Limavady High students awarded

The school children picked up the accolade in the prestigious Ulster Bank Financial Capability Awards, held in the Great Hall at Queen’s University.

Representing the school on stage were Mrs Valerie McGregor (Teacher) and pupils Kyle Ferguson and Rachel Whyte.

Also pictured were Mervyn Storey MLA, Stephen Cruise of Ulster Bank, and Fiona Magee of Advice NI. The school was the second runner-up in the Student Award category, with judges extremely impressed by the pupils’ commitment.

The Ulster Bank Financial Capability Awards in association with CCEA, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, aim to recognise excellence in financial capability teaching.

Stephen Cruise, Head of Branches, Private and Financial Planning NI at Ulster Bank, congratulated the winners, saying: “We wanted to recognise the great work in Northern Ireland’s post-primary schools to equip young people with the skills and knowledge to make good financial choices and to deal with the challenges of being independent adults.

“It is clear from the entries to the awards that some fantastic things are being done. The winners and runners-up can be very proud of their work and we really hope that this will help encourage and inspire many more schools, teachers and students.”

Richard Hanna, Director of Education Strategy, CCEA, who chaired the Judging Panel, stressed the importance of Financial Capability in the curriculum.

Mr Hanna said: “All of the entries we saw were of a very high quality. It was very encouraging to see young people being provided with opportunities to experience money management first hand.

“In these times of economic austerity, it is essential that young people are equipped to make financial decisions both in relation to personal finance and business life. The Enterprising Spirit entries highlighted the thread of entrepreneurship that exists in our young people which is waiting to be nurtured and developed”.