On March 14th the Minister of Education, Angela Smith, announced that St. Mary’s College was one of 12 schools to become a specialist school. Specialist schools have a strength in a particular area and in St. Mary’s that has been identified as Science. Specialist schools are an important part of the Government's plans to raise standards in secondary education. St. Mary’s will use their specialist status to create a challenging environment which raises standards of achievement and the quality of teaching and learning for all our pupils, leading to whole school improvement in performance. As a Science College we will provide a centre of excellence in scientific, technological, enterprising and vocational education. We will be an active contributor to local and national developments within science and will encourage young people to pursue science beyond 16, providing them with appropriate learning pathways so that they develop the skills needed to be active citizens within an increasingly scientific world and to progress into employment, further training and higher education according to their individual abilities, aptitudes and ambitions. As a Science College we will be active partners in a learning society with local community groups, primary schools, secondary schools, NWIFHE and the University of Ulster sharing resources and disseminating good practice. Download Application Form Shared Education Programme Science Department