On behalf of Jones House, I would like to give a warm welcome to all the new pupils joining this year.
Despite a frustrating result in the House Championship (4th place), we were very competitive, finishing only four points behind the winning house. Highlights included Senior Sports Day, where we finished 1st. Strong performances were also shown at Junior Sports Day, where we came a close 2nd. Success was also secured in volleyball and badminton.
During this year, many pupils were involved in a wide array of activities both in and outside of school. In Year 8, Ben Macafee represented Ulster Hockey at an U13 tournament in Nottingham, while Jude Lowry played for the Linfield U13 football team that went on to win the NIFYA Cup, while also being selected to be a goalkeeper for the NI U15 Futsal team.
In Year 9, Ted Geary qualified for the Northern Ireland Equestrian Festival in Cavan in May and subsequently was selected to represent NI at the Junior International Tetrathlon Championships in Warwickshire. During the summer, Aaron Sloan won a Drama Scholarship with Talent Inc in the USA, which enabled him to rehearse and develop his skills to compete in an audition in front of agents in May 2026.
In Year 10, Micah Cleland was selected for the Ulster U16 Rugby Development squad and in Hockey, Josh Gill represented the Ireland U16s in an 8-nation tournament in Holland. Zak Larmour played for the Ulster U16s in the Interprovincial tournament and travelled with the UK Lions squad to Malaga and Rotterdam.
In year 11, Christopher Allsop travelled to Prague to represent Ireland in the U15 Table Tennis competition, winning Gold in the team event. He also got the opportunity to travel to the Czech Republic in July to compete at the European Youth Championships. The Year 11 rugby team enjoyed a successful season, winning the Medallion Shield – Adam Sloss, Leo Cunningham and Xander Conn were members of the squad.
In Year 12, Elliot Magowan was a member of the 2nd XV Schools’ Cup winning team and was selected to play in the Inter-provincial tournament with the Ulster U18 team. Furthermore, Tsai Rainey was a member of the1st X1 hockey squad that won the McCullough and Burney Cups and also the 2nd X1 team that won the Prior Shield; he was also selected for the Ulster Schools Athletics team to compete in the Discus. Marcus Watson captained the school U16 football team that won the Belfast Plate competition. In Cricket, Ben Walsh played for the Ireland U17s as well as the NCU U17s and then travelled to India and was an important member of the Schools’ Cup winning team.
In year 13, John Cunningham was Vice-Captain of the Irish U18 team that competed in the B Division European Championships in Turkey, finishing the tournament as top goal scorer and Player of the Tournament. John was also selected for the Ireland U21 squad and was training for the U21 World Cup in India, while also being selected for the Ireland Senior Men’s A squad, a remarkable achievement for a player still at school! At club level, John was also a member of the Lisnagarvey 1st X1 squad that won the Irish Senior Cup and IHL League. John, James West, Jack Mayne and Jacob McIhatton were all members of the 1st X1 team that won the McCullough Cup and Burney Cup – John was named “Man of the Match” in both finals. In addition, Jacob was selected for the Ulster U18 squad and was named 1st X1“Player of the Year” at Instonians HC.
Charlie O’Connor was selected for the Ireland U18 squad and played in the Six Nations tournament in Vichy, France. After this, he also toured South Africa with the U18s, playing a three-test series. Oliver Howe-Joyce and Matthew Elliott were members of the 2nd XV that won the Cup. Peter Elliott, Owen Walker, Adam Middleby, Ross Montgomery and John Fullerton from Year 13 were members of the school 3rd XV Plate winning team. James West was Vice-Captain of the Ireland U19 Cricket team that played a series in Zimbabwe and he captained the NCU and Ireland U17 teams. James also played in the Schools’ Cup winning team.
Aside from sporting success, the Year 13 group illustrated their versatility: Finn Mantell visited the Indian Christian Mission Centre in Tamil Nadu where he helped in an Orphanage; Luke Heffernan also attended a camp with Scouting Ireland in Wisconsin; Matthew Elliott travelled to Cania in Moldova with Exodus to assist with community work and volunteered as a youth worker.
We would also like to recognise and highlight the strong academic achievements this year. At GCSE level there were some pleasing results, including Ethan Howe-Joyce with 7A*s and 3As; Marcus Watson achieving 5A*s and 5As; Louis Campbell with 3A*s and 7As and finally, Joey Bradford-O’Kane with a 9, 2A*s, 6As and a B.
The academic success continued with the Year 13 group who produced remarkable AS-Level marks, such as newly-appointed Deputy Head of School and Head of School, John Cunningham and James West, who both achieved 3As; Oliver Howe-Joyce with 2As and 2Bs; Luke Heffernan and Jack Gibson who both achieved 2As and a BTEC qualification and Harry Blencowe with an A and 2Bs.
At A2-Level, the Year 14 group excelled, with many achieving noteworthy results: Luke Acheson with 3A*s and an A; Yago Azuara-Lois 3A*s; Thomas Green with 2A*s and an A; Cameron Colgan an A* and 3As; Callum Grant with an A* and 2As; William Geary and last year’s Head of School George Craigan both achieved 3As; Youssef Abdelfattah attained 2As and a B.
In conclusion, on behalf of all the students, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr Wilson and the tutors for their unwavering support throughout an excellent academic year. I extend my best wishes to everyone, and I trust that this year’s impressive results will be equalled, if not exceeded in the year to come.
