St Mark’s Parish Church, Armagh was the venue on Thursday 19th September for our annual Speech Night. Following the academic procession, the ceremony was opened with the singing of ‘Love divine, all loves excelling’, and with prayers from the Rector of St Mark’s, Rev. Canon M T Kingston, and the Head Girl Scarlett Taylor. The Chairman of the Board of Governors, Archbishop John McDowell, welcomed all present including the Chief Guest and speaker, former pupil, Professor Nola Hewitt-Dundas. Professor Hewitt-Dundas is Professor of Innovation Management and Policy and Pro Vice Chancellor of The Queen’s University of Belfast. She began her secondary education at Armagh Girls High School before its merger with the Royal School leaving in 1988 after serving as Head Girl. She went up to QUB where she obtained a BA in Geography before undertaking a PhD in Economic Geography. Professor Hewitt-Dundas was Dean and Head of the Business School at Queen’s and was named by the Institute of Directors as Public Sector Director of the Year.

In his opening comments Archbishop McDowell thanked the governors and staff who had worked so hard throughout the year and commented positively on the level of pastoral care and high academic attainment in school. He spoke about how the school functioned as a caring community with a strong family atmosphere.

Mr. Cardwell, Vice-Principal for Pastoral Care & Inclusion, reading the names of pupils honored during the Speech Night awards ceremony, celebrating their achievements and contributions to school life.

The Choir, bolstered by leavers for whom this occasion marks the last chance to sing together, sang ‘O Love’ by Elaine Hagenberg. The music was led by Mr Boyd. The organist was Old Armachian Mr Andrew Glenny.

The headmaster then delivered his report to the school. He stated that the school remained committed to its historic twin aims set out in the letters patent granted by King Charles I in 1627, “For the increase of learning and good manners”. He emphasised that it remained the case that academic achievement and the development of good character and a life well lived were fundamental to the mission of the Royal School.

Mr Montgomery acknowledged and thanked parents for their special contribution to the success of the Royal School and its pupils. He paid tribute to staff who had left the school, some of them following decades of service and welcomed all those who had arrived this year.

Regarding academic achievement Mr Montgomery said that the 2024 A Level attainment had been very strong. This was particularly pleasing as exams and assessment had returned to the pracademic standards. In total twenty percent of Royal School pupils who sat A Levels achieved three straight A grades or better with two achieving 4 A* grades and two others achieving

3 A*s and 1 A grade. The headmaster was delighted to report that the vast majority of all Sixth Form leavers had secured a place at their first choice of university.

At GCSE pupils also performed superbly, surpassing Northern Ireland averages for top grades. 82% of all grades awarded were ‘B’ or above with 60% of them being either ‘A*’ or ‘A’. 91% of pupils attained at least seven GCSEs including English and mathematics at grade A*-C.

In total forty-eight pupils achieved at least 8 A grades. With two gaining 11 A* grades and one 10A*s and 1 A. Mr Montgomery said all this success was a credit to the young people who studied hard and performed well, but also a tribute to the commitment and professionalism of school staff and clear evidence of the encouragement, support and cooperation of parents and families.

The headmaster reported that interest in the boarding department remained strong with 82 young people from across the globe calling the Royal School “home”. The strength of boarding, observed the headmaster, was that it had a truly international flavour with pupils drawn from across Ireland, Europe and the middle and far east. The Preparatory Department, under Dr Kirsten Carson-McClenaghan’s excellent leadership, remained a dynamic and welcoming place. Last year pupils had been engaged in a wide range of extra curricular activities including a trip to Paris.

Mr Montgomery referred to the vital importance of trips and extra curricular activities at the Royal School which the school believes to be essential in developing sound character, leadership capacity and resilience. These included local, national and global service opportunities such as the ASHA team which spent eleven days in New Delhi in October 2023, while pupils in the Scripture Union spent time in Copenhagen working with marginalised communities in collaboration with a local church and building cultural and curricular links with a school in Roskilde, 19 Km from Copenhagen. He also referred to the work of the Charity Committee which supported more than a dozen charities throughout the year.

The Combined Cadet force and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme continued to be significant features of school life.

Sport continued to be important in school with the 2023-24 season being one of the most successful in the school’s history. Hockey had an incredible season with the Girls 1st XI winning ‘the treble’ of the Belfast Telegraph Ulster Senior Schoolgirl’s Cup, the Wooden Floor Company Ulster Super League and the Kate Russell All Ireland Schoolgirls’ Tournament. This all Ireland competition was hosted by the Royal School, meaning that hundreds of young people and teachers came from all across Ireland for a wonderful festival of school hockey. The boys’ 1st XI competed in the McCullough Cup.

In rugby the 1st XV were finalists in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools Subsidiary Shield, with teams at various age grades reaching the advanced stages of numerous competitions. Girls’ rugby is developing strongly at school.

In bringing his report to an end the headmaster thanked the leavers for how they had contributed to school life. He reflected on how they had been educated during a pandemic and how at that time they ‘key workers’ were those whom society had often previously overlooked. They became key not because what they did was glamorous but because it was essential to our survival, and he hoped that school had taught them to value the ordinary things as they had the potential to change lives.

Professor Hewitt-Dundas then addressed the school. Her speech drew on her own time at school, how she had been supported throughout and how she came to study for a PhD in Economic Geography. She said that while she had not been a brilliant academic at school, she had taken three As away with her: Aspiration, Ambition and Acceptance. She then developed some thoughts around these. In her final remarks she encouraged pupils not just to decide they wanted to do something but to actually go ahead and do it.

An Old Armachian Society Medallion was awarded to the Girls 1st XI hockey team for being the first team in the school’s history to win ‘the treble’. The citation was read by Miss Ruth Nicholson President of the Old Armachian Society.

A vote of thanks was then ably proposed by the Head Boy, Thomas Dougan. Thomas thanked Professor Hewitt-Dundas for giving of her time to be present at Speech night and drew specific attention to aspects of her speech. Professor Hewitt-Dunas was then presented with a gift on behalf of the school.

After the ceremony parents of leavers and prize-winners enjoyed refreshments with staff and Governors in the Crozier Hall, rounding off a special evening for all involved.