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Registration is now open to years 8,9,10 &12  for our Ski Trip 2025. Please download the information booklet and complete the online registration form ASAP to secure a place.

Please find attached the Positive behaviour policy which is now out for consultation until Monday 15th January 2024. If you have any comments please contact the school before the closing date via info@chs.cookstown.ni.sch.uk

Massive congratulations to our U14 girls who are Junior Superleague champions. We are very proud of your achievements well done.

Winter Exams are drawing closer. This is the provisional timetable and the finalised timetable will be sent via Parent App closer to the exams. Years 8, 9, 10, 13 & 14 : Exams begin Wednesday 22 Nov and finish Tuesday 28 Nov. Years 11 & 12 : Exams begin Tuesday 21 Nov and finish Wednesday 29 Nov.

Friday 27th Oct for Year 8, 13 & 14 Please see attached letter for details.

Cookstown High School’s annual Prize Day was held on Friday 22nd September in the Millar Hall of Cookstown High School. It was a wonderful celebration of the success, achievement and hard work of the pupils and was magnificently supported by prize winners, staff, parents and friends of the school. The guest of honour at the proceedings was Dr Stephen McAdoo, a former past pupil of the school. Stephen is Consultant Nephrologist at Hammersmith Hospital and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Inflammatory Diseases Imperial College London. The Rev M Currie opened Prize Day in prayer and the chair of governors, Mrs Dripps, addressed the audience, welcoming new members of staff who have joined the school and conveyed her thanks to those members of staff who have retired or gone on to new opportunities. Mrs Dripps stated her sincere thanks to all of the staff especially for the way in which they ‘work tirelessly to ensure that young people are taught well and also in supporting and encouraging them to build upon their gifts, reach their potential and grow in to being the confident young adults that our community needs. Pupils are given so many opportunities in sports, music, finding new interests to build on the knowledge and skills that they have’. Governors were thanked for their support and the many hours of work that go on behind the scenes. ‘It was with great sadness that for the first time in over 60 years – Mr Robert Stevenson MBE was not present having passed away last November. A former teacher and Vice Principal, Mr Stevenson loved being able to celebrate the life of Cookstown High School, long after he retired’. Mrs Dripps concluded her speech by stating the educational challenges in the current landscape, undermining of the Christian ethos and the potential impact upon the school and society and the need to protect the future of our children and their education. Following Mrs Dripp’s address, the Principal expressed her thanks to governors, chair of governors, parents, staff, and community of Cookstown High School. She also acknowledged the work of the senior prefects and former Head Boy and Head Girl. Miss Evans outlined the importance of the Christian Ethos and school values being intrinsic in every aspect of school life and the ever-increasing importance of community. She emphasised the importance of a sense of connectedness: being part of something bigger than ourselves – working together to provide an outstanding preparation of students in readiness for adulthood, which is at the heart of Cookstown High School. Miss Evans reiterated the importance of the development of honourable character with grace, integrity, humility, and compassion underpinning every feature of their lives. ‘Academic outcomes at Cookstown High School continues to be very impressive with pupils achieving above national expectations and should inspire and motivate all pupils to achieve their personal best consistently throughout the year.’ The Principal also acknowledged the hard work of pupils, staff, and parents. ‘At A level 48% of all grades achieved by pupils were A* or A grade, surpassing the N Ireland average of 37.5%. 100% of Year 14 pupils have gone on to university, employment, apprenticeships or taken a gap year. The majority of pupils secured their first preference at university reading subjects such as Architecture, Law, History, Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics. At GCSE, success was equally impressive with the proportion of grades across all subjects at A* and A grades at 36% and 61% A* - B grades.’ Miss Evans congratulated everyone in their accomplishments. During her speech, Miss Evans expressed concerns about the ‘under-investment in education over the last 10 years, as funding per pupil in N Ireland has reduced by over 10% in real terms. Such budget reductions have impacted all schools across N Ireland’. Nevertheless, the Principal stated ‘our children deserve nothing less than the best and necessity of providing a high-quality education in a dynamic, stimulating, and digital environment which meets the needs of the 21st century working world’. ‘Cookstown High School has been blessed and encouraged by the support of the community in providing practical skills, personal time, volunteering skills and resources as well as very generous financial support. Support for school refurbishment, a cross country trail and improved ICT facilities have taken place through the generosity of the community. The ‘Future Ready Programme’ has been established through the huge support of local businessman, Seamus McAleer. The prolific author, Helen Keller commented, “Alone, we do so little; together, we can do so much”. ‘School numbers are at the highest level for over 12 years and opportunities for pupils continue to expand and serve to broad our students’ interconnectedness of learning and our community. One of the key challenges for society is trying to keep pace with the rapidly expanding digital world and with the additional considerations of Artificial Intelligence. This year pupils have had a wonderful opportunity to work with Queens University staff to develop IT coding, computer programming and have worked on a cyber security project with the RAF.’ ‘A superb new integrated careers digital platform called PeopleHawk which enables pupils to plan and prepare for their careers having up to date access to employer information, developing personal skills as well as preparation for interviews has been an excellent addition to the Careers programme’. ‘As a school founded upon Christian principles, we believe that we must show compassion for those in need, and charity work in support of local, national, and international community has increased this year.’ The Principal thanked staff, pupils and parents for their support and generosity. This year a total £12,163 was raised for the following organisations: Ewastini Choir, Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, Air Ambulance, Turkey-Syrian Earthquake appeal, Women’s Aid as well as practical donations for the Shoebox appeal. ‘One of the key highlights of the year was the opening of the school’s new 1-kilometre cross-country trail called the ‘King Charles Trail’ in honour of the coronation of King Charles III. Hamilton Contracts and Stanley Bell and Sons quarries were thanked for their generosity and support in constructing the trail. Lady Mary Peters, the first NI Olympic gold medallist opened the new track which was then followed by a meet and greet event with the school community. The event culminated with Mrs Allen interviewing Lady Mary about her reflections of her own life, career and sharing experience and wisdom to the audience as well as to Nick Griggs and Grace Carson – now past pupils, who have an incredible running career ahead of them. ‘Last term, also saw the school hold an excellent day with a garden fete to commemorate the King’s coronation. The community were able to enjoy a variety of sporting activities and events as well as competitions, stalls, and local musicians. It was a great day with the community spending time together, connecting and building those all-important friendships.’ ‘Broadening student horizons and community even further, as well as enriched experiential learning and creating lifelong memories, many pupils have had the opportunity to benefit from international cultural and sporting visits to London, the Somme, and San Valentino as well as exchange visits from schools in Finland and the Netherlands and more visits are taking place this year again.’ ‘The Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award continues with students commencing their summer holidays by embarking on their final expedition ‘climbing every mountain and fording every stream in Donegal’ – a nod to our forthcoming musical taking place on 17, 18 and 19 October. We are delighted that our Gold Award students are now in the process of finishing it off and look forward to them receiving their presentations next year.’ ‘Hockey, a key feature of school life, saw a remarkable year across the school with excellent success at every level for boys’ hockey. Strong performances across all teams led to the U13 pupils winning the Bannister Bowl against Banbridge Academy, and the U14 pupils winning the Ferris Cup against Royal Belfast Academical Institute. Cookstown High School took on Sullivan Upper First XI in the Burney Cup plate final and whilst we didn’t win, it was a great match. This year saw the boys make the long journey to Cork to play in the prestigious All Ireland tournament. The All Ireland’s is a four-group tournament with the top 16 1st X1 teams in Ireland, the boys’ performance was excellent and valuable experiences were gained.’ The Year 8 Girls’ Hockey Team were congratulated in winning the west of Ulster League and the Henderson Trophy, and the Intermediate Netballers won silver medals at the NI Bowl finals. ‘There are a plethora of other sports such as golf, badminton, table tennis, horse show jumping and rugby, all of which have seen good success throughout the year. We look forward to our sportsmen and women going from strength to strength this academic year. ‘During the summer term a staff v sixth form football charity match took place with the entire school watching on. Staff hopes were dashed when the anticipated victory did not happen; nevertheless, it was a fantastic day.’ The Principal encouraged the audience to read the annual online school magazine which provides a more detailed account of the last year’s events. After the singing of ‘In Christ Alone’, prize winners were acknowledged for their success and achievement in the previous academic year and their accomplishments were recognised with individual awards. The audience then sang, ‘Crown Him with many Crowns’ after the distribution of awards. The Senior Girls’ Choir sang ‘Mr Blue Sky’ followed by a rendition of ‘All of your tomorrows’ by Casey Burns and Pippa Coulter. Dr McAdoo’s address reflected on his career journey in medicine, and the importance of people who supported and encouraged him through it. He highlighted his experiences and the impact that using skills and talents can have on a diverse range of lives. Dr McAdoo encouraged pupils to take all opportunities, to explore their learning wider and he supported this with examples from his prolific career. Luke Haycock, Head Boy, thanked Dr McAdoo for his reflections and encouragement of students during his insightful speech and Leandra Frank, Head Girl then made a presentation to Dr McAdoo. The Rev M Currie closed the afternoon in prayer and the ceremony concluded with the singing of the school anthem. The afternoon was a lovely occasion to celebrate with the entire school community all of the achievements across a range of subjects and activities, as well as an opportunity to appreciate the input of staff, parents and the wider community.

