Heading to China

Presentation Evening is a fantastic night for catching up with everyone's news. Topping it all this year is the news that Gavin Henderson has won a placement in China, and I have to apologise for not having the wit to spell the destination correctly. He won his placement through competitive presentations at Napier University where he is studying in Edinburgh. We look forward to hearing what he is up to and to learning all about China. This is a really fabulous opportunity.

Good to See John

Kevin ran into John Benson at the Oppenheimer gig. John is studying biomedical Engineering at the University of Ulster and really enjoying it. Great to hear.

Spotted on a Bus

We were delighted and intrigued to hear that Nicky Shannon was spotted on a bus in Leeds looking smart, healthy and happy. We would love to see you Nicky and catch up with your news.

Alicia Cries with Envy

Joeleen Lynch is on her year abroad from Aberdeen University at the University of Guelph in South West Ontario studying history of art She is having a ball and got to see polar bears in a nature reserve - she loves her polar bears. she finishes her course in April but is staying on until June to work and travel. She will be meeting up with her old classmate kathrun Denvir, studying English and Japanese at Leeds University. Kathryn heads off to Tokyo on Tuesday for six weeks to stay with some university friends. Then she heads off to New Zealand for a week in Auckland on her way to Los Angeles in the US where she will start her five month Zig Zag tour of the USA (this is where Alicia goes green with envy!). she will eventually meet up with Joeleen in New York and then head back to Leeds.

Candle at Both Ends

Matthew Gould called in to update us on his year out so far. He has been in Meridan in Mexico, working in a school, in Uganda building classrooms and doing youth work, and he is already booked in to work for Camp America. How did he do all that? When he gets all this done, he'll be off to take up his place at Queens.

A Real Surprise

I received a real surprise of an email this week, from Anne Marie Mueller. Anne Marie is a Shimna Old Scholar of sorts! She came to stay in Newcastle as part of our exchange programme with our German partners, the Am Thie Grammar School in Blankenburg. She is now a medical student in Berlin, and would love to come back to Newcastle and to do a medical residency in a hospital within travelling distance. I am trying to find out what I can about securing such a placement. Anybody able to advise me?

Leanne Comes Back to us

We are delighted the Leanne Spiers will be back in our art department for a five week placement. It will be great to see her, and great for our students to meet up with first hand experience of art college.

Three Visitors

It was great to see Katie Dalton back with us for a couple of days. Katie has returned to live in England and is capitalising on her excellent GCSE results from Shimna as she follows through with her A level courses at her new school. On her last day, Neil McKay and Sean Smith called in to tell us how they are getting on with their plumbing course and placements. All three look great, and it was great to catch up with their news.

Rebecca and Paul Take Over

Today's the day that Old Scholars Rebecca Murphy and Paul Swail take over the running of our Duke of Edinburgh's'President's Award group. In the year of Naebh Dunn collects Gold, it's great to see things turn full circle.

for Fear of Leaving Anyone Out

The formal is the best event of the year for catching up with the gossip, and this year there were so many people their with stories to tell that I would be too scared of leaving anyone out if I started naming names. There is an amazing range of careers and lives and families and children going on out there. Clare Murphy is working hard on our new Webalumnus site, which will be linked into our main website. It is a really sophisticated site for keeping everyone who ever went to Shimna in touch with us and with everyone else who went there. More news as soon as it's ready. I really hope that we keep up the tradition of the formals of staying in touch with everyone, whatever they decide to do in life.

Ryan Loves Liverpool

Ryan O'Hare is loving his course in Business Studies and Computing at Liverpool Hope. I am mad with envy. I had one year of postgraduate work at university in Liverpool, and loved it too.

Sean's Joinery Success

Sean Delaney called up to pay for his formal tickets, looking healthy and happy, and more than half way through his training as a joiner.

Laura joins Iberia

Hot off the press comes news that Laura O'Hare has just secured a job for herself with Iberia airline, teaching languages to their staff. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity. Free flights for relatives? friends? ex-teachers?

Rebecca Back from Texas

Rebecca Cunnningham paid a state visit this week to meet our A level biology students to tell them about her fantastic year of study in Texas. She returns to Queen's University this year to complete her degree in biomedical science. Potential plans include returning to Texas, which she loved, to work for a PhD. It was great to see her, and her infectious enthusiasm will inspire our current crop of A level biology students.

Baby Blue Eyes

Donal Ferris called to tell us he has graduated in Media Production from the University of Bedfordshire, having thoroughly enjoyed his course. He has taken up an internship at a company called "Baby Blue Eyes Productions" based in Drury Lane in London. He is really happy and will continue to live in Luton.

Another First

It's been a great week for visitors. Zoe Hall, nee Woolsey, had just heard that she has achieved a first class honours degree in Nursing from Queens. She has also just scooped an excellent post in the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald. She is married to Jonathan, living in Annalong and is really happy. She is going to work as a staff nurse and has an option on midwifery training to move on to if that is what she decides on. She'll be coming in to talk to A level students about her course and training.

