Methodist College Belfast
Annual Report of the Board of Governors 2024-25
1. Foreword
MethodistCollegeisaco-educa onalVoluntaryGrammarSchool.Thisreportrepresentsonly oneofthewaysthattheCollegecommunicatesthedetailsofitsmajorac vi esfortheyear, andmuchofthereportisprescribedands pulatedinregula onissuedbytheDepartment ofEduca on.WeencourageyoutoreviewourCollegeWebsitewww.methody.org.
2. Curriculum
Key Stage 3 (Forms 1-3)
Pupils in Forms 1-3 follow the Northern Ireland Curriculum incorpora ng Assessment for Learning, ThinkingSkillsand PersonalCapabili esand the CrossCurricular Skills acrossthe AreasofLearning.
CurriculumOutline
AllpupilstakeFrenchandLa ninForm1.A eraseriesoflanguagetastersessions,pupils chose2languagesinTerm2ofForm1fromFrench,La n,GermanorSpanish.
Key Stage 4 (Forms 4- 5)
Pupils will follow the Northern Ireland Curriculum and with the excep on of RE/English LiteratureallGCSEsubjectsareallocated6periodsperfortnight. GCSERE/EnglishLiterature aredeliveredin3periodsperfortnight.Detaileddescrip onsofallGCSEcoursescanbefound in the GCSECoursesInforma on Booklet.Before theend ofForm 3,pupils choose 9or10 subjectswhichwillformtheirGCSEteaching metableinForms4and5.
Allpupilswillstudy:
EnglishLanguage
EnglishLiterature
Mathema cs
ReligiousStudies
One,TwoorThreeSciencesubjectsfromBiology,ChemistryandPhysics*
AtleastonefromFrench,German,Russian,Spanish,orLa n**
*AsmallnumberofpupilswilltakeGCSESingleAwardScienceinsteadofanindividualScience
**AsmallnumberofpupilswilltakeGCSELLWinsteadofthelanguageop on.
Op onalSubjects
ArtandDesign French Music
Biology
FurtherMathema cs PE
BusinessStudies Geography Physics
Chemistry German Russian
DigitalTechnology(Mul media orProgramming) Governmentand Poli cs Spanish
Drama
History
Economics La n
FoodandNutri on MovingImageArts
TechnologyandDesign
OtherExamina ons
Inaddi ontoGCSEsubjects,allpupilstakenon-GCSEPEandGameseveryweek.Allpupils have1periodofnon-GCSELearningforLifeandWorkinForm4whichissupplementedwith aprogrammeofassemblies,workshops,events,andseminars.
Religious Educa on
All pupils in Forms 1-5 study Religious Educa on. Parents who wish to withdraw their child(ren), on grounds of conscience, from a endance at Religious Educa on classes or at collec veworship(Ar cle21[5]ofthe1986Order)mustcontactthePrincipalinwri ng.
Study Support
TheCollegehasafullystaffedLearningSupportDepartment,locatedinEBlock,sothatpupils inForms1–5whoaredisappliedfromsubjectshaveastructuredlearningspacetosupport theirprogressinthesubjectsthatremainontheir metable.
The Sixth Form Curriculum (L6th/U6th)
ThecurriculumintheSixthFormcomprises2elements:
theAS/A2levelcourse
thenon-examina onpackage(Games,tutorialperiodandsupervisedstudy)
LowerSixthpupilsnormallyspenduptooneweekonWorkShadowingplacement.
TheLowerSixthcoursewillnormallyconsistofthreedis nctsubjectstakentoA2level.Some pupilsmaytake4ASsubjects.Mostpupilswillcon nuetostudythreeofthesesubjectsatA2 level,althoughsomemayopttocon nuewithfour.
