St Paul’s dancers retained their title at Newry Feis and received three first positions in Senior Dance, Intermediate Dance and Senior Duet categories. At a special award ceremony, St Paul’s also received a cup for gaining the highest mark in their section.

On Saturday 20th April, the girls also travelled to Belfast to compete in the Ulster Dance Championships, receiving a second and two third positions in the Senior Dance section, Intermediate Dance section and the Junior Aerobic category.

Mrs Hughes spoke of the dedication and determination of her students as she said “Their commitment to dance is commendable.”

“The girls put in a lot of hard work and effort in preparation for these competitions and the girls should be so proud of all their accomplishments.”

The Intermediate Dance Team who received first place in Newry Feis on 12th April and received a cup for the highest mark in their section. They also received 3rd position in their category at the Ulster Dance Championships.

The Senior School Dance team who received 1st in Newry Feis on 12th April and 2nd in the Ulster Dance Championships on 20th April.

The Junior Aerobic team who received 3rd in the Ulster Dance championships.

Vice-principal of St Paul’s High School, Mrs Una McNulty congratulates Danielle Hughes-Quinn, Emily Shields and Ashlee Hughes who have been selected to represent the school on the Northern Ireland Youth Dance Team.

Congratulations to three Year 12 students at St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook who auditioned and were selected for the Northern Ireland Youth Dance Team. Danielle Hughes-Quinn, Emily Shields and Ashlee Hughes were chosen from girls from over thirty post primary schools to represent St Paul’s High School on the squad.

The three girls will now be involved in rigorous dance training sessions for international competitions and displays.

PE and Dance teacher at St Paul’s, Mrs Catherine Hughes, spoke of how proud she was of the girls’ achievement and how she looks forward to supporting the girls and the team at the upcoming events.

St Paul’s Senior Dance Team which won the Senior Dance and Senior Aerobic categories 

Junior Dance Team that represented St Paul’s at the recent dance Competition 

The Ulster Dance Championships were held in the Belfast Model School for Girls on Saturday 28 April.

St Paul’s High School competed in the Senior Dance and Senior Aerobic categories and won both sections. They also gained 2nd place in the Junior Dance category.

Dance teacher at St Paul’s, Mrs Catherine Hughes spoke of the dedication and determination of her students. “Their commitment to dance is commendable.”

“It was not just with luck the dancers won these competitions; it took many hours of practice and a lot of hard work. These girls should be so proud of all their accomplishments.”, said Mrs Hughes.

Intermediate Dancing Team 

Junior Dancing Team

The Northern Ireland Championships were held in Lisburn Leisureplex on Saturday 10 March. Over eighty teams participated in the competition, making it the largest School Dance Fitness Competition Event to date.

St. Paul’s High School competed in the School Dance Championship competing in 3 out of the 4 sections. They received 2 runners – up titles in the Intermediate Aerobic and Dance sections and a third position in Junior Dance.

Mrs Catherine Hughes spoke of the hard work, dedication and determination of the dancers. Their commitment to dance is commendable.



Pictured above: Back Row – Sinead McKenna, AOibhinn McGuinness, Mr. Mooney, Aoife Malone, Leanne McGuinness,
 Front Row – Ciara Bannon, Jarlath Burns, Una McNulty, Ciara Murphy

Saturday next promises to be a very special one for six pupils from St. Paul’s Bessbrook when they represent their club St. Killian’s Whitecross at the All Ireland final of Scór na nÓg in Castlebar.  The girls have been practising hard for many months and the school wishes them all the best.  Last Monday, they received the ‘Gradam Naomh Pól’ award for students who distinguish themselves in activities outside of school.  Speaking at the presentation, the principal Mr. Mooney commented, ‘We are always proud of our pupils, but when they excel themselves in their efforts for thuir community or club, it is important that we acknowledge their achievements. The girl’s mothers also represented their club, winning many Armagh titles and both vice principals in the picture represented their clubs in Scór at All Ireland level in the Tráth na gCeisteanna, or quiz.

St Paul’s Science students demonstrating an experiment to a P7 pupil and a parent at Open Day. 

St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook held its annual Open Day on Saturday 25 January.  Prospective pupils from Primary 7 classes in our feeder primary schools and their parents visited the school in large numbers.  They were guided around the school by our current Year 8 and Year 9 students and shown the different departments, getting a flavour for what the school is about.

Principal Mr Oliver Mooney addressed parents and pupils on the day.  A video of Mr Mooney’s address is available below.

Prospective parents and pupils of St. Paul’s can watch the video to experience a virtual tour of the school.

A selection of photographs from Open Day 2012 are visible below.

Head of PE & Sport at St Paul’s High School, Mr John Rafferty, welcomed a large crowd of students and parents to the Annual Sports Awards at St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook.  Mr Rafferty introduced the crowd to the platform party which included Mr Joby Burke, Armagh County Hurling Goalkeeper, Mr James Daly, past pupil of St Paul’s and current Armagh Ladies Senior team manager, and Mr Jarlath Burns, Vice-principal of St Paul’s.

Mr Rafferty made the following remarks before the presentation ceremony

“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go”

“This can often be seen in practice most evenings around 5pm as the car park in St Paul’s is filled to capacity with parents waiting to lift their sons and daughters following the numerous training sessions throughout the year. All schools celebrate winning an Ulster title so St Paul’s can be proud of a year that saw their boys and girls deliver five Ulster titles, three Northern Ireland Dance wins and saw St Paul’s Netball grow to become the leading force in the Newry and Mourne Netball region.  Gaelic games are the corner stone of the extra curriculum sport programme in St Paul’s and this year the ladies football teams walked away with three Ulster titles with two winning teams at Under 14 level and an Under 12 blitz win as well.”

