St Joseph’s Boys’ High School, Newry.

                                                         Fourth National Award for Pioneers 

At a recent presentation ceremony in Dublin, representatives from St Joseph’s Pioneers received the  award of Gradam na Réadóirí AD2006.This is the fourth time St Joseph’s was positively assessed across  the nine categories and awarded the Gradam.

The school Pioneer Centre was assessed as ‘Excellent’ in the categories associated with:
Membership and Recruitment;
Youth Participation;
Local Centre Activities;
Involvement in the Community/Parish.

In the other categories the school received a good to very good assessment rating.

Over the last four years St Joseph’s has developed ways to promote the work of the Pioneers Association within the school and throughout South Down. To date, St Joseph’s is the only Northern Ireland school centre to achieve the Gradam.

 Mr Hugh Mallon, Principal, said
"In an age when young people are under increasing  pressure to begin drinking alcohol, the excellent proactive work of our school Pioneer Association has been justifiably recognised by the receipt of this National Award. All the members and staff leaders can be very proud of this achievement for what must be a record number of times any school centre has been granted the Gradam anywhere in Ireland.”