THE completion of a new facade at the entrance to St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School on the Glen Road has been welcomed by the school principal.
The display features a number of panels illustrating life at the school, from sport to language, teaching and the school community.
Principal Brendan McComb explained: "The front of the school needed a wee bit of a bit of attention and with the new leadership transition that took place we felt it was very important to have a kind of a facade that reflects the kind of level of ambition and the direction we want the school going.
"A big part of that is modernisation and that's why we kind of decided to prioritise the front and show the community that there has been a change at the school.
"As part of our our aim and vision to really assert St Mary's as a top Belfast grammar school and to have an entrance now, as prestigious as it is, is an important part of that."
Brendan said that there's "a vision behind each of the panels".
"At the entrance, we have two panels welcoming people to our community which are multi-lingual which reflects the diverse nature of our student body in the school.
"We also have an image of Edmund Rice, the founder of all Edmund Rice schools. We are very proud to be one of 276 Edmund Rice schools worldwide.
"We also have three panels that illustrate the culture of GAA at the school. We have a hurler, we have a footballer, and we have a handballer as well.
Gaelic sports have always been a big part of St Mary's
"We have an image of a pupil reading, which reflects literacy and how it is a core part of our curriculum and everything we do in the school. We have an image of a musician. Two of the major events that we have across our school calendar is our Christmas carol service and our spring concert.
"We then have an image of a teacher, obviously without our amazing and dedicated staff our pupils wouldn't have the opportunities to succeed and thrive in the way they do.
"Along the top of each panel is some symbols associated with science, music, mathematics, religious and spiritual.
"I am delighted with the way it has turned out and I hope people enjoy it. It creates the kind of prestigious entrance that we want and reflects the direction we want the school to go on."
