Inverclyde Council School First in Scotland to Receive Gold Tech Award
Notre Dame High in Greenock has become the first school in Scotland to be recognised as a gold level Teen Tech Centre of Innovation and Creativity.
Only six schools across the whole of the UK have been awarded the prestigious accolade which celebrates outstanding work to inspire and support students as well as sharing their expertise with other schools to do the same.
Inverclyde’s Education & Communities Convener Councillor Terry Loughran said: “I am absolutely thrilled and delighted that Notre Dame’s success has been recognised. It is reward for years of hard work, dedication, and of course imagination by staff and pupils. Science and technology is so important in our modern world and being involved in programmes like TeenTech ensure our children and young people are well-placed to succeed and indeed become leaders in the world of technology and innovation.”
Notre Dame has been involved with the TeenTech programme since 2012 with every pupil in S2 taking part. Seven groups have competed in the finals with four being awarded as category winners.
Notre Dame has been Involved with the TeenTech programme since 2012 with a total of 7 groups having competed in the finals and 4 being awarded as category winners.
Acting Head Teacher Kate Couttie said: “We are extremely proud of what our pupils have achieved through participating in ‘Teen Tech’ over the years. Pupils are inspired by the opportunity to influence the future through developing Technology and we are delighted to accept this recognition of the work done by our Technical Department.”
The other UK schools to be recognised as a gold level TeenTech Centre of Innovation and Creativity are: Alton Convent (Hampshire) , James Allen Girls School (London) Loreto Grammar School (Altringham), Park House School (Newbury) , Ysgol Glan Y Mor (Wales)
Maggie Philbin, CEO and co-founder of TeenTech commented, “We are consistently impressed by the talent, enthusiasm and commitment of the pupils and schools who participate in TeenTech. Students have the opportunity to work with industry professionals to gain an understanding of the innovation and design process from concept to initial prototype, via marketing, sales and finance.
They own their idea, and quite rightly by the end of the process feel proud to be young engineers and technologists. We are delighted to be able to recognise the remarkable work of schools that have leveraged this passion to spread the message further, either as teachers or through their students as young TeenTech Ambassadors.
We believe that by working together, we can achieve so much more.”
Notes to editors:
Photograph:Notre Dame pupils (L to R) Niamh McLean, Tia Maloney, Zara Smith and Eve Swan with HRH Duke of York at a recent TeenTech awards ceremony.
About TeenTech
Established in 2008 TeenTech enables over 4000 school students each year to immerse themselves in the worlds of technology and engineering through project based learning, interactive events and innovation sessions. It opens their eyes to the dynamic and diverse emerging career opportunities and pathways.
The TeenTech experience has shown that true innovation happens when young people are given the access, opportunity and environment to explore and build their own ideas to make life better, simpler, safer or more fun.
TeenTech is committed to ensuring that such opportunities are made available to as many young people as possible – whatever their gender, social background, ethnicity or ability.
Effective collaboration is increasingly key when preparing students for the dynamic, global workplace of the twenty first century, as is the development of other critical soft skills in our technology enabled world. TeenTech is passionate about creating both awareness and experience of the diverse and exciting opportunities that await tomorrow’s workforce; enabling students to further develop the requisite skills for future life success.
For more information about TeenTech click on the link on the left of this page.