The Owl 2020

The Owl 2020
Distribution of Prizes
invaluable interview practice for university
admissions and exposure to many professions
by attending Careers Fairs, talks by BRA
alumni and conventions organised by the
dedicated Careers Department.
Our Pupil Council, elected each September by
the full pupil body, worked through the course
of the year on behalf of all pupils within the
School. Their leadership has seen an increase
in charity fundraising initiatives, contribution
to Anti-Bullying Week through assemblies and
further development in our catering provision
for all pupils.
The Registration Prefects, Prefects and Senior
Prefects all play a similar role in leading and
contributing to the well-being of our School
community through their active involvement
in the life of their peers and younger year
groups. I would like to pay tribute to the
sterling contribution made in the smooth
running of the school by the Head Girl, Eva
Hayward, Head Boy, Lorcan Convery, Deputy
Head Girls, Olivia Donaldson and Olivia
Quinn and Deputy Head Boys Nik Kane and
David Russell. The willingness of all of these
groups of pupils to give of themselves for the
betterment of others and the community at
large, stand as positive examples of active
citizens expressing themselves within the
overall life of the School.
Through all of these examples, and there are so
many more that could be given, we see our
pupils learning and developing outside the
classroom as a component of their overall
development as people. Young people, who
are up for a challenge, confident enough to try,
thrilled if they succeed but able to derive
satisfaction through participating and giving
their best.
A great sense of service has been demonstrated
by our fabulous parent-teacher association,
Friends of the Academy in numerous social
and fund raising events throughout the year,
including a table quiz, Welcome Breakfast for
our new Form 1 parents and staff and the very
popular uniform sales. The highlight of the
FOTA calendar was the hugely successful
fashion show in early February which featured
a number of fashion outlets modelled by pupils
and staff. The finale showcased the work of
former pupil Nicola Glass who is the New
York-based designer for Kate Spade. The
evening brought together the whole school
community, created a fantastic atmosphere,
highlighted the work of a very worthwhile
charity, Outside In, which supports the
homeless and raised very welcome funds for
the school. We are indebted to all members of
FOTA who worked tirelessly over a number of
months to bring this event to such a successful
conclusion.
“There are decades where nothing happens,
and there are weeks where decades happen.”
-Vladimir Lenin.
Week beginning 16th March 2020 was such a
week. Amid the announcement that the
Government had taken the decision to close
schools from Monday 23rd March and to
cancel all public examinations, everything had
to change. Our new way of norm has changed
so much and a great deal of what we had
previously taken for granted has changed out
of all recognition.
Belfast Royal Academy has endured many
challenges since its foundation in 1785
including, in the last century, the First and
Second World Wars in which many former
pupils made the ultimate sacrifice and the
ravages of the Troubles when the School
community was tested repeatedly yet never
found to be wanting. What defines us across
the ages, is the spirit with which successive
generations of Academy pupils and staff have
responded to challenge, rather than the
intrinsic nature of these challenges themselves.
Staff and pupils quickly adapted to online
learning using the Google Classroom platform
with lessons and assemblies posted online. In
addition, we held virtual parents ’information
evenings, a virtual Sports Day and online
quizzes throughout this period of lockdown.
All of this contributed to provide academic and
pastoral support to all pupils throughout the
Spring and Summer terms. There is no doubt,
that pupils embraced digital technology with
speed and enthusiasm and, in some case,
improved their independent learning skills.
However, we were acutely aware that remote
learning is a poor substitute for face-face
learning and how much our pupils missed out
on interactions with staff and their peers,
involvement in extra-curricular activities,
attending school trips and residential
opportunities and the camaraderie that comes
from being a member of a large, vibrant
community.
The closure was, perhaps, felt most keenly by
the MVI Leavers who did not enjoy all of the
traditional rites of passage including the
Leavers ’Dinner. However, we were able to
organise a farewell lunch consisting of pizza
and ice-cream and a year-group photograph to
provide some positive memories of their
truncated last year of school. Our MVI leavers
are just at the start of their personal journeys in
life and I hope that the values fostered in
Belfast Royal Academy and by their families
will help them with all the decisions they will
make. On behalf of all the staff and Governors,
I wish our leavers health and happiness in their
road through life. We thank them for the
contribution they have made to the Academy
throughout their school careers and look
forward to hearing about their experiences in
the future.
The School is a very quiet and soulless place
without the noise and energy of our pupils and
we were so delighted to welcome pupils back
at the end of August. As the public
examinations were cancelled in April by the
Minister of Education, pupils received Centre
Assessment Grades (CAGs) as their
examination results at GCSE, AS and A2 level.
The ensuing examination grading debacle has
been well documented since results day in
August. For the record, my colleagues and I
feel a deep sense of frustration that, having
rigorously and robustly followed the
processes, in the knowledge that
standardisation was intended to ensure
consistency, the statistical model did not then
work out and had to be abandoned. There are
many lessons to be learned from our collective
experience this year at ministerial level, within
examination boards and at individual school
level to ensure that our current Form 5 and
Sixth Form pupils are not disadvantaged as a
result of the situation this year.
Our priority for this year is to ensure the health
and well-being of all members of our
community, to provide full-time face-face
education for all of our pupils for as long as we
are able to and to create the conditions for our
pupils to thrive despite the very difficult
circumstances we all find ourselves living in. I
am confident that we will be able to fulfil this
commitment due to the values and
commitment demonstrated by all the teaching
and support staff throughout the first period of
lockdown and since the pupils returned to
school in August. Staff, pupils, parents and
Governors are an integral part of the collective
responsibility that binds the Academy together
and which provides cohesion and strength to
our whole school community.
Day in, day out, over the past tumultuous year,
the teachers have gone above and beyond, to
help pupils learn and grow, not just as students
of their subject but as active, enthusiastic and
responsible young people. The same is most
certainly true of our support staff, who step up
to whatever challenge face them, with good
humour and generosity. On behalf of all the
Belfast Royal Academy pupils and parents, I
would like to thank all of my colleagues for
everything they have done over the past year in
service of our pupils – all of their endeavours
are very much appreciated. A particular thank
you to the Vice Principals – Dr Brown, Mr
Wilson and Ms Graham - who have been a
huge support to the School and to me
personally.
Finally, I would like, on behalf of the school
community, to say a huge thank you to our
fantastic Board of Governors who put in so
many unheralded, unpaid and largely
unrecognised hours on behalf of the pupils.
2020 will be remembered as the year of the
pandemic – when we all learned to live with
new and heightened anxieties, to adapt our
normal way of working and amend our
procedures for key events and activities. We
have learned much about ourselves and others
and how we respond to a time of crisis. We
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