The following CCEA modular A Levels are offered (AS levels completed at the end of L6th)
ArtandDesign EnglishLiterature Governmentand Poli cs Nutri onandFood Science
Biology Environmental Technology HealthandSocial Care Physics
BusinessStudies French History ReligiousStudies
Chemistry FurtherMathema cs Mathema cs Spanish
DigitalTechnology Geography MovingImageArts Technologyand Design
Economics German Music
The following Linear A Levels are offered (no AS level, all examina ons completed in U6th)
ClassicalCivilisa on La n
ComputerScience Psychology
DramaandTheatreStudies Russian
The College also offers BTEC qualifica ons in Travel and Tourism and Sport. Detailed descrip onsofallAS/A2coursesofferedandanyspecificentryrequirementscanbefoundin the“SixthFormCoursesInforma onBooklet”availableonourwebsite.
3. School Development Days
Duringtheyear,5dayswereclassedasSchoolDevelopmentDays.Akeydevelopmentfocus forstafftrainingwasfeedbackanditsusetomovelearningforwardandthiswasdeliveredin wholestaffsessionsacrossthedaysalongsidedepartmental metoconsider implementa oninsubjectspecificcontexts.Staffalsoengagedindiscussionand consulta onsinareasiden fiedwithintheschoolac onplanincludinguniformregula ons andrelatedsanc ons,awholeschoolreviewofassessment,trackingofpupilprogressand gradingandfiresafetyproceduresonthecampuswhichhaveledtoupdatedprocedures beingimplementedthisacademicyear.Therewasafurtherawarenessraisingsessionon SharedEduca onastheCollegeembarkedonapathwaytowardsbecomingapartner school.Giventhesignificantchangeintheleadershipteam,therewasanemphasison wholeschoolcommunityevents/schoolethosthreadedacrosstheschooldevelopmentdays toembedaneffec veteamculture.
4. Membership of the Board of Governors (October 2025)
Appointed by the Methodist Church in Ireland End of Term of Office
Revd.DrJAlderdice June2026
DrDGallagher June2027
MrsJLiddicoat June2027
Revd.DrHMorris Ex-Officio
Revd.PMaxwell June2027
Revd.FMcCrea June2026
MrsJMcCutcheon June2027
MsDMcHugh June2026
MrsEShaw June2028
Revd.DrJUnsworth June2028
MsVWallace-Grzymek June2027
Revd.AWardlow ExOfficio
Revd.DrRWright June2027
Elected by Parents End of Term of Office
MrsOOluwalana December2025
MrJMagee December2025
MrSMagee December2025
MrJLowry December2025
MrsDMagill December2025
TheBoardofGovernorsmeetsonceeverymonthduringtheschoolyear,andthe commi eesoftheBoardmeetatleastonceperterm.Theofficebearersfor2024/25were:
ChairoftheBoard
ViceChairoftheBoard
Revd.NiallJohnston
Prof.AStrong
Secretary MrsEShaw
Treasurer MrJMagee
ConvenoroftheAuditandRiskCommi ee
ConvenoroftheEduca on&ExtraCurricularCommi ee
ConvenoroftheFinance&Facili esCommi ee
ConvenoroftheHRandSalariesCommi ee
ConvenorofthePreparatoryDepartmentCommi ee
5. Enrolment (2024/25)
MrsJLiddicoat
Prof.AStrong
MrJMagee
MrsVWallace-Grzymek
Prof.AStrong
TheCollege’sadmissionsnumberfor2024/25was240.TheCollege’smaximumenrolment numberfor2024/25was1,810excludingsupernumeryStatementedpupils.Oncensusday 2024enrolmentinthesecondarydepartmentwas1,847(including37statementedpupils), andenrolmentinthepreparatorydepartmentwas174(including6statementedpupils).
6. School A endance
Secondary department a endance for 2024/25 was 93.4% and Preparatory Department a endancefor2024/25was95.6%.
