The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
GORT Community School (CS) is the only Irish school to feature in a prestigious shortlist of top global educational facilities.
The school has made the Top 10 shortlist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in partnership with Accenture and American Express.
Gort Community School, was named in the ‘Supporting Healthy Lives’ category.
Brian Crossan Principal said the school values a rounded education. “Of course, academics is very important in our school and every year our students excel in their exams,” he said. “But of equal, if not more importance, is that our students are happy and healthy. We work hard to ensure that we have the structures, procedures and supports in place to cater to this aspect of our students lives in GCS. And we are very supportive of any initiatives that our enthusiastic, creative and dedicated staff undertake in this regard also.”
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said: “I want to congratulate Gort Community School for making the Top 10 shortlists for the inaugural World’s Best School Prizes. Educators all over the world will now be able to learn from the example of this outstanding Irish school.”
On Friday last, October 21, Deputy Principal Sharon Connolly, PE teacher Aoife Lynskey, and Science teacher Marianne Gardiner engaged in a panel discussion for World Education Week, providing the opportunity to showcase some of the school’s initiatives to the world in a live, global event. A recording of this event is available on the school website. The Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago won the top prize in the Supporting Healthy Lives category but all in Gort CS are immensely proud of achieving Top 10 status in the world.
As a health-supporting school, Gort CS has been recognised in the national arena as ‘excellent’ in different areas from human rights to environmental action; project management to entrepreneurship, creative thinking to artistic musical endeavours; digital learning to student leadership, holistic health, sport and well-being.
For the past 27 years, Gort CS has harnessed close links with local business and community services, CSOs and NGOs. Believing in strength in community, they have sought connections as far away as North Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal, Finland, and the Silicon Valley.
Gort Community School has recently earned the titles of ‘The Entrepreneurial School Award (2020)’; ’Ireland’s Fittest School (2017-2019)’; Travel School of the Year (2022); Walking School of the Year (2022); Special Recognition CPR 4 Schools (2022); WorldWise Diplomatic Global Passport Award (2012-2022); Grow2CEO Winning School (2018) and ITLG Young Innovators Challenge Winners (2018).
