Achill Sound NS pupils reach national final for second successive year

Pupils from Achill Sound NS on Achill Island were celebrating when it was announced that their entry in the Trocaire’s Game Changers Competition was shortlisted for the second year in a row.

Last year pupils from the island school and their teachers had much to celebrate as they won

Trocaire’s Game Changers Competition 2022. Their winning game Roll and Catch highlighted how climate change threatens the world’s oceans.

This week they received the wonderful news that two of the board games they entered in this year’s Game Changers Competition, 'Take Shelter' and 'Colour Heroes', have been included in the 16 games shortlisted in the primary category.

This year Trocaire received 210 games from Primary Schools, Post Primary schools, and Youth Groups from across the 32 counties on the island of Ireland.

Game Changers is a programme for young people which encourages them to engage with global justice issues through free workshops delivered by Trocarie’s development education team.

Young people are then invited to design a board, card, or digital game to explore global issues such as climate change, gender equality or conflict and to enter it in the Game Changers competition. Take Shelter is a game which highlights the global housing crisis. Pupils were keen to highlight this issue as more than 1.8 million people around the world do not have adequate housing.

The game Colour Heroes explores the fundamental human right that is gender equality and the effect that empowering women has on reducing poverty in developing countries.

Principal of Achill Sound NS Laura Mc Ginty said the pupils were delighted when news reached them that they had been shortlisted for the second year in a row.

“There is great excitement among the pupils as we look forward to the final. Game Changers has been a wonderful learning opportunity for our pupils, and it is a huge achievement for a small rural school like ours to be in the final for the second year running.”

The final of Game Changers takes place in The Helix , Dublin on May 22. The pupils will showcase their shortlisted games and all the pupils attending the event will get an opportunity to play the games and vote for their favourites. This will be combined with the judges’ score to determine the overall winner. The children of Achill Sound NS are wished the very best of luck in the final.