Sports
St Patrick’s Academy offers a wide variety of extra-curricular sporting activities, which pupils may avail of for competitive or health/ recreational reasons.
Activities are fully-supervised and coached by members of the teaching staff, and operate from 3.30pm – 5.00pm on designated weekdays.
Local and national competitions are entered in all sporting activities, which are open to both male and female pupils within any year in the school. Age categories in competitions tend to allow for a separate Year 8 team in most activities.
GAA
Gaelic Sports
The Academy prides itself on a well-earned reputation in sport. Our sporting pedigree is something we value and celebrate as a school community, and we have a number of experienced and dedicated teachers within our staff that coach and manage teams in a wide variety of sports. In addition, we have a full-time Gaelic coach who will assist and challenge players to achieve their full potential across all our traditional games. We are committed to providing the best sporting opportunities for all our pupils.
Our Year 8 girls are encouraged to represent the school in Ladies Gaelic football. Training commences in early September until Halloween mid-term and resumes in the summer term. 68 of our present Year 8 girls have registered to play and attend weekly training sessions. Two teams have already participated in an Ulster Schools blitz and acquitted themselves well showing great promise in the sport.
Our Senior ladies compete in the topflight whilst it was our U.16 team who took pride of place in 2022 and were unfortunate to get knocked out at the semi-final stage of the Ulster Championship last year. We have two U.14 teams competing in Ulster schools so there are numerous opportunities to develop your skills in this sport. Following the success of Lana Sheehy and Lára Devlin as 2022 All Stars, we hope to see more awards in the future for our senior ladies.
Our Year 8 girls are encouraged to pick up the camán early in their first year and will compete in Ulster schools’ competitions in the summer term. Our Camogie teams have a proud record in Ulster competitions at all age groups, but the Senior Camogs made the breakthrough on the National stage in 2019 finishing as runners-up in the All-Ireland Final.
Promoted in Ulster, the 2020 senior team went on to win back-to-back Ulster titles and following an All- Ireland semifinal replay, went on to lift the All-Ireland title for the first time in our school history. Our senior success continued in the 2022 season with a fiercely contested Ulster final win to lift the Fr. Davis cup for only the third time in our history. A narrow defeat in the All-Ireland Semi-final brought the curtain down on a highly successful season for our senior camogs.
Our U16 and U14 teams took pride of place in the 2021/22 season with both teams winning Ulster titles and competing in the higher divisions this year. Following the 2022 success of Lára Devlin as an All Star we were delighted that Eva Cullen has been recognised in 2023 with a Camogie All Star.
As the boys move through each year, they are entered into a variety of competitions, including:
- Year 8: The Martin O’Farrell Blitz
- Year 9: D’alton Cup & Brother Ennis Cup
- Year 10: Corn na nÓg & Gerry Brown Cup
- Year 11: Oisin McGrath Cup
- Year 12: Rannafast Cup
- Year 13 & 14: MacRory Cup
Hurling is also a prominent sport in our school life. Teams play at Ulster Colleges level and over the years several of our students have been recognised with Provincial All-Star awards with Fionn Devlin being a recent recipient in 2020. We are proud to have a number of our past and current pupils playing key roles for their county teams. This year our senior hurlers are making great progress and have recently qualified out of their casement shield group and progress to the quarter-final stage of the competition.
Our Teams
Other Sports
Basketball & Netball
One of the most popular sports in the Academy, basketball, is offered to boys and girls in all year groups. We have had notable success at provincial and All Ireland level over recent years.
Athletics
If you are interested in athletics, our recently formed club has gone from strength to strength with increasing numbers of participants and growing success. The club consists of students from Year 8 to Year 12, with boys and girls competing at Local, District and Ulster level.
Our Teams
Other Sports
Soccer
Our Year 8, 9 and 10 pupils compete in a number of soccer competitions including the Mid-Ulster Leagues for schools, the Mid-Ulster Cup and the Northern Ireland Cup. Once our students reach Year 13 and 14, they also have the opportunity to play in the highly prestigious senior Northern Ireland Cup.
Golf
Our senior and junior golf teams take part in Ulster Golf competitions, testing themselves against the best local golfers in the Irish Schools’ Matchplay championship, Ulster Junior Championship and Ulster Scratch Championship.
Sport Facilities
1
fitness suite
1
dance studio
1
all-weather pitch
1
astro-turf pitch
2
fully equipped gym
3
grass pitches
4
tennis courts
Music
Enjoyment & Enrichment
The value of music in the Academy lies in its contribution to the enjoyment and enrichment of our pupils’ lives. The high-quality music education we offer enables lifelong participation and enjoyment of music, as well as providing the foundations for those who choose to pursue a career in music. With a choice of instrumental and vocal ensembles, St Patrick’s Academy offers students a range of opportunities to develop their talents.
The school orchestra, string ensemble, Irish traditional groups and senior and junior choirs foster the musical talents of our pupils and provide entertainment at various school functions. Their talents are also appreciated by the wider community, as we participate in Carol Services, Spring Concerts, and many other events and competitions.
The Music Computer Suite provides students with opportunities to be creative and expressive and experience the professional world of music technology with access to iMacs. In preparation for their exam performances, our music students take part in evening recitals and are encouraged to take every opportunity to develop their talents to the full.
Drama
Physical & Vocal Skills
All Year 8 pupils take a drama module. The focus of lessons is on developing physical and vocal skills, working in pairs and groups. Techniques such as improvisation, mime, role-play, hot-seating and freeze-frames are practised; participation and enjoyment of drama is very much the aim in Year 8. Classes take place in the Drama Suite which is fully equipped with blackout curtains, tiered seating, Green Room, lighting and sound.