Principal’s Welcome
WELCOME TO STRABANE ACADEMY
Thank you for taking the time to view our website.
It was Aristotle who said that,
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Within these pages we have tried to capture something of the spirit of school life and convey the sense of pride we feel in being part of this community. As you view our website, look out for the many opportunities that we provide which help students develop positive habits for life.
It may be how we extend learning beyond the classroom; through sports, Languages, Duke of Edinburgh, opportunities to travel abroad, practical life skills such as wood working and the culinary arts, work-based learning, leadership opportunities and the school council all of these are enriching on many levels.
Discover how we integrated the arts and STEM within the curriculum. How we educate the whole child, encouraging all pupils to enrich their lives and learning through the study of Art, Poetry, Drama, and Music as well as in Mathematics and through the Sciences.
We are very much a part of this community, a small school, with a great family spirit which is committed to equality of opportunity. The values of the school reflect and are informed by the Christian faith and we welcome all children regardless of religion, race, or social background. We are proud of the diversity of our pupils whether from the town itself, our local villages or indeed further afield from our rural areas and we seek to be inclusive in all our activities.
The pupils have access to a wide combination of academic and vocational courses. On entry to year 8, they are streamed into classes according to ability using the Transfer Test scores and also the Standardised Scores which we receive from our feeder Primary Schools and which most parents are used to. The strength of this is ensuring that all our pupils are making progress in-line with their ability and ensuring that we can cater for the needs of those children who, for whatever reason, did not sit the entrance exam but who we believe, will flourish later in their development having been given the time to thrive.
Over the next three years, you will see the Academy grow and develop further. We have been given a fantastic opportunity, a once in a lifetime chance, to provide the best educational experience for the children who attend our school.
A school ethos is an ephemeral atmosphere or spirit that permeates a school, it is sometimes impossible to describe however it is something that you can feel when you enter our school and speak with the pupils and staff. I very warmly invite you to come and visit either of our campuses and experience for yourself the warmth, energy and caring ethos that exists here. This is most definitely a school ‘on the up’ and I would urge you to come along and experience it for it for yourself.
“Excellence is just the beginning”
If you have any questions or queries about the education we provide at Strabane Academy, I hope you will contact me and I shall be happy to speak with you.
Yours sincerely,
Mr D. Hampton
Principal