Education Fund

How do you extend those students whose potential is high and simultaneously support those who find some parts of the curriculum difficult? It is to meet these challenges in that the St Patrick’s College Foundation has established in 2010 its Education Fund to support the teaching and learning in the College.

Four education initiatives have been designed to encompass those challenges, that all Colleges face, but which we want to do something about here at St Pat’s

1. Teacher Professional Development: Good teaching leads to good learning. The best teachers are those who are able to reflect on their practice, adapt to meet the needs of their students and are always looking out for the best way to engage their students in learning.

2. Old Boys Tuition Programme: One of the most effective ways of helping to raise student achievement is through one-on-one mentoring or tuition. The opportunity to spend some quality time with a qualified person makes a big difference to the learning of students.

3. Mathematics and English Support: The focus in education at present is in raising the Numeracy and Literacy capacity of students. This means giving them the support they need to reach their potential in these areas. Evidence shows that being able to group students around ability levels can be useful in achieving this. The College has introduced a banding system for English and Mathematics in Year 9. This sees groups of students doing English or Maths at the same time and being split into four groups (rather than three, which is the norm). This enables students to work in ability groups and to have programmes directed to their needs.

4. Scholarship Programme: In Year 13 (Form 7) students have the possibility of sitting Scholarship exams in a particular subject. These have a different level of difficulty to NCEA Level 3. These are prestigious achievements and are targeted at those students who have a high level of ability in that subject.

Please click here to view the full Education Fund brochure which explains how you can help with these initiatives.