Saintfield High school principal celebrates success

Saintfield High school principal celebrates success

22 May 2024

SAINTFIELD High School principal Sarah-Lucy Hynds says her school’s priority is to meet fully the needs of the community, despite being oversubscribed for three decades. 

Since it was established in 1958, Saintfield High School has been the heartbeat of Saintfield.

Ms Hynds, who has worked at the non-selective school since 2007, succeeded Ms Vivien Watt in January 2017 and has maintained its exceptional reputation to deliver first class results.

In an exclusive interview with the Down Recorder, Ms Hynds spoke about the ethos of the school, the issues of being oversubscribed and celebrating each child’s individual educational success.

“It feels like I became principal yesterday,” she said.  “The last seven years have gone by in a blink of an eye. I honestly feel so privileged to be the principal of a school that is part of an exceptional community.

“The reason why we are such a successful and thriving school community, is because our school pledge underpins everything we do – achieving the 

‘individual success’ of every child who walks through our doors.

“We very much believe and are passionate about equity for all in education,” she continued.

“That’s something we strive to do in every area of the school. Equity for education isn’t necessarily the same for each student but it is about maximising the best outcome for every child. 

“Individual educational pathways are at the very heart of our school. We recognise that success at school looks different for every single child, but whatever it is a child excels at, we nurture and we cherish it and that is very much embodied in our ethos of the school and how we as staff conduct ourselves.”

The school, which educates students from Year 8 to Year 12 has delivered tremendous results that enable students to study A-levels at other schools, enrol in apprenticeships or go into employment.

As well as maintaining the academic excellence of the school, Ms Hynds also instituted a Resilience Curriculum, which is designed to provide quality pastoral care to every student. 

The Resilience Curriculum assists pupils to develop holistically and equip them with the ability and skills to make well thought-out and informed decisions throughout life.

When each student begins Saintfield High School, they embark on a pastoral journey which is mapped out across five years to ensure provisions are adequate, relevant, age appropriate and always child centred.

“Pastoral care continues to be the bedrock of our school,” Ms Hynds explained.

“It’s the beating heart of our school. The Resilience Curriculum was one of the big changes we brought in.

“When children feel happy, content and safe, you can build the foundations for their academic excellence.

“The Resilience Curriculum runs alongside the children’s subject lessons across all year groups.

“The curriculum must reflect the age of the child, what they’re interested in and how society changes and I felt that it was a change that was very necessary, but in came in just before Covid.”

Ms Hynds said that the introduction for this curriculum was timely during the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

“It was a horrendous time for everyone,” Ms Hynds recalled. “It was a phenomenally challenging time for everyone – in every aspect. The impact of Covid on children’s learning has been well documented and we know that there is a lot of ground to cover for those children who spent years of their education learning from home.

“The determination from teachers and staff to deliver for the children during this challenging time was absolutely incredible.

“I can’t emphasise that enough. To pay tribute to the staff would be an understatement – they went above and beyond to make the site safe as possible and conducive for learning.”

Ms Hynds said that while Covid was a bleak time for everyone, it strengthened the bind that has underpinned the school community.

The pandemic allowed them to utilise online tools more effectively. For instance, every student can access what homework they have online, and teachers can post feedback about a child’s work and post other resources to benefit the students learning. 

While the school continues to go from strength to strength, there are issues to do with capacity.

For thirty years, the school has been continuously oversubscribed with a peak rate of 91%.

Last year the school was oversubscribed by 87% and this year that figure stands at 63%.

“In many ways, it’s a good problem to have,” Ms Hynds said. “It’s a testament that people in the community know that we deliver a first-class pastoral care system and nurture the talents of their children.

“Generations of family member have walked the corridors of Saintfield High School, and they have been delighted with the quality of education their child gets at our school.

“Top of my agenda is to develop and expand the school to better meet the needs of the community,” Ms Hynds continued.

“I know that there is a demand by the community to deliver this. Over the last seven years we have managed to get an increase of enrolment in Year 8. Coming into September 2024, that will be the third consecutive year that will we have had a significant increase to our enrolment and having an extra form class.

“We want to ensure that we are still the community focused school everyone knows. We want every child who enrols to be able to come to our school and I really want to facilitate that.”

Earlier this year, Ms Hynds met with the permanent secretary to discuss to the oversubion issue which she feels cannot be ignored anymore.

The principal has also had discussions with local politicians about updating the school site to accommodate more pupils who wish to enrol for Saintfield High School.

“There’s ways and means - there’s always ways and means,” Ms Hynds said.

“Nearly everybody agrees with me but we need action. We do have a tight sight but we have great ideas and great plans. I am so proud of our school community. I’m proud of what the children achieve inside the classroom and outside the classroom and I’m proud of the school it has become.

“In order to continue on our trajectory, we really need a permanent increase to our numbers. For three years, the staff of the school have accommodated the extra Year 8 classes with no adjustments to the school site. 

“All we are asking for is a little bit of help. “We have the solutions we just need people to act on them. While 

our school is non-selective, we welcome people who have both sat the transfer test and haven’t and we also welcome people with additional educational needs.

“We are an all-ability school and we are dedicated to fulfilling the individual success of every child.”

Ms Hynds added: “I am so honoured to be the principal of this amazing school. We are the heart of this wonderful community and it is down to the hard work and dedication of the teachers, staff and board of governors.

“We have a gamut of ability in our school, and we are passionate about seeing our students fulfil their ambitions and prepare them for their next chapter.

“I am very grateful to everyone who makes the school the success that it is and I am fully confident we will continue to deliver the quality of education that is synonymous with our school.”