Lisburn girl’s award recognises links to Northern Ireland

Published On Wed 19 Dec 2018 by Grant Hill

From Danny Blanchflower to Snow Patrol, the University of Dundee has a proud history of welcoming Northern Irish students to Scotland and a new award, presented for the first time this year, celebrates this relationship.

The University of Dundee Mathematics Award will be given to Northern Ireland’s top performing student in GCSE Mathematics each year. The inaugural prize has been shared by James Pratt of Methodist College in Belfast and Anna Trimble of Wallace High School in Lisburn. Dundee representatives visited Wallace High School yesterday to present Anna with her award, after James received his earlier in the year.

Both received a trophy, certificate and £50 Amazon voucher to recognise their achievements.

Anna’s award was presented by Fordyce Davidson, Professor of Mathematics at the University, who said, “We have established strong relationships with schools in Northern Ireland over many years, particularly in science and engineering subjects.

“The University of Dundee Mathematics Award is a new initiative specifically for Northern Irish students. This award reflects the long and strong bond with Northern Ireland and is fitting for a STEM-focused university like ours. As a mathematician I am naturally delighted to be presenting this award, which is reserved for the very best performing students in the country.”

There are currently more than 2000 Northern Irish students at the University, some of the 8000 or so who have crossed the Irish Sea to begin their studies at Dundee since 2005.

Legendary Tottenham Hotspur and Northern Ireland footballer Danny Blanchflower was one of the first to tread the now well-worn path to Dundee. His RAF training brought him to University College Dundee, the precursor to the University of Dundee, and he turned out for the College’s football side for a spell.

Belfast-born Gordon Hamilton, scorer of Ireland’s famous last-minute try v Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup is another Dundee graduate, as is his namesake Holly, currently a BBC Breakfast presenter.

The chart-topping band Snow Patrol were famously formed by Northern Irish students at the University, and lead singer Gary Lightbody returned to his Alma Mater in July 2018 to receive an Honorary Degree marking his achievements in music.

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