Celebrating Excellence at Loreto College Senior Prizegiving Ceremony 2025

On September 11, we held our annual Senior Prizegiving Ceremony, which celebrated the outstanding achievements of our Year 12–14 students for the academic year 2024–2025. Many students were recognised for their accomplishments across a wide range of categories, including:

· Top academic performance in individual subjects at GCSE and A Level

· Overall academic achievement across all subjects

· Personal and interpersonal qualities

· Contributions to the wider school community

Mr Gallagher opened his speech by acknowledging all the wonderful students at Loreto College. He commented that whilst some selected students from Year 12 – 14 had been invited along, it was very important for us to acknowledge that we are extremely proud of all our students and if we had a bigger Assembly Hall we could easily fill it twice over to recognise the achievements of so many more of our students. He acknowledged the dedication and hard work of all staff and Governors, who play a vital role in shaping the students’ experience. Mr Gallagher also expressed sincere gratitude to parents for their continued support throughout the year, and most of all, he thanked the students for their cooperation and commitment.

The ceremony also featured a special address by guest speaker Dr Debbie Rankin, a distinguished past pupil of Loreto College. Now a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and a leading figure in Artificial Intelligence research at Ulster University, Dr Rankin shared insights from her academic journey and career, encouraging students to pursue their passions with confidence and resilience.

The evening acknowledged some of the incredibly impressive academic performances across GCSE, AS and A Level.

Once again this year, our Year 14 students achieved outstanding results in their A-Level examinations. 89% of all A Level grades obtained by the Year 14 students were grades A*- C. All but a very small handful of students got into the university courses of their choice.

GCSE results were also extremely impressive with 96% of students in the year group gaining 5 grades A*-C or better, with 85% attaining at least 7 A*-C grades. 

Some of the most notable academic performances included:

At A Level:

Sinead Close – 99% in Maths

Aisling McIntyre – 98% in Geography

Tom Magee – 95% in Physics

At AS Level:

Mia Campbell - 100% in Economics and 100% in Maths

Dubhla Mullan – 100% Irish, 97% Biology and 93% in her History

Zara Chan - 100% in Maths

Molly Mullan – 98% Geography

Also at AS Level, where A*s are not awarded, 4 students got 4 straight As in their AS exams:

Mia Campbell, Zara Chan, Dubhla Mullan and Tess Mullan.

At GCSE some top performances in subjects included:

Art - Aoife Dempsey - 100%

Further Maths - Aoife Dempsey – 99% and Eoghan Black 96%

Maths – Sam Staats Howard and Aoife Dempsey – 100%

Geography - Aoife Dempsey 97% and Joshua Young 96%

Irish – Mary Mullan and Aoife Dempsey – 97%

Biology – Joshua Young – 94%

English - Aoife Dempsey – 93%

RE – Erin O’Reilly – 99%

Spanish – Elzton Kingston – 96%

Some of the evening's special award winners are included below.

Special Recognition Awards in Sport

GAA All Star Award: Aine McAlister

Senior Footballer of the Year: Ethan Devlin

Sports Person of the Year, recipient of the Louise McLaughlin Trophy for outstanding contribution to Sporting

Life of the College: Niamh Harmer

Special Awards

The Teresa Ball Trophy for Commitment and Spirit: Aoife Maguire

The Kathleen Toner Memorial Cup: Daniel Lawlor

The Ciara McLaughlin Memorial Cup: Dominik Sobocinski

Loreto Joy Award: Katie McAleese

The Principal’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in GCSE:  Aoife Dempsey (10A* grades at GCSE)

The Principal’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in A-Level: Sinead Close (3 A* and 1 A grade at A Level)                                     

For outstanding contribution to the Loreto Ethos in GCSE years: Talent Maguma

For outstanding contribution to the Loreto Ethos in A Level years: Jack Maguire

Deputy Head Boy: Ethan Devlin

Deputy Head Girl: Sinead Close

Head Boy: Con McLaughlin

Head Girl: Connie McBride

The Senior Prizegiving Ceremony served as a powerful reminder of the values at the heart of Loreto College: excellence, community, and personal development. The College extends its warm congratulations to all prize winners and looks forward to another year of growth and achievement.

