NEWS

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

The Education Authority has launched a new leadership support programme aimed at strengthening specialist special educational needs (SEN) provision in mainstream schools across Northern Ireland, as pressure continues to grow on education services supporting children with additional needs. The new initiative comes after more than 6,000 additional SEN places have been created since 2020, reflecting what EA described as rapidly changing educational needs among pupils and increas

The Children’s Law Centre CEO John O'Doherty, alongside Rachel Hogan BL, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser and Kathryn Stevenson, Head of Legal, pictured at Parliament Buildings after presenting to the education committee on the proposed SEN Regs. The Children’s Law Centre has warned Stormont’s Education Committee that proposed new SEND regulations could weaken legal protections for vulnerable children, reduce the role of parents in decision-making and leave parts of the new fram

Autism diagnoses among school-age children in Northern Ireland have reached their highest recorded level, with new figures revealing 18,472 pupils are now identified as autistic — while politicians and families warn support systems are becoming overwhelmed. The latest annual prevalence report published by the Department of Health shows autism prevalence among school-age children rose to 6.2% during the 2025/26 school year. That represents an increase of 0.3 percentage points

Families across Northern Ireland waiting for confirmation of school places for children with special educational needs are being offered direct one-to-one support through a new series of online drop-in sessions hosted by the Education Authority. The initiative comes amid growing pressure on the region’s SEN system, with demand for specialist placements continuing to rise sharply and thousands of additional places projected to be needed over the next decade. Parents and carers

School leaders listening to presentations from staff and students Ballyclare Secondary School has opened its doors to school leaders from across Northern Ireland to demonstrate what life looks like without mobile phones during the school day — and staff say the results have been “remarkable”. The County Antrim school has been operating a phone-free system since August 2025 using lockable Yondr pouches, becoming one of the first schools in the area to adopt the approach amid g

Charleigh-Rose Havelin A Ballymena mother has spoken of the moment her nine-year-old daughter was rushed to Belfast by blue-light ambulance after weeks of headaches and relentless vomiting were finally revealed to be an aggressive brain tumour. For months, Jenna Havelin says her daughter Charleigh-Rose became increasingly unwell as the family desperately searched for answers, never imagining the little girl’s symptoms were being caused by medulloblastoma — the most common mal

Two young Ballymena footballers are preparing to take on some of the biggest names in world youth football after being selected for the 2026 County Antrim SuperCupNI squad ahead of this summer’s tournament. Charlie O’Neill and Jack Orr have both secured places in the County Antrim Boys Junior panel, giving local football fans another strong Ballymena connection to one of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious sporting events. The announcement comes as organisers confirmed broadb

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford blows the starting whistle as young runners set off for the junior parkrun in The People's Park, Ballymena. More than 100 children are now turning out every week for Ballymena’s junior parkrun, with the Sunday morning event rapidly becoming one of the town’s most popular new family activities. Held in The People’s Park every Sunday at 9.30am, the free 2K run for children aged four to 14 has created a fresh buzz around t

More than 650 schools and pre-school settings across Northern Ireland are now involved in Shared Education partnerships — yet the number of children actually taking part has fallen by more than 9,000, according to a major new report laid before the Assembly. The fifth statutory report on Advancing Shared Education, published today (Monday 11 May) by Education Minister Paul Givan, reveals a striking contradiction at the heart of Northern Ireland’s shared learning strategy: par

Linda McMillan, Chief People Officer for Fibrus Group with Ronan Conlon, Founder of FitMinds Coach, and FitMinds programme participants. Children of all abilities across Northern Ireland are set to take part in a major programme of inclusive summer activity camps after FitMinds Coach announced plans to welcome more than 1,000 young children to sessions across 20 locations this summer. The one-day camps, designed for children aged three to six, will run throughout July and Au

Ballymena United emerged among the standout winners as more than 500 young footballers and over 2,000 spectators packed into Cookstown for a dramatic NIYFA Subway Cup Finals Day celebrating the very best of youth football across Northern Ireland. The Ballymena club secured silverware in both the Boys’ and Girls’ competitions, with the Boys’ Under-12 side lifting the Cup title after an extra-time victory over Glenavon, while Ballymena United’s girls edged a tense penalty shoot

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has approved significant changes to childcare regulations in Northern Ireland, paving the way for childminders to care for more children while easing some of the recruitment pressures facing the sector. The reforms, which follow a public consultation involving almost 500 responses, will alter adult-to-child ratios in both childminding and group day care settings and reduce the requirement for GP-signed health assessments for many childcare workers