Whole new ball game as Victoria College bridges the old divide

Sporting preferences in Northern Ireland generally provide a strong indication of religious affiliation but pupils at Victoria College, located in a south Belfast suburb, have smashed the traditional stereotype by participating in camogie and Gaelic football which were added to the extra-curricular programme eight years ago.

The all-girls’ school, which has preparatory, secondary and boarding departments, and has been in existence for 158 years is a non-denominational voluntary grammar school where pupils consistently achieve high levels of academic success.

Victoria, named after Queen Elizabeth’s great, great grandmother, vividly reflects the changing demographic of Northern Ireland which is no longer merely a bi-cultural society, based on two traditions.

Its pupils come from a multiplicity of ethnic and religious backgrounds and the number of Catholic pupils attending has risen year on year over the past decade, thus exploding the myth that Northern Ireland education can be compartmentalised simplistically into a two-dimensional framework.

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The school's principal since 2005, Patricia Slevin, began her teaching career alongside Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte at St Ciarán's, Ballygawley in the early 1980s before moving to her alma mater, St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon.

Although she has some family background in GAA, that was merely coincidental as far as the introduction of Gaelic games into Victoria was concerned. Instead she acted as a facilitator rather than an instigator as it was a response to a pupil-led request and practical factors, in terms of coaching staff who were in situ at the school at the time, that prompted the initiative.

“I was an avid Tyrone supporter in my youth and continue to take a real interest in the game.” Ms Slevin explained.

“The introduction of Gaelic games into the school was something some of our pupils were interested in and as our mission in the school is to meet the needs of every pupil, I felt it fitted in with our values and our ethos as a school to be inclusive and open and respectful of all.

“In presenting the case to the board of governors, it was clear that the request had come from the pupils, we had the staff to support it and there wasn’t going to be an additional cost involved. The governors were supportive and encouraged me to go ahead and see how it went.

“There was every possibility that it might have been of interest for a short period of time and that the girls might have lost interest but, in fact, the opposite happened and more and more pupils from all traditions and backgrounds became interested and numbers increased.”

“We are a very inclusive and diverse school and there is a very open culture in the College where everyone respects the traditions and beliefs of others. “Participation in sport and promoting the benefits of physical activity is an important element of school life, and there is a long tradition of sporting excellence in the College.

Key role

"Our head of PE Patricia Stewart and everyone at the school is proud that we can boast many sporting stars among our former pupils. For example, world champion gymnast Sophie McCoo, sisters Rachael, Sarah and Emma Henderson, who represented Northern Ireland and Great Britain at swimming and lifesaving and Hannah Irvine, who captained her country at netball in the Commonwealth Games."

“The Gaelic sports are attractive to some pupils because they don’t require a Saturday morning commitment. The skills the girls develop are complementary and the benefit is that girls who are committed to hockey for example and do play on Saturdays can still enjoy camogie or Gaelic at some level if they wish.”

Maria McPolin, who played for Antrim at U12 and U14 level was among a group of four St Gall’s players who can recall meeting Ms Slevin shortly after being accepted for Victoria, having been educated and played football at St Anne’s Primary School, some two miles away.

As it transpired, she was to have a key role in the the initiative that was to allow her to continue her Gaelic career at a secondary school which, at the time, offered team sports like hockey, netball, soccer and tag rugby.

“When Ms Slevin first came to St Anne’s there were four of us who were about to attend Victoria so we met with her and she was asking us about our hobbies and my friend Grace McEvoy and I both said that we are really into GAA and played for our school and St Galls.” said Maria, who is now 20.

“We had three teachers, interested in coaching GAA, who met with Grace and I and we discussed the best way of getting people involved and in a few months Victoria GAA was up and running.

“A lot of the girls who took up GAA at Victoria had some idea about what it was but hadn’t played it before. They all had very different sporting backgrounds, some took part in tennis, netball, hockey or athletics but they all participated in sport competitively so they fitted in well.

“The amazing thing about Gaelic is that we were all from different friendship groups, even different ethnic backgrounds and everyone just came together and nothing else mattered.

“The whole religion thing has never been an issue for me and then going to Victoria just confirmed my opinions – that everyone should be treated exactly the same no matter what age, race,religion or background they have; we’re all just people.

“Your religious affiliation should’t define what sport you play and getting Gaelic played in Victoria is just the perfect example of that. Everyone who plays Gaelic does so because they love the sport and the thrill of it and everyone should be entitled to experience it.”

Different cultures

Zahra, who comes from a hockey background and plays for the school, Ulster Under 14s and Lisnagarvey , had no hesitation in taking up camogie when the offer came along. She made rapid progress and captained the Cumann na mBunscol team that won the Antrim indoor championship and reached the final of the outdoor championship in 2014.

“I really love playing camogie at Victoria.” she said.”It has definitely improved my skills and hand-eye co-ordination which is common to both camogie and hockey.

“I like the fact that our school has different sports because it gives you the chance to try new ones and I love the different cultures at our school because playing team sports lets everyone mix and get to know each other."

Victoria’s multi-ethnic pupil profile is also reflected in the school’s Gaelic teams with Spanish, Polish, Pakistani, and French girls taking part in both codes.

Harriet, who has family connections in India, plays in goal for the football team and outfield in camogie.

“Like many of the girls, I played both camogie and Gaelic football at the start but I preferred the camogie as it was like hockey without the rules!” she said

“I was invited to play camogie at a local club, which I would have loved but, unfortunately, I simply didn’t have the time.

“Victoria has a great mix of nationalities and cultures and I have made so many new friends through playing sport there.”

Ronan O’Brien, a careers teacher at Victoria, heads up the coaching team and expects Gaelic games to continue to thrive with numbers on the increase and new facilities now on site.

Victoria is affiliated to the Ulster Camogie Association and the province’s ladies Gaelic football governing body with the prep school affiliated to Cumann na mBunscol for both codes.

“The Ulster Council of the GAA was also very supportive and supplied the pupils with helmets and hurleys and provided coaching assistance from when the games were first introduced to the school.” he explained.

“Thanks to department of education funding to the tune of £4 million, we now have a brand new sports hall at the school which will be useful, particularly in the winter months, for training and coaching.

“GAA at the school has gone from strength to strength and earlier this year the U12 football team won the Ulster Council Peile Shield tournament which was our best achievement to date.

“We have U12, U14 and U16 teams in both codes this season to satisfy demand and we now have quite a few players who play for clubs in the vicinity like Bredagh, Naomh Bríd, St Gall’s, St John’s, Lámh Dearg and Carryduff. GAA is now an important part of the culture of the school and is celebrated as such.”