St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook() is an all-ability, co-educational

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

located on the outskirts of

Bessbrook Bessbrook ( Irish: ''An Sruthán'') is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles (5 km) northwest of Newry and near the Newry bypass on the main A1 Belfast-Dublin road and Belfast-Dublin railway line. Today t ...

near

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

. It is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

-maintained day school for boys and girls aged 11 to 19, with a pupil population of over 1550 (including a Learning Support Centre for pupils with special educational needs) and is one of Ireland's largest post-primary schools. The school is managed by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the Education Authority (EA). St Paul's High School is a heavily over-subscribed school with an annual admissions number of under 300 pupils.

Location

The school is situated on the main

Camlough Camlough ( ; ) is a village west of Newry in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village is named after a lake, known as the Cam Lough. South of the village is Camlough Mountain (or Slieve Girkin), part of the Ring of Gullion and is designated ...

road (A25). The school was extensively rebuilt and refurbished with a £17 million grant from the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. The new school was officially opened on 25 January 2007 by Archbishop

Seán Brady Seán Brady or similar names may refer to: * Seán Brady (cardinal) (born 1939), Irish cardinal and former archbishop of Armagh * Sean Brady (fighter) (born 1992), American mixed martial artist * Seán Brady (Teachta Dála) (1890–1969), Fianna Fá ...

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

, and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

, on the feast day of The Conversion of

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. The renovation of St. Paul's won the Construction of Excellence Award. The

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

, visited St Paul's on 9 November 2006 to mark the completion of the extensive renovation of the school. Former Principal Oliver Mooney, was named Northern Ireland Headteacher of the Year in the 2010

Teaching Awards ''The Teaching Awards'' is an annual teacher awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. In 2008, the awards were hosted by Jeremy Vine and Myleene Klass. In 2009, the awards were hosted by Jeremy Vine and Christine Lampard. In 2010, Lenny Henry prese ...

. His last day at St. Paul's was 18 December 2013. Armagh GAA footballer Jarlath Burns was appointed as Principal of St Paul's, effective 1 January 2014.

Academics

The school was designated a Specialist College for Science, by the Department of Education in 2008, was awarded the BECTA

ICT Mark The Self-review Framework is an online tool that schools in the United Kingdom can use to assess and benchmark their use of technology ( ICT). It enables schools to identify where they are and shows the practical steps they can take to improve thei ...

, and became a Centre of Excellence for ICT in 2009. The Education and Training Inspectorate of the

carried out a Standard Inspection at St Paul's High School in January 2016 and reported that the school was 'outstanding' in all areas (Achievements and Standards, Provision for Learning and Leadership & Management). In 2018, 57.4% of its entrants achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including the core subjects English and Maths. Also in 2018, 64.6% of its entrants to the A-level exam achieved A*-C grades.

Notable former pupils and staff

Eamon Collins Eamon Collins (1954 – 27 January 1999) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army member in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He turned his back on the organisation in the late 1980s, and later co-authored a book called ''Killing Rage'' detailing ...

(1954–1999), author and

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

volunteer *

Dominic Bradley Dominic Bradley ( Irish ''Doiminic Ó Brolcháin'' ) is an Irish former Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Newry and Armagh from 2003 to 2016. As an MLA, he was the SDLP ...

(born 1960),

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (MPs ...

politician and MLA for Newry and Armagh (2003–2016); schoolteacher *

Jarlath Burns Jarlath Burns (; born 1968) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer and current president of the GAA. His league and championship career at senior level with the Armagh county team spanned thirteen seasons from 1987 until 1999. Career Burns deb ...

(born 1968),

Armagh GAA The Armagh County Board () or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The county board is resp ...

captain;

school principal A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role ...

* Mairead McKinley (born 1970), actress *

Susan Lynch Susan Lynch (born 1971) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is known for her role in the 2003 film '' 16 Years of Alcohol''. Her other film appearances include '' Waking Ned Devine'' (1998), '' Nora'' (2000), '' Beautiful Creatures'' (200 ...

(born 1971), actress *

Conor McGinn Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a British and Irish politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North from 2015 to 2024. Early life and education Conor McGinn was born on 31 July 1984 in Camlough, County ...

(born 1984), Labour MP for

St Helens North St. Helens North is a constituency created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by the Labour Party's David Baines since 2024. Boundaries 1983–2010: The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens wards of Billinge and Sene ...

References

External links

St Paul's High School Virtual Learning Environment, 'Oscail 24/7'St Paul's High School on FacebookSt Paul's High School on Twitter (@stpaulsbbrook)St Paul's High School Videos on Vimeo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls High School, Bessbrook Secondary schools in County Armagh Catholic secondary schools in Northern Ireland Educational institutions established in 1966 * 1966 establishments in Northern Ireland