Why choose our school for your daughter’s education.
CARING, SAFE, NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
We pride ourselves on providing a holistic education, whereby each student is encouraged to develop her talents and achieve her full potential, while never losing sight of the core values of courtesy, respect and concern for others as well as care for the environment we live in. Students are challenged through a wide range of activities and opportunities but above all, girls are recognised and valued as individuals. The size of our school community ensures more personal attention to each student. We offer a wide range of supports to our students such as, study skills programme, excellent pastoral care, career guidance, counselling service, induction programme, peer ministry programme to name but a few.
ACADEMICS
In St. Louis we have very few discipline problems so that teachers can focus all their energies on the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom rather than maintaining order. Our mixed-ability system combined with a high degree of setting allows students to achieve their full potential in all subjects and therefore gain the best possible results in their Junior and Leaving Certificates. We expect very high standards from our students and we have a long and proven track record in achieving those standards of excellence. Our top students regularly achieve the very high points required for the top university courses such as pharmacy, dentistry and medicine. St. Louis Secondary School is well above the national average in terms of Junior and Leaving Certificate Results and also well above the national average in terms of the percentage students undertaking subjects at higher level in the state examinations. In a recent Sunday Times table our school was listed in the top three schools in Ulster with the highest number of students progressing to higher level education last year. On the other hand, students with learning difficulties receive a high degree of support and inevitably gain a successful Leaving Certificate.
OUR VALUES
The values and faith you teach your daughter at home are reinforced every day in our school and in our curricular activities. Our school is a Christian community where all members grow to value their own worth as persons, their loving relationship with God, their links with their family and the interdependence of all people. As such the school strives to be a welcoming place to all irrespective of social, cultural or religious background. Following the legacy of Abbé Bautain we aim to be inclusive, to provide for the education of the whole person in the fullest sense, to be especially mindful of the disadvantaged and those with special needs. Members of our school community co-operate in an educational experience which promotes the formation of young people in a value-based, Christian education in the Catholic tradition. However, we welcome students from other religious traditions and we are aware of and sensitive to their needs. These Christian values of community must find first expression in the daily life of our school, in management structures founded on consultative decision-making and behaviour management strategies that are just and fair and seek the goal of personal maturity through positive affirmation.
TECHNOLOGY
Our school is equipped with a networked computer in every classroom, wireless laptops, as well as other cutting-edge technology. Students are not simply taught how to use the latest in technology, they are instructed on how to use technology as a tool for learning, improving mathematical and scientific skills, , self directed research skills and becoming digitally literate. The Technology Department assists our teachers in integrating technology into their curriculum and instructional methods.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS
We are a school where community collaboration and self-efficacy flourish. Students are presented with a range of opportunities to develop their leadership qualities of confidence, compassion, and resilience throughout their time with us through opportunities as senior prefect, student council or a peer minister. All students are encouraged to be leaders in their own unique way.
Why choose an all girls school for your daughter?
FREE FROM STEREOTYPES
One of the differentiating factors that separate us from other schools is that our students feel free from any stereotyping and can happily allow their intellectual and social confidence to flourish. Girls’ schools create environments where girls feel okay about taking charge and putting themselves forward. The inherent distractions which occur when you mix adolescent boys and girls together in a coeducational school just do not happen in a girls' school. The social expectations and stereotypes can be broken down. Fewer distractions means your daughter can focus on being herself, on self exploration and development, exploring new worlds, lines of thinking etc. during a critical time in their growth and development. They are also exposed to a wealth of peer role models.
INSPIRATIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
When a school does not have to accommodate both sexes, it simplifies the running and organisation of the school. The only focus is girls and their needs and activities. Being a single-sex school we create a culture and classroom climate in which our students can express themselves freely and frequently, and develop higher order thinking skills. We believe this environment provides powerful, relevant advantages and creates the best environment for girls to learn, grow, and develop. It is a well known fact that students in all-girls learning environments, girls strive for greatness and perform better academically than in a mixed context. Since our school was founded 130 years ago we have created a climate where teachers can challenge limits, and inspire girls to imagine and explore all the possibilities on offer to them to maximise their potential and our alumni are a testament to this.