Celebrating Excellence at Loreto College Senior Prizegiving Ceremony

Last week, we held our annual Senior Prizegiving Ceremony, celebrating the outstanding achievements of our Year 12–14 students for the academic year 2024–2025. Many students were recognised for their accomplishments across a wide range of categories, including:

· Top academic performance in individual subjects at GCSE and A Level

· Overall academic achievement across all subjects

· Personal and interpersonal qualities

· Contributions to the wider school community

Mr Gallagher opened his speech by acknowledging all the wonderful students at Loreto College. He commented that whilst some selected students from Year 12 – 14 had been invited along, it was very important for us to acknowledge that we are extremely proud of all our students and if we had a bigger Assembly Hall we could easily fill it twice over to recognise the achievements of so many more of our students. He acknowledged the dedication and hard work of all staff and Governors, who play a vital role in shaping the students’ experience. Mr Gallagher also expressed sincere gratitude to parents for their continued support throughout the year, and most of all, he thanked the students for their cooperation and commitment.

The ceremony also featured a special address by guest speaker Dr Debbie Rankin, a distinguished past pupil of Loreto College. Now a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and a leading figure in Artificial Intelligence research at Ulster University, Dr Rankin shared insights from her academic journey and career, encouraging students to pursue their passions with confidence and resilience.

The evening acknowledged some of the incredibly impressive academic performances across GCSE, AS and A Level.

Once again this year, our Year 14 students achieved outstanding results in their A-Level examinations. 89% of all A Level grades obtained by the Year 14 students were grades A*- C. All but a very small handful of students got into the university courses of their choice.

GCSE results were also extremely impressive with 96% of students in the year group gaining 5 grades A*-C or better, with 85% attaining at least 7 A*-C grades. 

Some of the most notable academic performances included:

At A Level:

Sinead Close – 99% in Maths

Aisling McIntyre – 98% in Geography

Tom Magee – 95% in Physics

At AS Level:

Mia Campbell - 100% in Economics and 100% in Maths

Dubhla Mullan – 100% Irish, 97% Biology and 93% in her History

Zara Chan - 100% in Maths

Molly Mullan – 98% Geography

Also at AS Level, where A*s are not awarded, 4 students got 4 straight As in their AS exams:

Mia Campbell, Zara Chan, Dubhla Mullan and Tess Mullan.

At GCSE some top performances in subjects included:

Art - Aoife Dempsey - 100%

Further Maths - Aoife Dempsey – 99% and Eoghan Black 96%

Maths – Sam Staats Howard and Aoife Dempsey – 100%

Geography - Aoife Dempsey 97% and Joshua Young 96%

Irish – Mary Mullan and Aoife Dempsey – 97%

Biology – Joshua Young – 94%

English - Aoife Dempsey – 93%

RE – Erin O’Reilly – 99%

Spanish – Elzton Kingston – 96%

Some of the evening's special award winners are included below.

Special Recognition Awards in Sport

GAA All Star Award: Aine McAlister

Senior Footballer of the Year: Ethan Devlin

Sports Person of the Year, recipient of the Louise McLaughlin Trophy for outstanding contribution to Sporting

Life of the College: Niamh Harmer

Special Awards

The Teresa Ball Trophy for Commitment and Spirit: Aoife Maguire

The Kathleen Toner Memorial Cup: Daniel Lawlor

The Ciara McLaughlin Memorial Cup: Dominik Sobocinski

Loreto Joy Award: Katie McAleese

The Principal’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in GCSE:  Aoife Dempsey (10A* grades at GCSE)

The Principal’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in A-Level: Sinead Close (3 A* and 1 A grade at A Level)                                     

For outstanding contribution to the Loreto Ethos in GCSE years: Talent Maguma

For outstanding contribution to the Loreto Ethos in A Level years: Jack Maguire

Deputy Head Boy: Ethan Devlin

Deputy Head Girl: Sinead Close

Head Boy: Con McLaughlin

Head Girl: Connie McBride

The Senior Prizegiving Ceremony served as a powerful reminder of the values at the heart of Loreto College: excellence, community, and personal development. The College extends its warm congratulations to all prize winners and looks forward to another year of growth and achievement.