History
Founded in 1891, St. Patrick's Academy was, for its first three years, a boys' school. From September 1894, the Sisters of Mercy undertook the teaching of students in preparation for the Intermediate board's examination. The Girls' Academy was based in a single room in the newly-built Mercy Convent on Northland Row.
Both schools moved to new premises on Killyman Road in September 1901; the Academy building was to be the home of the school for the next seventy years. The Boys' Academy was always led by the clergymen appointed by the Tyrone Roman Catholic Board of Education, while the Girls' Academy was led by a senior member of the Sisters of Mercy.
The Academy eventually outgrew its home on the Killyman Road. In 1975, the two schools moved to a new building on the Killymeal Road. Although housed in the same building, the Boys' Academy and Girls' Academy were two distinct and separate institutions. The phenomenal growth in the student numbers and need to provide the very best educational provision has resulted in the formal amalgamation of the Boys' and Girls' Academies with effect from 2003.
Throughout it's one hundred and twelve years, St. Patrick's Academy / Acadamh Naomh Pádraig, has been a vital part of the educational, culture and religious life of Tyrone.
Aims As members of the school community of St. Patrick's Academy, we will strive to work in harmony to:
- Nurture our Catholic faith;
- Celebrate our Irish culture;
- Appreciate and respect all cultures;
- Experience a stimulating, challenging curriculum;
- Establish an ethos of support and encouragement;
- Respect ourselves, each other and our shared environment;
- Achieve our full potential;
- Develop as confident, independent, self-motivated, life-long learners;
- Work in partnership with parents/guardians;
- Contribute actively to the wider community.
School Mission Statements We believe that we will help our young people to succeed by providing them with opportunities to:
- Become actively involved in individual and collective worship and in practical Christian living;
- Experience high quality, well resourced teaching;
- Evaluate their own learning and focus on areas for improvement;
- Work collaboratively with their teachers and their peers;
- Participate in a process of personal development;
- Develop their self-esteem and respect for others;
- Participate in a rich, diverse programme of extra-curricular activities, cultural, sporting, recreational and environmental;
- Develop an understanding of society at local, national and global levels;
- Prepare for the workplace;
- Develop habits of good attendance and personality;
- Develop their ability to become effective learners through the application of their ICT skills.
In addition: Emphasising the importance of St. Patrick as the patron of our school, we will endeavour to be:
- P - Partners in the pursuit of excellence
- A - Achievers who reach their full potential
- T - Teamworkers, who value the contributions of others
- R - Respectors of human dignity
- I - Inspirers, who set good example
- C - Creators of a caring and generous community
- K - Keepers of the faith and tradition.
|