7. School Hours and Holidays
Thecalendarfor2024/25wasasfollows:
AutumnTerm-27August2024–20December2024
Halftermholiday-28October2024–1November2024
SpringTerm–6January2025to11April2025
Halftermholiday-10February2025to14February2025
8 METHODIST COLLEGE BELFAST
SummerTerm–28April2025to27June2025
TheSchoolDayisasfollows:
8. Learning Support
The LearningSupportDepartmentsupportspupils displaying learning difficul es andthose ontheSENregister.WealignourvauleswithCREST.Wepromoteasuppor veandinclusive environemntthatallowsallpupilstoaccessnotonlythecurriculum,buttotakepartinand successfullycontributetoawiderangeofextra-curricularac vi es.TheLearningSupportCoordinatorworkscloselywiththePastoralVPtoensurethatpupilswithSENarenottreated lessfavourablybyotherpupils.Pupilswithaddi onalneedscon nutetothriveinourschool environment.
Whole school provision is delivered through high quality teaching and learning support. Teachers use their professional judgement and observa on to inform and respond to the needsof pupilstoimprovelearning. Allstaffhave accesstoguidanceonstrategiestohelp those withaddi onalneedsthroughanSENClassroomProvisiondocumentandaLearning SupportDepartmentInforma onbooklet.Thisbookletalsoprovidesinforma onandclarity
onthenewdra CodeofPrac ceandwhattargetedsupportmaylooklikeforthoseonthe SENregister.
StaffcompleteRecordsofConcernwhichhelpsthedepartmentiden fythosewithaddi onal needs.In-housespecialistassessorscanthendetermineifthereisalearningneedandthose pupilsareplacedonourschool’sAccessRegisterforAssessmentsandExamina ons.
The Learning Support Co-ordinator (LSC) oversees the running of the Learning Support Department and all staff that work within it. This includes a Deputy Learning Support Coordinator, Learning Support Mentors and Adult Assistants. All staff provide excep onal supporttoourpupilsandourLearningSupportpremisesnowincludeanoffice,quietroom for pupils, sensory room, workroom and staffroom. Adult Assistants par cpate in relevant trainingtoenhancetheirknowledgeandskillsduringINSETandStaffDevelopmentDays.
TheLearningSupportDepartmentcon nuestoembedtheprac ceofusingPersonalLearning Plans(PLPs)forthoseontheSENregisterandweprovideReasonableAdjustmentPlans(RAPs) forotherpupilswithaniden fiedaddi onalneed,whoarenotontheSENregister.Staffhave receivedtherequiredtrainingonthenewCodeofPrac ce.
TheLSCworkswithexternalagenciestoprovidethebestformofsupporttoourpupilsand updates the school’s SEN policy ensuring it is compa ble with statutory provisions. Establishing good long term working rela onships with Educa onal Psychology, Au sm Advisory Interven on Service, Educa onal Welfare and EA Sensory Services ensures we con nuetoprovideahighlevelofsupporttoourpupils.Wehaveacloseworkingrela onship withparentsandinforma onregardingtheDisputeAvoidanceandResolu onService(DARS) isavailableintheLearningSupportOffice.
9. School Security and Safety
TheCollegeiscommi edtoprovidingasecureandsafeenvironmentforitspupils.
AllstaffweartheirofficialIDbadgewhenontheschoolsite.Visitorsarerequiredtoreportto Recep on to digitally sign in on arrival and departure.They are also issued with a visitors’ badge.Membersofstaffareremindedregularlyoftheneedforvigilance.Theschoolholds prac ce emergency evacua ons and regularly reviews safety procedures. The Health and SafetyCommi eeischairedbytheEstatesManagerandmeetsregularly.
10. Buildings and Facili es
TheCollegecon nuestoinvestinitsfacili es.Duringthe2024/25workcon nuedtowards commencementoftheSEPfundedrefurbishmentoftheCanteen.
11. Careers Educa on
The careers educa on, informa on, advice, and guidance delivered at Methody aims to provide the pupils with opportuni es to develop the skills and acquire the knowledge necessarytomakeconsidered,well-informeddecisionsatkeytransi onpointsintheirschool career. All pupils have access to the Careers pla orm, Unifrog, providing them with personalisedcareerpathwayplanningtoolsandsupportthatcanbeaccessedfromhomeor school.
