NEWS

8-year-old Jude and 10-year-old Ana from Belfast pictured at Danske Bank’s Donegall Square West branch. Children across Northern Ireland will now be able to open a bank account from the age of eight after Danske Bank lowered the minimum age for its Discovery Current Account in a move reflecting how younger children are increasingly learning to manage money before reaching secondary school. The bank has reduced the entry age for the account from 11 to eight and has also remove

Pictured staff from Kirkinriola Primary School, Ballymena: (L-R) Viola Stewart SEN classroom assistant, Emily McCaffrey Principal, Emma Laird SEN classroom assistant, Chloe Parr teacher, Gillian Todd classroom assistant, Emma Lee Adams SEN classroom assistant, Jodi Crawford teacher and Naomi Quaite SEN classroom assistant. A Ballymena school community is preparing to walk, scoot and rally together this week in support of a nine-year-old pupil facing the fight of her life aft

A young people’s group is to be given a key role in helping shape plans for a new skate park in Antrim. Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has approved proposals for a new “granite-style skate plaza” with floodlighting at the Peace Play Park beside Antrim Forum. Councillors backed the project during a meeting of the local authority’s Operations Committee last month. A report presented behind closed doors said the project would “adopt the design and engagement approach us

(L-R) Edwina Weiniger, Stepping Stones Chairperson, Elaine Loughran, Principal Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Education Minister, Paul Givan, Alan Herron, Playboard NI CEO and Susan Williams, SEN Inclusive Play Project Coordinator, Playboard NI with pupils. An ambitious new programme designed to reshape how children with special educational needs experience learning through play has officially launched in Northern Ireland, with dozens of schools set to benefit over the

Female scientists will step out of laboratories and into the heart of Ballymena later this month as a major public STEM event lands in the town for the first time. Soapbox Science, a free live science event designed to make research accessible, engaging and visible, is coming to the People’s Park on Friday 12 June from 11am to 2pm. The event — the first of its kind to be hosted in Mid and East Antrim — will see female researchers take to literal soapboxes to explain their wor

Psychological thrillers, contemporary romance and emotionally driven fiction are continuing to fly off the shelves at Waterstone’s Ballymena, with the latest weekly Top 10 revealing the books currently capturing readers’ attention across the town. As Father’s Day approaches, the Ballymena store is also encouraging shoppers to browse its growing range of books and gifts, while community book clubs and family storytime sessions continue to draw in readers of all ages. Top 10 th

Nine-year-old Ballymena boy Joshua Mairs who underwent emergency surgery in the Royal Victoria Hospital after being hit by an e-scooter in Cullybackey A nine-year-old boy has undergone surgery for a shattered elbow after being knocked down in a collision involving an e-scooter in Cullybackey — forcing his family to cancel a long-planned holiday and prompting a fresh warning to parents about the dangers of the illegal machines. Joshua Mairs was walking back from Cullybackey Pa

Kilrea Primary School Kilrea Primary School is set for significant changes under newly-submitted plans that would bring a temporary specialist teaching unit to the site alongside major safety upgrades aimed at tackling what planners describe as “significant safeguarding concerns”. The proposals, lodged with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, centre on growing educational needs at the school as well as long-standing worries over pupil safety linked to access arrangement

EA’s Chief Education Officer, Eve Bremner is pictured with Shane O’Neil, EdIS Lead; Nettlefield Primary School Principal, Simon McLean; and St. Comgall’s Primary School Principal, Jim Matthews. Schools across Northern Ireland are set for one of the biggest digital overhauls in years as a new cloud-based management system begins rolling out across every school sector, promising faster communication with parents, improved pupil safeguarding and less administrative pressure on t

Winning: Boxing talent Kain Stewart from Ballymena A brother and sister from Ballymena have returned from the WKO European Championships with multiple European titles after producing a series of dominant performances against some of the continent’s top young fighters. Lacey Stewart and her younger brother Kain Stewart — already rapidly rising names in local combat sports — travelled to Barnsley representing Cuchulainn Combat Sports under Ballymena MMA figure Alan “Super Ali”

Northern Ireland has moved a step closer to introducing major new bus safety laws after more than 600 responses were submitted to a consultation aimed at protecting children travelling to and from school. The Safer Journeys to School consultation — which explored new restrictions on overtaking and passing buses — closed yesterday after receiving 601 responses from the public and stakeholders. The proposals, brought forward by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins, could eventua

(From left) Youth workers Matthew Simpson, Jonny Farrell and Johnny Crymble. Support services for children and teenagers across Mid and East Antrim are being expanded this summer amid growing concerns around anti-social behaviour, safeguarding risks, mental health pressures and the dangers young people can face when schools close for the holidays. Youth workers, police and community organisations told a public meeting in Ballymena this week that summer can become a particular

St Louis Grammar School in Ballymena has been ranked the top-performing school in Northern Ireland for A-Level results after achieving an extraordinary 98% rate of pupils securing three or more A-Level passes at grades A*-C. The achievement places the Ballymena school at number one in the Belfast Telegraph’s latest league table rankings for 2025, marking a major moment not only for the school community but for education in the wider North Antrim area. It comes amid growing pr

Pupils form Cambridge House Grammar School try their hand at cupcake decorating under the guidance of chef, Sandra McCooke as the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Councillor Jackson Minford and Colin Johnston, CEO of Galgorm Collection look on. Forty local pupils have been given a behind-the-scenes look at careers in hospitality and tourism as part of a growing Mid and East Antrim programme designed to connect classroom learning with real workplace opportunities.

Education Minister Paul Givan is pictured with Principal Malachy Conlon, Vice Principal Lauren McLoughlin and the youngest pupils at St Mary’s Queen of Peace Primary School Construction has officially begun on the long-awaited new building for Mary Queen of Peace Primary School in Glenravel, marking a major milestone for a community that has spent more than a decade waiting for the project to become reality. The £10million investment will deliver a modern nine-classroom schoo

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Leah Kirkpatrick made a special visit to Creavery Primary School where children from the school and Creggan Primary School took part in a fun Healthy Kids session. Children from two primary schools came together for an energetic Healthy Kids session this week as Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council confirmed the programme has now reached more than 30 schools across the borough. The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillo

A growing basketball club in Ballymena is making a fresh push to bring more girls into the sport as it looks to build future league teams and expand opportunities for young players across the area. Ballymena Basketball Juniors, which currently competes in the BNI Junior League, says it already has a strong group of girls attending weekly training sessions — but hopes more young players will now come forward as the club works towards arranging friendly matches and eventually e

A still Image from the NSPCC’s new campaign ‘Shift Ctrl’ Children across Northern Ireland and the UK are increasingly turning to Childline in fear that intimate images shared online could destroy their futures, as new figures reveal a dramatic rise in counselling sessions linked to online sexual abuse and exploitation. The NSPCC says children are being exposed to growing levels of harm on social media and digital platforms, with young people reporting blackmail, coercion, onl

Children across the borough will once again be able to take part in a packed summer of sports, games, creative activities and outdoor adventures as Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council officially launches its 2026 Summer Schemes programme. Running throughout July and August, the annual schemes are set to return to leisure centres, community venues and the grounds of Antrim Castle Gardens, with families already being encouraged to plan ahead amid expectations of high demand

Young people across Northern Ireland are being warned that vaping to cope with exam pressure could actually make stress, anxiety and concentration problems worse, as concerns grow around rising mental health pressures among teenagers. Drug and alcohol harm reduction charity ASCERT says increasing numbers of young people may be turning to nicotine products during revision and exam season in an attempt to manage anxiety, tiredness and school-related stress. The warning comes as