On Friday 24th October 2025, Ballyclare Secondary School proudly hosted its annual Celebration of Success Afternoon, a joyful celebration of student achievement, dedication, and excellence. The event brought together staff, students, and families to honour those who have gone above and beyond in academics, sports, leadership, and community service.

A wide array of prizes, honours, and trophies were presented, recognising outstanding accomplishments across all year groups. From subject-specific awards to special commendations for resilience and citizenship, each recipient was applauded for their hard work and positive impact.

The afternoon was filled with inspiring moments, heartfelt speeches, and a strong sense of pride in our school community. Congratulations to all our award winners—you continue to set a shining example for others to follow!

Kori Curran (Year 8) travelled to Galway over the weekend to compete in the World Championship of Irish dancing. She achieved an impressive 3rd place in the Primary Championship and secured 5th place in the Intermediate Championship. Well Done Kori!

In Technology Club, Year 10 have been hard at work repurposing pallet wood to design and build beautiful outdoor planters.

Each one is unique, and the results are truly impressive.

Well done to everyone involved — your craftsmanship and eco-conscious thinking really shines through!

The NI library service has been working with organisations like the BBC to highlight this week as Book Week (https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ejn6gw). Our own library has had lots of interest in our new titles and our contribution has been to highlight the work of the ever popular author Anthony Horowitz. Think Alex Rider and you’re there with his best bits! These students from our junior school have enjoyed their experience with our display materials and we’d love to see more students tell us about their favourite authors too.

Ballyclare Secondary School show jumpers top of the podium again with two firsts.

85cm Team consisting of Ana Goodrich and Isla McKinty finished on a score of 0 placing first, ahead of strong competition from other teams.

Isla also competed in the 1m as an individual and, for the second week in a row won the class.

We’re sending a massive THANK YOU to @dougiesgoodiesbakery for their generous cake donation to support our Cash for Kids fundraising campaign!

But that’s not all…

Things got competitive with a House Cupcake Decorating Challenge!

Our Heads of House rolled up their sleeves and got creative, all in the name of fun and fundraising — and of course, to earn those all-important house points!

It was an assembly full of laughter, sugar, and school spirit — all for a great cause.

The Year 9 Hockey Team travelled to Ballymena Academy to compete in the NEBSSA Tournament. The girls put on an outstanding performance, securing four wins and one draw to finish as overall winners!

This marks the second year in a row that our school has retained the Year 9 NEBSSA Championship title — a fantastic achievement!

Congratulations to all players and coaches on their hard work and success!

Please find below our Weekly Communication Bulletin for Parents and Carers, and other important information, which has been sent out to you via Sims App.

BSS will be running our annual house pumpkin carving/painting contest over the next week. This is open to all pupils in Years 8-14. Carved/painted pumpkins should be brought into school on Wednesday 22nd or Thursday 23rd October and left with Mr Latham (PE dept). All pumpkins should be clearly labelled with the pupil name, year group and house. Judging will take place on Thursday 23rd.

1st place earns 4 points for their house, 2nd place earns 3 points, 3rd place earns 2 points and 4th place earns 1 point.

Happy carving !!!!