BeforemakingGCSEchoicesin3rd Form,pupilsareencouragedtoreflectontheirindividual skills and disposi ons. They are provided with up-to-date informa on about the local and globaleduca onandemploymentmarketsbeforechoosingtheirsubjects. Thisintroductoryprogrammeisextendedthroughout4thand5thform,withpupilscarrying outmoreself-evalua onexercisesaugmentedbyinputfromtrainedcareersstaffandexternal speakersfromarangeofprofessions. Theyarealsoprovidedwithinforma onaboutthenew andfamiliarsubjectsatAlevel,beforemakingtheirprovisionalsubjectchoices.Thesupport andguidanceprovidedin6thformisextensiveandsophis cated. Theyareexposedtomore representa vesfrom theworldsof academia, business, media,and arange of professions. Ourcareersstaffarealwaysonhandtodiscusseachpupil'scareergoals;offeringhonestand informedopinionsthatenablepupilstomakeuptheirownmindabouttheirfuture.
EachyeartheCollegeholdsaLawConference.Wealsostageabi-annualcareersfairinthe College,whichmiddleandseniorschoolpupilsa end.AllLower6thpupilspar cipateinan interviewSkillsEventandalsocompleteaweek'sworkshadowinga ertheirASexams.
12. Staffing
Thisyearsawthefollowingstaffingchanges:
Newteachersjoinedus,MrsBleakley,MrsCallachand,MrHampton,MrHart,MrMcGoldrick, MrO’Neill,MrsClarke,MrCleland,MrsHoughtonand MrsMagee.NewClassroomAssistants wererecruited,MrsGardner,MrsHall,MrsMokhtar,MissO’Hare,MissSavage,MrsMcKee and MrSamson.OthernewstaffwereMrsCarroll, LabTechnician,MissCarberryand Miss Friel, Admin, Miss John, Estates Administrator. New classroom assistants joined our Prep Department,MissBrowne,MissMcKegneyandMissHas ngsjoinedasPrePrepAssistant.
We bade farewell to staff who took up new roles outside of Methodist College. In the SecondaryDepartmentteachingstaffwhole uswereMrsLogan,MrsMcCluggage,MrsReid, MrClelandandMrsMagee.InourPreparatoryDepartmentteachingstaffwhole wereMrs McBrien-Harrison,MrsBoothandMrsMoorehead.
Non teaching staff who le were Miss Hall,Miss Carberry, Mrs Johnston, Mrs Murray, Mrs McKeown, Miss Has ngs, Miss Morrison, Miss Rafferty, Mrs Craig, Miss Mar n and Mrs Toyoda.Ourcleaningdepartmentwasoutsourcedduringtheyear.
METHODIST COLLEGE BELFAST
13. Public Examina on Results
%enteredforotherexams N/A
%achievingnoneofthequalifica onslisted
*Notincludingresultsforpupilstakinglinearsubjects
14. Leavers’ Des na ons
SecondaryDepartment
PreparatoryDepartment
AllPrep7Leaverson30June2025movedtoaGrammarSchool(100%).
15. Distribu on of A2 Grades by Subject
A2 DepartmentAnalysis Summer 2025 Qualification: GCE A2
Qualification: BTEC
16. Distribu on of AS Grades by Subject
AS DepartmentAnalysis Summer 2025
Level:GCE/GCEAdvancedSubsidiary
17. Distribu on of GCSE Grades by Subject
18. Key headline figures 2021-2025
*Pleasenotenodataisavailablefortheperiods2020/2021and2021/2022asnoSAERstascalbullenwasreleasedforthe2019/20,2020/21and 2021/2022academicyears.#DatanotpublishedbyDENI.
19. Analysis of Examina on Results 2025 – Key Stages 1,2, and 3
TheDepartmentofEduca onNIiscurrentlynotofferinganyendofKeyStageAssessment.
