower meadow of the forest park.
The event kicked off with the girls' race, where 256 participants started at a swift pace, undeterred by the weather. Next, 266 boys took to the course, competing fiercely in their race, eagerly awaiting the team and individual results.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Chairperson, Councillor Pete Byrne attended on the day and was on hand to present the medals and trophies to the top finishers.
Councillor Pete Byrne said, "I am absolutely delighted to see over 500 children from across the district take part in this year’s annual Be Active P.7 Cross Country event. The level of enthusiasm and determination displayed by these young athletes is truly inspiring. Events like this not only promote physical activity and healthy competition, but they also bring our community together. It’s a fantastic achievement for everyone involved, and great to see this event go from strength to strength.”
Girls' Individual Results
First place: Teagan Moxham from St. Patrick’s PS, Ballynahinch
Second place: Meabh Conlon from St. Patrick’s PS, Crossmaglen
Third place: Elena Doran from Carrick PS, Burren
Girls' Team Results
First place: St. Patrick’s PS, Crossmaglen
Second place: Carrick PS, Burren
Third place: St. Colman’s PS, Saval
Boys' Individual Results
First Place: Harry McVeigh from Bunscoil na Bheanna Boirche, Castlewellan
Second Place: Rossa McAleenan from Bunscoil na Bheanna Boirche, Castlewellan
Third Place: Mark Canavan from Holy Family PS, Teconnaught
Boys' Team Results
First place: St. Patrick’s PS, Crossmaglen
Second place: Kilkeel PS, Kilkeel
Third place: Carrick PS, Burren
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The first recipients of the new PLAYR-FIT Elite Athlete Scholarship come from Our Lady's Grammar School in Newry.
PLAYR-FIT has developed a strong partnership with the school and students Niamh McConville and Lucy Connell have been selected for the Scholarships.
The scholarship program is available to two pupils in each school. As part of the scholarship program PLAYR-FIT sets up a fund that financially helps the pupils with the extra costs of being an elite athlete such as receiving the very best S&C, nutrition, physiotherapy and gym guidance and also allows them to focus on their studies.
Niamh is a Dual player playing Gaelic Football and Camogie for Club, County and School. Niamh's club team is Clonduff and she represents her county in both codes, Down LGFA and Down Camogie. Niamh has had many achievements such as receiving the Future Star Award presented by Queen's University Belfast and most recently winning a Down Senior Camogie title with Clonduff Camogie.
Lucy has been involved in a number of sports from a young age such as, Swimming, Gymnastics and Gaelic Football to name a few. Lucy’s Gaelic club team currently is Annaclone and she also represents her County, Down LGFA. Lucy was captain of the school netball team 22/23 winning the Central Florist Perpetual Cup for Best Senior Netballer. Lucy was also part of the team that won the LGFA Ulster intermediate Championship in 2024
PLAYR-FIT is designed by players for players and so we understand what it takes for athletes to reach the very top. Their Elite Athlete Scholarship is one of the many benefits of being a PLAYR-FIT customer. If your school is interested in getting involved in this scholarship program you can inquire by emailing sales@playr-fit.com
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