St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook(Irish: Ardscoil Naomh Pól, An Sruthán) is an all-ability, co-educational secondary school located on the outskirts of Bessbrook near Newry, County Armagh. It is a Catholic-maintained day school for boys and girls aged 11 to 19, with a pupil population of over 1550 (including a Learning Support Centre for pupils with special educational needs) and is one of Ireland's largest post-primary schools. The school is managed by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the Education Authority (EA). St Paul's High School is a heavily over-subscribed school with an annual admissions number of under 300 pupils.
The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, visited St Paul's on 9 November 2006 to mark the completion of the extensive renovation of the school. Former Principal Oliver Mooney, was named Northern Ireland Headteacher of the Year in the 2010 Teaching Awards.[1][2] His last day at St. Paul's was 18 December 2013.
Armagh GAA footballer Jarlath Burns was appointed as Principal of St Paul's, effective 1 January 2014.
Academics
The school was designated a Specialist College for Science, by the Department of Education in 2008, was awarded the BECTA ICT Mark, and became a Centre of Excellence for ICT in 2009. The Education and Training Inspectorate of the Department of Education carried out a Standard Inspection at St Paul's High School in January 2016 and reported that the school was 'outstanding' in all areas (Achievements and Standards, Provision for Learning and Leadership & Management).[3]
In 2018, 57.4% of its entrants achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including the core subjects English and Maths.[4] Also in 2018, 64.6% of its entrants to the A-level exam achieved A*-C grades.[5]