All the best to our 7 U16 hockey players who have been selected to play for the Ulster U16 team who play against Munster on Sunday in the interprovincial series. This is a great achievement to have so many players in the team. Congratulations Matt, James, Ed, Ethan, Issac, Benjamin and Charlie.

Cookstown High School win Bannister Bowl on Penalty Runs Cookstown High School u13…2 (Stanley Jackson & Noah Cuddy) Banbridge Academy u13…2 (Daniel McKee & Owen Dobson) (Cookstown won on Penalty Runs) Cookstown High School won their second Ulster Schools Cup in a week when they defeated Banbridge Academy in a hotly contested final at Havelock Park. This was a brilliant cup run by the High School defeating Killicomaine Junior High School, Friends School Lisburn, Campbell College and RBAI on the way to the final. The High School went into the game as underdogs having previously lost to the Banbridge school earlier in the season, but the locals started well immediately putting the Banbridge keeper under pressure. Joshua Ferguson who is improving every game was causing Banbridge real problems down the right-hand side. Cookstown took the lead in the 14th minute when year 8 Stanley Jackson scrambled the ball home after confusion in the Banbridge defence. Cookstown then scored a second after a well worked penalty corner routine paid off. The goal was scored by Noah Cuddy who had a fantastic week scoring the winner in the Ferris Cup and another in the Bannister Bowl. Cookstown forced some further opportunities but just couldn’t get the third. Banbridge had some sporadic attacks, but the back four of Ben Barbour, Charlie Costelloe, David Cuddy, and Will Redford were all having brilliant games. In the 24th minute Banbridge got their first penalty corner of the game, and the ball was flicked home well by Daniel McKee. After the break, Banbridge started to bring a lot more pressure to the Cookstown Defence, but Captain Charlie Costelloe continued to be the mainstay in keeping the score line the same. Bobbi Robinson was doing a good job at keeping Daniel McKee quiet and TJ Kelly was providing a good outlet down the left-hand side. Banbridge forced their third penalty corner of the game in the 41st minute and this was expertly charged down by Costelloe, unfortunately the skipper had received an injury to his knee and had to leave the field. During this time Banbridge got their equaliser through another flick from a corner and it was backs against the wall defending to force the game into penalties. Marcus Gillis and Joshua Ferguson were the heroes in Penalty Runs, Marcus saving every penalty and Joshua scoring the all-important winner. When Gillis saved Banbridge’s last Penalty he was surrounded during the pitch invasion of jubilant High School supporters who had witnessed another important piece of silverware being returned to the Coolnafranky school. This is the first time the school have won both the U13 Schools Cup and U14 Schools Cup in the same season, and it illustrates the work that is being done to put the High School hockey back where it belongs as one of the main forces in Schools Hockey. THE ROAD TO THE FINAL Killicomaine Junior High School…0 Cookstown High School…8 (Noah Cuddy 3, Stanley Jackson 3 & Charlie Costelloe 2) Cookstown High School…6 (Callum Hewitt 3, Charlie Costelloe, Joshua Ferguson and Noah Cuddy) Friends School Lisburn…0 Cookstown High School…1 (Noah Cuddy) Campbell College…0 Cookstown High School…2 (Charlie Costelloe and Stanley Jackson) Royal Belfast Academical Institute…0 Banbridge Academy…2 Cookstown High School…2 (Stanley Jackson and Noah Cuddy) Cookstown Squad Noah Cuddy (Vice Captain), 2. TJ Kelly, 3. David Cuddy, 4. Ben Barbour, 5. Charlie Costelloe (Captain), 6. Mathew Cunningham, 7. Will Redford, 8. Bobbi Robinson, 9. Callum Hewitt, 10. Joshua Ferguson, 11. Stanley Jackson, 12. Harry Jordan, 13. Ross Taylor, 14. Luke Johnston, 15. Caleb Crooks, 16. Matthew Buchannon, 17. Marcus Gillis (GK) & 18. David Nelson (GK) Pen Portraits: Noah Cuddy (Vice Captain) Year 8, Noah Cuddy is an exciting prospect and can play anywhere on the pitch. He was the top scorer in the cup run and scored in both the Ferris Cup and Bannister Bowl in the same week. TJ Kelly Year 8, TJ Kelly is a very skilful midfielder who works very hard at his game. David Cuddy Year 9, David is an excellent man to man marker and has really improved this season. He is very athletic and is an important defender for the team. Ben Barbour Year 9, Ben has improved so much this season and is an excellent right back. He is a very good tackler can read the game well and is a good athlete. Charlie Costelloe (Captain) Year 9, Charlie is a superb player who critical to the success of the team, he is a very calm tackler, never loses out on a 1v1 battle and controls the pace of the game. Charlie had excellent back to back finals in both the Ferris Cup and Bannister Bowls. Mathew Cunningham Year 8, Matthew is a very good defender and can play anywhere across the back four. Will Redford Year 8, Will is the teams left back and is a very good tackler and distributer of the ball. He was important in the CHS outlet during the final. Bobbi Robinson Year 9, Bobbi is the teams centre midfielder and is very good at retaining the ball. He had an excellent final keeping their main player quiet for large periods. Callum Hewitt Year 9, Callum is a neat and tidy midfielder / forward and has some nice skills. He score a hattrick in the quarter final. Joshua Ferguson Year 8, Joshua is the teams flying winger and has really improved this season. He is a smart player who has setup loads of goals this season. Stanley Jackson Year 8, Stanley is an important goal scorer for the team and scored a hat trick in the first round and the first goal in the final. Harry Jordan Year 8, Harry is a fast forward who knows how to score, will be a very important player in next year’s Bannister Bowl team. Ross Taylor Ross is a very strong defender or midfielder and has really improved this season. Luke Johnston Year 8, Luke Johnston is a very good defender and is improving every session. Caleb Crooks Year 9, Caleb is a very smart player who can read the game well. Has scored some important goals this season. Matthew Buchannon Year 9, Matthew is a fast midfielder / forward with some lovely skills. Marcus Gillis Year 8, Marcus was the hero in final saving every penalty run. Marcus has worked very hard this season to improve his goal keeping and has a big future in the game. David Nelson Year 9, David is an excellent shot stopper hardly conceding a goal all season. He is very calm and an important member of the squad. CAPTAIN CHARLIE COSTELLOE “What a brilliant day we had lifting the Bannister Bowl against Banbridge Academy in Banbridge. Our team has really improved from the start of the season and we knew we were underdogs going into the final, but we have quality in our team that will cause any opposition problems. It was a good game and Marcus was class in goals during the penalty runs.” HEAD OF SPORT MICHAEL HAYCOCK “The thing that stands out to me about the U13 team is that they all work together to play hockey the right way. They are an excellent passing team, and they have scored some brilliant goals this season, in particular the winner versus R.B.A.I. in the semi-final. Charlie Costelloe has been a very good captain and had an excellent game in the final. The boys have worked hard all year and considering that the starting XI contained six year eight pupils it shows that we have real strength and character coming through the school. PRINCIPAL MISS G EVANS “What a fantastic week for Hockey for our School. We had three boys’ teams in finals with two of them bringing home School Cups. It was fabulous to see such enthusiasm, hard work and character from our pupils. At our school we pride ourselves in promoting “team-work” and all three squads exemplified that ethos. Well done to all the squads and their respective coaches.”