Engineering Futures

In the last academic year some of Y8C spent 10 weeks participating in a Sentinus programme called Engineering Futures. Under the direction of Mr Rolt, an undergraduate from Queen’s University, the pupils designed and built futuristic vehicles. 

The 15 pupils who took part in the scheme, run during Technology, were awarded their Bronze Crest Award. Four pupils, Anastacia Beattie, Edie Crawford, Charlie McClements and Ethan McCoy were judged by Dr O’Hara from Sentinus to have the best design and the best presentation. These pupils, along with Mrs McIlwaine, attended the Sentinus Young Innovators award ceremony, held at UUJ on 23rd June. Although the team didn’t gain further success with their design it was a very interesting and valuable day. The pupils took part in workshops and were interviewed by a wide range of judges from local industry. 

Ethan McCoy, Charlie McClements, Edie Crawford and Anastacia Beattie

Loft Gallery exhibition

We were truly honoured to have been invited by the Council to hold an exhibition of pupils’ work in the Loft Gallery, Portaferry from 7 - 29 June. The exhibition, aptly entitled Transition, encapsulated the artistic development of students from year eight to year fourteen, by showcasing the finest examples of their work.

Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work was included showing the wide variety of creative experiences we provide for our pupils. Selecting and preparing work for the exhibition proved very difficult as we are privileged to teach a high number of exceptionally motivated and able pupils.

Only a small amount of the suitable work could be taken, as the Loft Gallery is quite small. Eventually work was chosen from each year group, with the exception of Yr 11. It was decided not to include this, very talented, year group as they are in the middle of coursework and we did not want important examination work damaged.

Regardless of the constraints above we did manage to squeeze in the work of more than 75 students and we were delighted with how well the work looked when exhibited in this beautiful gallery.

Simon Stevenson and Maeve Hanna 

Working being enjoyed by the public

In particular, we would like to thank Heather Parker and Sharyn McMaster from Ards and North Down Borough Council for all their help and guidance. Furthermore we were all extremely proud when we received such positive feedback about the high quality of the artwork on display. This exhibition has given our pupils a unique opportunity to see their work in a professional gallery setting. The encouragement and inspiration that this provides cannot be underestimated. 

GCSE Geography fieldwork

From June 15, Regent House GCSE Geographers will be making their annual pilgrimage to the Shimna River in the Mourne Mountains to carry out their GCSE coursework data collection. 

Fieldwork is a key part of the Geography curriculum and adds to the enjoyment of the subject, whilst developing skills that are transferrable to life beyond the Geography classroom. The results that are gathered on their day in the river will be used to create a report under controlled conditions. This report is worth 25% of their final GCSE mark.

Geography classes will be out of school on the following days:

Tuesday 15th June
Wednesday 16th June
Friday 19th June

Junior maths challenge

Regent House pupils from Years 8 and 9 recently took part in the Junior Maths Challenge run by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT). The challenge involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour and is sat in school under normal exam conditions.

Ewen Bell, Gary Cunningham, James McNinch, Filip Misiarz, Stephanie Lyons, Caleb Stuart and Paige Irvine

The gold certificate winners are pictured above. James McNinch, 9A deserves a special mention as he was top in the school and received an invitation to take part in the Junior Kangaroo, a more challenging round.