Lumen Christi College, Derry
Lumen Christi College is a co-educational Catholic grammar school in Bishop Street, Derry, Northern Ireland. The school was founded in September 1997 and is located at the site of the old St Columb's College. The school is made up of just over 840 students and 50 teachers. The current principal is Siobhán McCauley, and the current vice principals are Dr. Marie Ferris and Mrs Bronach O'Hare. Lumen Christi College launched an official Twitter for the school in December 2016, although it was only active from October 2017. Lumen Christi describes itself academically as a "Science specialist" school.
| Lumen Christi College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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Bishop Street , , BT48 6UJ | |
| Coordinates | 54.991°N 7.329°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Grammar school |
| Motto | In Tuo Lumine Videmus Lumen In your light, we see light |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1997 |
| Local authority | Education Authority (Western) |
| Specialist | Science |
| Principal | Siobhán McCauley |
| Staff | 75 |
| Grades | 8-14 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 840 (approx) |
| Colour(s) | |
| Website | www |
Academics
The college offers the full Northern Ireland Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. At Key Stage 4 all students usually take a minimum of nine GCSEs while, at Sixth Form, all students take at least three A-Levels. The college is a member of the Foyle Learning Community which links twelve post-primary providers in the area allowing access for post-16 students to a range of subjects in addition to those taught on site.
In the 2017 Sunday Times Parent Power survey of UK schools, the college was ranked first in Northern Ireland and 22nd in the UK.[1]
81.6% of its students who sat the A-level exams in 2017/18 were awarded three A*-C grades.[2]
In 2016/17, 96% of its entrants achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including the core subjects English and Maths.[3] In 2017/18, 100% of its entrants achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C and the college was ranked joint first in the 2019 Belfast Telegraph league table.[4]
Controversy
In April 2008, both Dr Séamus Hegarty (Roman Catholic Bishop of Derry and a senior trustee of the college) and Caitríona Ruane, the Minister for Education, along with the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (I.N.T.O.) trade union, criticised the Board of Governors of Lumen Christi College for announcing their intention to continue academic selection after the abolition of the 11-plus examination.[5]
The school's then-principal, Patrick O'Doherty, responded that the school intended to go ahead with its testing plans, and that the education minister had no legal authority to stop them.[6] Regarding accusations in 2012 of Sinn Féin infiltrating Catholic schools, by placing Sinn Féin activists as school governors, Alliance Party MLA Trevor Lunn said, "In the context of Lumen Christi as a highly successful grammar school which has taken a public stance on the question of academic selection, in defiance of the minister's instruction and indeed the view of the Catholic Church, it is hard to see these appointments as anything other than a means of infiltration of the school's board of governors, with the aim of influencing the stance taken by the present board."[7]
References
- "Survey puts 13 Northern Irish secondary schools in UK top 100". Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- "Belfast Telegraph A-Level: Northern Ireland School League Tables 2019". Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- "Belfast Telegraph GCSE 2018". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- "Belfast Telegraph GCSE League 2019Table". Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- Resignation call over school test, BBC.co.uk; accessed 3 March 2017.
- "Derry school to ignore minister". BBC Online. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- "Belfast Telegraph - John O'Dowd denies infiltrating schools with Sinn Fein governors". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 26 August 2012.