Carl Frampton Launches Integrated Education Week

Carl and his wife Christine are the parents of Carla who attends our school and on Tuesday 1st March he came into Bridge IPS to meet all the children and to help us celebrate the theme of Harmony for Integrated Education Week. He talked at two assemblies where he told the children about growing up in Tiger’s Bay at a time when trouble within and between communities was obvious. He became involved in boxing at the age of 7 and it allowed him to channel his energy positivly into sport.

Carl explained to the children that boxing afforded him the chance to meet people from both communities, train in different gyms and develop friendships beyond his immediate home environment. He told the children that this helped to prevent him developing a bitter attitude towards others of a different religious and cultural background, which was a problem for young people in both communities at the time he was growing up.

Carl showed the children his IBF belt, and expressed the fact that while the negative side of boxing is of course that others may be injured, nonetheless there is a very healthy level of respect in boxing for your opponent as it takes great courage to get into the ring with someone else and this is why he hugged Scott Quigg at the end of the fight on 27th Feb as he deserved respect for his bravery.

Carl told the children that in Northern Ireland we have many things that are used as a vehicle for disagreement but boxing is not one of these things as it harmonises and unifies the communities. He expressed his great admiration and respect for Barry McGuigan as an ambassador for Integrated Education also.

The Principal, Mrs Teresa Devlin, on behalf of the whole school community would like to offer heartfelt thanks to Carl for being so generous with his time, especially after his fabulous success on Saturday. ‘It was our total privilege and pleasure to be able to welcome Carl Frampton into school this week to help us celebrate Integrated Education Week. He was so humble and gave very generously of his time to our children. It was exceptionally special for our children to be able to have their photograph taken with Carl, so fresh from his amazing success, and the children were very inspired by the messages that Carl gave them about respect for one another and working hard to achieve your goals.’