Welcome to the News section of the website. I hope you find it interesting and useful in keeping you informed of the many events that happen in Victoria Park School.

• Congratulations to Tiras

  Tue 30 Jun 2026

  Congratulations to Tiras, one of our outgoing P7s, for being named player of the tournament at the Ards Rangers Inclusion tournament at the weekend. He plays for Dungoyne Inclusion FC. Well done, Tiras!

  

• Association for Mathematics in Education's First Mathematics Challenge

  Mon 29 Jun 2026

  Our P5s enjoyed taking part in the Association for Mathematics in Education's First Mathematics Challenge last week. They had to answer 20 increasingly difficult multiple choice questions. It provided an entertaining yet educational ending to the school year for them. The children were presented with their certificates today by Mr Ryden. He was very impressed by their efforts. Well done everyone!

  

• Julian's Painting

  Fri 26 Jun 2026

  Mrs Gourley loved see the different Titanic projects produced by the two P6 classes but she was particularly impressed by Julian's wonderful painting. Incredible Julian!

  

• Surprise visitor

  Thu 25 Jun 2026

  Mrs Gourley was delighted and honoured to receive a surprise visitor in school this morning as the MP for East Belfast and the Leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson, took time out of his very busy schedule to pop in and wish her all the best for her retirement.

  

• Penultimate day for the P7s

  Tue 23 Jun 2026

  The penultimate day for the P7s at Victoria Park was made extra special when an ice cream van turned up at the front of the school as a treat for the children courtesy of our parents. Perfect day for it!

  

• Mrs Gourley's Send off

  Mon 22 Jun 2026

  As the end of term rapidly approaches, we wanted to make sure that Mrs Gourley got the send off she truly deserves as she prepares to retire after 21 years as the principal of Victoria Park, We held a special assembly on Thursday morning and we were delighted to be joined by Stephen Warke, Chair of the Board of Governors, and Anca Matei, the Chair of the PTA, along with other special guests. Anca presented Mrs Gourley with flowers and a gift on behalf of the school's parents, past and present. A big thank you to all the parents who contributed so generously. A special retirement dinner was also held at The Stables, Groomsport, that evening attended by staff and other invited guests including former colleagues and governors and current board members.

  Mr Warke's statement on behalf of the Board of Governors:

  𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝟯𝟲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗦, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹. 𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟱, 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗚𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹.

  𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗚𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟰.

  𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗿, 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆.

  𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀.

  𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 “𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂” 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼!!

  𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸.

  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗚𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

  

• Boy's Football

  Mon 22 Jun 2026

  Last Friday, our boys’ football team attempted to defend their title in the Galactico Soccer tournament. The tournament featured 16 teams from Belfast and Bangor and the teams were split into groups of 4. We were grouped with Strandtown, Finaghy and Euston Street. The teams played 10 minute matches with the winning team from each group advancing to the 1st place semi-finals, the second place to the 2nd place semi-finals and so on.

  The first match was a tight affair against a well organised Finaghy team. The game appeared to be heading for a goalless draw before Jaxx, recovering from being kicked in the stomach, managed to bicycle kick a loose ball in the box into the net. The team held on for a deserved victory.

  The second game was against Strandtown. The teams were evenly matched and both sides had their chances. Some terrific work in defence by Kyan managed to shut down any Strandtown attacks and the game finished 0-0.

  In the final game of the group, Victoria Park needed to win by four clear goals to top the group, a big ask in a 10 minute match. The boys started quickly and scored an early goal, but with no time to celebrate they grabbed the ball and ran back to the centre spot. They managed to maintain their intensity throughout the game and with goals from Jenson, Luke (2), Jaxon and Ruben they achieved an incredible 5-0 victory to win the group.

  The semi-final against Braniel was a close game and both teams had chances to win. Only an incredible double save by Logan in the last seconds of normal time kept them in it. The game went to extra time and Victoria Park were very much on the front foot, but unfortunately just couldn’t find the winner. The game went to penalties and ultimately the boys were denied by some outstanding goalkeeping from the Braniel keeper.

  Mr Gullen was incredibly proud of the whole team and was so impressed with the boys who put their hands up to take the penalties in such a high pressure situation. They showed great character and he knows they would do it again if necessary.

  He would also like to congratulate Luke, who was named Player of the Tournament by the organisers for the second year running. Thanks to Mr Gullen and Mr Myles, as always, for their hard work with the boys all year.

  Victoria Park – Logan, Kyan, Lucas, Riley, Ahmed, Jaxx, Ruben, Jaxon, Luke, Jenson (c)

  

• Girls' football team

  Thu 18 Jun 2026

  Our girls' football team put in a fantastic effort across four matches at the recent Galactico Soccer Girls Tournament, showing great determination and teamwork throughout the day.

  We began with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Strandtown with Carys scoring and a great assist from Georgia. Next came a closely contested 0-0 draw against Finaghy, where the girls showed great determination. They then secured a brilliant 2-0 victory over Ballymagee including a fabulous second goal from Carys with Gemma providing the assist.

  We secured a place in the semi-final but our final match was against a strong Rathmore side, ending in a 2-0 defeat. Despite the result, the team never stopped working and represented Victoria Park with pride.

  Our Player of the Tournament went to Raia who worked so well with every team member, adjusting her play for each game and never giving up. A huge thank you to Tanya for the effort she puts into working with our girls during the year, building skills and confidence to be able to compete in these tournaments. Finally, the biggest congratulations to all of our players for their effort, attitude and teamwork. We are very proud of you all. Thanks as well to Mrs Perrott who accompanied the girls to the tournament