20. Extra-Curricular Ac vi es
SecondaryDepartment
There are many extra-curricular ac vi es within the College, this list is not exhaus ve: All IrelandLinguis csOlympiad,ArtClub,Athle cs,Badminton,Band,BarMockTrial,Basketball, BiologySociety,ChapelChoir,ChessClub,Chris ansinSport,Chris anUnion,ClubGaeilge, Compu ng Club, Cricket, Cross Country, Current Affairs Society, Deba ng Society, Duke of Edinburgh, Film Club, Football, French Club, Geography Society, Girls Choir, Global Village, Golf,GuitarWorkshop,Hocky,IndiaSociety,IrishTradi onalGroup,JazzBand,JuniorArtClub, JuniorChoir,JuniorDropin,JuniorOrchestra,JuniorScienceClub,LGBTQ+Society,Moneybox, ModernUnitedNa ons,Music Society,Netball,News Team, Orchestra,PsychologySociety, Robo cs Club, Rowing, Rugby, Russian Club, Senior Book Group, Senior Choir, Senior Orchestra,SewingClub,SocialClub,SpanishClub,Swimming,TechnologyandDesign,Tennis, WaterPoloandYoungEnterprise.
PreparatoryDepartment
This list is not exhaus ve: Art and Cra , Chess, Choir, Cricket, Drama, Football, Hockey, Journalism, Netball, Orchestra, Puzzle Club, Recorder Group, Rugby, Scripture Union, SingalongClub,Swimming,TableTennis,Tu yClub
21. Contribu ons to Chari es
Duringtheacademicyear2024/25theCollegemadethefollowingcontribu onsto Chari es:
ComicRelief
Bri shRedCross
RoyalBri shLegion
SavetheChildren
CancerFundforChildren
MadeforMore FundraisingNI
BelfastCentralMission
ChildreninNeed
MotorNeuroneDiseaseAssoc
MacmillanCancerSupport
ClicSargent
ThorndalefamilyCentre
SchoolAidRomania
FriendsofASHA
Total
£1,000
£3,729
£1,200
£26,000
£18,500
£61,126
22. Treasurer’s Report and summary financial statements
Background, purposeandobjectivesofMethodistCollegeBelfast
Methodist College Belfast was established in 1865 by the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland, and is regardedasoneofNorthern Ireland’s leading co-educational grammar schools. As nondenominational, the College welcomes pupils of all faiths and none into a safe, supportive and inclusive environment,offering equalopportunitiestoall. As partoftheirMethodyjourney, ourpupils are encouraged to develop confidence and tolerance, to have respect for themselves and for others, and to contribute fully to the world in which they live.
The Collegeoffers an unrivalledrange ofacademic subjects, activities andopportunitiesforourpupils, who are encouraged by a team of dedicated educators to learn, develop and excel wherever their interests lie. For that reason, the College has a remarkable reputation for excellence, whether that be in the classroom or the laboratory, or on the various stages of sport, music and drama.
The College, consisting of Secondary and Preparatory Departments over 2 sites, is currently attended by 2,006 pupils and is administratively situated on the Malone Road in South Belfast. The College maintains substantial playing fields at Pirrie Park, a modern and well-equipped boat house beside the River Lagan at Stranmillis, and an artificial turf hockey pitch at Deramore Park.
Financialreview
For the financial year ended 31st March 2025, the College recorded a total deficit of £1,362k (2024: £1,119k deficit), a summary of which is as follows:
Given the increasing levels of deficit reported year on year since 2020/21 (see below), it is perhaps appropriate to provide some context.
OverallFinancialOutcomes
As alluded to above, the SecondaryDepartment offers a wide range of subjects and ac vi es to all pupils, hence the College’s outstanding reputa on for academic and extra-curricular excellence and success, and the excep onal experience and opportuni es offered to all. It is important to note, however, that the cost of maintaining this market leading posi on is at odds with the College’s income streams, both currently and projected in the short to medium term.