“The under 14 ‘A’ girls won the ladies equivalent of the prestigious Corn na nÓg for being a first for any ladies team in St Paul’s. “

“There was success for the boys as they were led to the schools first hurling title by Mr Joby Burke, current Armagh county keeper, at both Under 16 and Under 13 level. At an individual level Aoife McCullough and Aimee Mackin were honoured with Ulster Ladies Colleges All Star Awards and St Paul’s provided 3 of the Armagh minor team which reached this years Ulster Final. The girls were presented with their awards by past pupil of St Paul’s and current Armagh ladies manager James Daly.”

Congratulating the pupils on their success and their parents for their continued support, Vice-principal Mr Jarlath Burns pointed out that had the boys been successful in their Loch An Iúir and Mac Larnon finals that there might not have been enough room on the stage for the medals.

He thanked the pupils for their commitment to the school teams and encouraged them to repeat the effort in their future sporting and academic trials. He continued outlining that St Paul’s had become the yardstick for both Northern Ireland Dance competitions and Netball in the Southern Education and Library Board regions. Following the presentation of the medals to the successful teams Mr Burns thanked the staff for their commitment to helping the pupils realise the benefits of participating in extra-curricular sport and experiencing first hand the benefits of hard work.

Pictured is the Netball team who received awards for Netball Northern Ireland Area Winners and Newry and Mourne Winners.  The students are pictured with Mrs Paula O’Hare-Armstrong.

Pictured are the Hurlers who received awards for Hurling (Reta Cup).  The students are pictured with Mr Joby Burke (Armagh County Hurling Goalkeeper) and Vice-principal Mr Jarlath Burns.

Pictured are the Ladies Footballers who received awards for the equivalent of the prestigious Corn na nÓg award. The students are pictured with Miss M Downey, Miss M McNamee, Mrs J Simpson, Mrs A Hollywood and Mr James Daly (Armagh Ladies Senior Manager).

Pictured is Gemma McKeown who received an award for Key Stage 5 Netballer of the Year and Commitment to Netball Award. Gemma is pictured with Mrs Paula O’Hare-Armstrong and Mr John Campbell (Chair of Governors).

Pictured are the Junior and Senior Northern Ireland Dance Group who received the Ladies All Star award. The students are pictured with Turlough McNally (Past Pupil).

Pictured are Aimee Mackin, Aoife McCullough who received awards for Ladies All Star Footballers and Caolan Rowntree who received an award for Poc Fada. The students are pictured with Mrs Freda Mackin, Mr Michael Mackin, Mr James Daly (Armagh Ladies Senior Manager), Mr John Campbell (Chair of Governors’), Mrs A Hollywood and Mr Damien McCullough, Mrs J Simpson and Miss M Downey.

As part of our fundraising efforts for St Paul’s International Projects, we hosted two Grand Variety Concerts in October, featuring staff, students and friends of St Paul’s.   They were both fantastic nights and our cameras were there to capture the highlights from the night. Scroll down to see some photos and videos from the night.

Act 1: The Murphy Family Traditional Group

Act 2: Year 12 Student Daryl Gallogly Performs a Queen’s  ”Radio GaGa”

Act 3: Year 10 Student Karyn Feehan sings “Your Song” by Ellie Goulding

Act 4: St Brigid’s Accordian Band, Jonesboro perform one of their routines

Act 5: Past pupil Megan Burns Sings Slán le Máigh (A Traditional Irish Air)

Act 6: Tara O’Hanlon Recites a poem, called “The Inch War” by Alesha McSwiggan

Act 7: Mother & Daughter Act (Jamie & Sharon Larkin)

Act 8: St Paul’s very own African Drum Ensemble

Act 9: Our very own Kevin Kearney

Act 10: The Rooney O’Malley School of Irish Dancing

Act 11: Crossmaglen Student Sionan Murphy takes to the stage and performs “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri

Act 12: Year 10 student Moya Strain took to the stage and performed “No One” by Alicia Keys

Act 13: Rock Band, The Attic perform “Animal” by Neon Trees

Act 14: St Paul’s Girl’s Choir sing “I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin

Act 15: Year 11 student Emily Shields sings ‘Pie Jesu’, accompanied by her mum

Act 16: Past pupil and All-Ireland Scór Champion, Niamh Devine, recites an extract from ‘Moll’ by John B Keane

Act 17: St Paul’s Senior Dance Team

Act 18: Staff Novelty Act

The N.I. Champions were held in Lisburn Leisure Plex on saturday 12th March.  Over 100 items participated in the competition, making it the largest Dance Fitness Competition Event to date.

St Paul’s High School competed in the school Dance Championship competing in 3 out of the 4 sections.  They won 3 titles in Junior Aerobic, Intermediate Aerobic and Intermediate Dance and were named ‘School of the Competition’.

Natasha Crummy, Danielle Gilmore, Shauneen Mallon and Orla Magennis performed as members of the N. Ireland Youth Dance Team at the competition.  Well Done Girls!

Ms. Catherine Hughes (coach) spoke of the hard work, dedication and determination of the dancers.  Their commitment to dance is commendable.

The intermediate dance team that preformed in the N.I. Championships are invited to compete in the UK Sectional Heats on Friday 8th April in the Antrim Forum.  This is a tremendous honour for the school

The squad now face another series of gruelling training sessions in preparation for this competition.