Conal got in touch

See below about running into Ryan McCabe. Conal Magee called in to see us this week, looking terrific, happy and fulfilled. His story of how he found his way is really interesting, and we fully intend to have him in to talk to our media students and music students. He'll have careers advice to share, and skills and new stuff developed during his degree course at Hull. He has loads of creative projects underway, just what our students need to hear about.

Complaint from the Cookie Jar

Anne Herron has found herself without the summer help from Philip. He is enjoying his maths degree so much that he ended up working at Queens all summer too. Great to hear he is enjoying the course so much after all his hard work.

The Valentine Quinns

Shea Valentine Quinn turned up smiling yesterday - son of Sinead and Patrick, now all living at the Fin. Sinead tells us that Anne Marie is still engineering with the Roads Service, Anthony is a mechanic and Patrick is working with him, and Brendan is earning lots of money. Great to meet Shea, who is curly and smiley, a double Shimna baby.

A criminologist at heart

Eleanor McGlue left Shimna with excellent A level grades to join the police. However, the recruitment process took so long that she took herself to university after all to study criminology. She is loving the degree course, and now intends to join the police through the graduate recruitment programme.

Carl in Dundee

Carl Greer has been in touch and has successfully completed first year of his degree in Mental Health Nursing in Dundee. It takes real commitment to build up the work experience required before you even begin to qualify for this career, and it is one of the most important careers in our society.

Ryan and Conal

Great to run into Ryan McCabe, founder student, who has fulfilled his ambition to work with engines, and now works on the DDC diesels. Anyone remember Ryan in the racing car on stage in the Annesley Hall as part of our very first Christmas production? He had news of Conal Magee, who sounds to have found his vocation in Scarborough, qualifying in things to do with sound and production. Get in touch, Conal, and explain it all.

David's Graduation

Met Assumpta Barr, looking terrific, who tells that David graduates next week, hot on the heels of the birth of his wee daughter Emily.

Lucy is at Norbrook

Lucy Harvey is on placement at Norbrook in Newry, as part of her degree in human resource management. She says that she is learning loads. So often a placement year can make sense of all that you study in the years at college, and give you ideas about how you can use your learning after graduation.

Niamh Dunn and the uses of Archeology

Don't let anyone ever put you off a degree course by telling you you will be unemployable. Niamh Dunn has just graduated in Archeology and is heading for a prestigious graduate placement with the Fire Service. This is a massive achievement and Fire Service statistics show just how hard it is to get through their selection process. Study what interests you, and have faith a good degree in your enthusiasm will demonstrate your brains and adaptability.

The Gorgeous Olivia

It was a particular pleasure to see Olivia Moore when she called in for her Record of Achievement. She has just graduated from Manchester in Childhood Studies and Youth Work. She is heading off to travel for a while before heading to Birmingham to follow up a career in youth work. No better person. Olivia has overcome very serious illness en route to success and it was wonderful to see her looking so well.

Old Scholars working at Shimna

It has been great this year to have James Magee with us working on our support staff. James graduated last year from Liverpool in Sports Studies and ICT, and is gathering experience en route to a PGCE and teaching career. Rebecca Murphy also has a degree in Sports Studies, this time from Manchester Metropolitan, and also her PGCE as a fully qualified PE teacher. She has been working with us this year both on the teaching and support staff, and next year will work with our students on the Key Programme. Paul Swail, who graduated in Adventure Management, is the tutor running our GCSE PE expedition work this week. We are sure Carla, his sister, and lots more of her year group, must have graduated this year. More when we catch up with them. Fiona Elsholtz, herself studying art at Glasgow University, has a job serving the strawberries and cream at Queens, so she will be able to update us on who graduates there!

Dean at the Barbecue

Great to see Dean Irwin at the barbecue for new year 8s, with his gorgeous daughter Amy. Dean has graduated in Computer Science from the University of Ulster. There with him was his mother, and Shimna governor, Sylvia, who you might remember was one of our very first graduates from Queens, having taken her A levels with Shimna's Parents' Council class. Good to see Noel looking well again after his recent accident. We still remember his nervous phonecall to Murlough House to see if Shimna would be suitable for his wee son. Dean's brother Ross has also been a regular at Shimna events over the years.

More and more

and of course there is Laura O'Hare graduated in Applied Languages (German and Spanish); Catriona Lennon in geography; Karen Bennett in business and Spanish; Selena McConkey opening her own business in Downpatrick; Tanya Ireland on placement with Cooperation North....

Derek Calls in and we Meet Nicky

Good to see Derek Smith looking healthy and happy when he called in last week. He's in the army now, stationed back in his native Scotland. We ran into Nicky Scott, who is delighted to be back working with stone again.

First Class Honours Degrees

We are always delighted to meet up with or hear from Shimna Old Scholars, wherever they are and whatever they are doing. At this time of year, news starts to roll in of degree results and graduations. Two top achievements have come to our notice this week, with Leah McAtamney achieving a First Class Honours degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Ulster and Daniel Carden in Journalism from the University of Sheffield. We look forward to swanky photos and news of what you plan next. This kind of news is a great start for our Old ScholarsBlog.