AnalysisofTotalExpenditure
TeachingcostsEstatescosts
AdmincostsOthercosts
Our main source of income, in the form of grants from the Department of Educa on NI, has reduced in real terms. Coupled with significant increases to costs which are vital to the day-to day opera ons of the College, but whichare largely outsideofits control (staffing, repairs andrenewals etc), financing the College remains difficult.
Thissitua onisunlikelyimprovewithoutinterven on,andtheBoardofGovernors,withtheassistance of the Senior Leadership Team, are cognisant that they must proac vely deal with the worsening financial situa on:
The Department of Educa on NI have been contacted with regard to the provision of emergency funding to the College. They have indicated that, at this me, they are unable to assist.
A programme of proac ve cost reduc on in areas such as estates and departmental spending was established earlier in the calendar year. In light of this, it is disappoin ng that the College budget for the 2025-26 financial year is projec ng a significantly increased deficit.
In the in the absence of government assistance and the ability to cut costs without substan al damage to the academic and extra-curricular provision at the College, considerable me is being spent to iden fy alterna ve sources of income
Some of these sources are established, but perhaps rela vely poorly supported. For example, the Annual College Fund, which represents a valuable route for parents to assist in funding extracurricular provision of all modes. The Board of Governors sincerely expresses its thanks and apprecia on to all those parents who contribute to this Fund.
To those parents who have not contributed to the Fund in the past, I would ask you to consider very seriously making a contribu on to assist the school in its work.
Put simply, the College will not be able to maintain the range and quality of educa on and extracurricular ac vi es it currently provides without these contribu ons.
ThePreparatoryDepartment has combined into one site and been renamed Methodist College Preparatory Department. Enrolment for September 2025 is posi ve, with only a small number of placesavailableintwoyeargroupswithintheDepartment. TheBoardweredisappointedattheLabour Government’s decision to add VAT to fees charged for Prep Schools, and have been encouraged by parents con nued commitment to Prep Educa on in spite of this. The budget for 2025/26 is encouraging.
FinancialYear
2024-25
BequestsandDonaons
The Governors con nue to be most grateful for all gi s, given through the year and in the past, to be used by the College to promote excellence, opportunity and diversity, and to meet John Wesley’s Challenge to “Do allthe good you can, by allthe means you can, inall the ways you can, at allthe mes you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
Income of £625k was received from the Presco Fund during the year which has enabled the College to fund a number of full- me staff to provide addi onal support for individual pupils (Study Support Unit), as well as a number of addi onal staff who provide pastoral and wellbeing support available to all pupils.
DevelopmentoftheCollege’sFacilies
The Board of Governors con nues to plan further significant improvements to the College’s facili es. These include the refurbishment of the Chapel, much enhanced music technology, scien fic laboratories, and canteen facili es, to name a few. This development work demonstrates the commitment of the Board to create a school with facili es which will benefit all pupils, now and into the future.
However, such development is subject to investment beyond that borne by the Department of Educa on. And as this por on is the responsibility of the College, there is the need to raise funds. In light of this, theBoard and Senior Leadership Team are collabora ng in order to ascertain the best way forward to commence fundraising efforts throughout the Methody community, past and present.
Conclusion
The College is a substan al organisa on and, given the financial challenges it currently faces, it is therefore essen al to promote exemplar financial management and control. An annual internal audit is carried out by a firm of independent internal auditors, during which the College’s systems and controls are examined and reported upon. We are pleased to report that the College again recorded the highest level of assurance possible. In addi on, our financial statements are subject to statutory audit and, per the audit report, they have been prepared to a high standard.
The College depends on the exper se, commitment and goodwill of all our staff. The level of care, a en on andcommitment providedto pupils andtheoutcomes achievedareacredit to everyone and I thank all the staff for their efforts which are greatly appreciated. The College is a significant employer with around 229 part me and full me staff. This is made up of 131 teaching staff and 98 support staff.
We trust that you will con nue to support the school in its work in the future, which will be needed in this next challenging period.
Mr J Magee, Treasurer June 2025
