St Mary's College, Derry

We believe that we are in a period of profound, transformative change on the lives of our pupils, our school and the wider community. We believe the future is already with us and it is imperative that we embrace the opportunities and challenges that it presents. We are witnessing the development of learning partnerships between teachers and pupils and the creation of an environment where what has been will always be challenged and what will become has yet to be imagined. Every pupil in our school has been empowered with the tools to become an active participant in the creation of a new society. 1:1 computing, BYOD to school and a paperless learning environment will all ensure that our pupils are 21st Century change agents. We as teachers cannot yet imagine the future that they will create. Our purpose is to help them along this transformative journey. The Technology and Design Department in this school is perhaps one of the best in the North West. We have a 3D printer and we even have a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine which means the pupils can programme into a computer what they want engraved on to a piece of wood. At the start of April, the head of Technology and Design at St. Mary’s College, Clare Doherty and school principal, Marie Lindsay decided to nominate Mr Gavin Molloy for a prestigious award. The award, which is known as the Pearson Teaching Award for Outstanding Use of Technology, is open to teachers from right across the United Kingdom. Mr Molloy has won this prestigious national award and he is one of the many of our teachers that shine a light of inspiration for all our pupils. Our teachers are constantly involved in staff development programme in partnership with University of Ulster; they are humble enough to recognise that they need to constantly upskill themselves in coding, programming, game design and 21st Century thinking skills and strategies. Our staff realise that our children do not learn the same way we learnt to we can’t teach them the way we were taught.