LAST week Saint Kevin’s College celebrated becoming one of the first Google Reference Schools in Northern Ireland. There are currently only a handful of schools in the country that hold this status.

The Lisnaskea school celebrated the achievement on Thursday, September 23, with a Google-themed party.

Staff, students and members of the Board of Governors were present as well as Ajay Pathak, Google For Education Account Manager for Northern Ireland, who spoke virtually through Google Meet, and Niall Marshall, from Google.

Mr. Pathak referred to St. Kevin’s as “a shining beacon and an example that we at Google For Education can use for the rest of Northern Ireland [to show] how with proper planning and leadership, we can integrate these tools into education and ultimately make learning more inclusive, improving learning outcomes”.

John Conlon, Pastoral Head of Key Stage Four and Five at St. Kevin’s, was instrumental in the school becoming a Google Reference School.

He said: “It’s been an amazing experience to see how Google has been implemented into our school from the very start, to where we are right now, today.

“Google For Education has really improved students’ and teachers’ lives and anyone in between who works in the school.

“For us, it was about looking at the needs that we have for the students, to help them improve and reach their learning outcomes from First Year right through to Seventh.

“It’s actually become part of our community, helping us to link in with classroom assistants and support staff and how Google can benefit them in their role to help run the school better and enhance education in Fermanagh.

“We have actually become a school which other schools in Northern Ireland turn to, to ask for support in how to enhance their provision of Google For Education,” he added.

Supportive

Gary Kelly, Principal, thanked Niall Marshall from Google for being supportive of St. Kevin’s through the process of becoming a Google Reference School.

Mr. Kelly said: “It has been a complete journey from dabbling in Google Classroom to becoming proficient right across the school.

“Interestingly, after the pandemic [emerged] I asked the students, ‘What is the best way you like to learn?’, and they said, ‘We like to learn online; we like to learn through Google Classroom’, which was a complete shift in mind-set for us.

“But more than that, it’s the links with community, with parents, we’re communicating now with parents through Google Classroom, and those who may struggle to get into school can now track their child’s progress through Google Classroom.”

The work at St. Kevin’s College has been recognised by the Education Authority (EA), among others. Mr. Kelly said: “This was recognised by the Education Training Inspectorate and the EA, who actually came to the school and spoke to us online over lockdown to see what we were doing with Google Educator, and they have shared that good practice with others.”

St. Kevin’s also celebrated its free Chromebook initiative. In an effort to promote technology and provide equal opportunities for its students, the school gave every Year 13 Student a free Google Chromebook laptop.

Mr. Kelly noted: “We have invested heavily; we invested £36,000 on Google Chromebooks for our post-16 pupils.

“Reports coming back from them is that they are very good, and the access [to learning] it gives them is great.”