We are celebrating after three of our students have been recognised as top of their field in media and tech competitions this month to raise awareness on two key world issues.

Our Grade 8 student, Emma, has been named one of the top young tech innovators in the world in a digital competition that attracted 5000 global entries. Emma was selected as one of four finalists in the Mobile App section of the “Coolest Projects” showcase by The Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Coolest Projects is an international celebration of young, gifted digital artists and the projects they create using the latest tech. The initiative forms part of the UK-based charity, The Raspberry Pi Foundation, whose mission is to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.

Emma developed an immersive gaming app, called Recycle the Right Way, following an idea that evolved during Health and Citizenship class last year with her teacher, Cathy Bonnard.

“This is an incredible achievement for Emma and we are delighted she has been recognised alongside 68 global category finalists and over 5000 entries across the whole competition,” said Language and Health teacher Ms Bonnard.

“We are very proud of how hard Emma has worked to research, design and develop her own app and to beat so many other entries from around the world is a big win. This recognition is also another fantastic example of ISA’s interdisciplinary approach to curricular activities.”

Emma submitted her work via a recorded video for three judges who rated the finalists’ work live on air via YouTube.

Using her skills from computing classes, Emma designed the app to educate and inform on recycling methods including the correct bin in which to put various types of trash including leftover food, garden waste, paper, metals, plastic containers and glass, to name a few. The aim of the game is to sort as many objects into their corresponding bin as possible in 60 seconds.

Emma says, “I chose this project because I’ve seen many people not know where to put their trash and, instead, they either put it in the incorrect bin or don’t dispose of it at all. I chose to teach the correct way to recycle through a game as it allows you to have fun while you’re learning.”

The judges, comprised of engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs, included Aoife Flynn, who heads up Community Development for Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

Eric and Enrico, two of ISA Grade 5 students, have been named as winners in a national anti-racism competition designed to let young people become actively involved in standing up for equality and against racism.

They took part in a creative competition run by Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’s leading anti-racism education charity. The organisation empowers and equips young people with tools to tackle racism and discrimination. Students were asked to express anti-racism messages in a variety of formats including posters, creative writing, or on t-shirts and banners.

They were invited, along with their families, to a prizegiving ceremony at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh last Friday, with Eric accepting the certificate on behalf of the duo.

Our students chose to enter the competition’s video category where their impactive short film highlighted the issue of racism in sport in the UK. The pair scripted and filmed their video which focused on the England footballer, Bukayo Saka, who was subjected to racist abuse after missing the decisive penalty in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

Sports men and women across Scotland and the UK are becoming more committed to anti-racism with football players like Marcus Rashford and rugby player Luther Burrell, speaking out about their experiences of racial abuse and raising awareness of racism in sports. Clubs across the UK are also now promoting a zero-tolerance approach to racism in sport.

Graham Brace, ISA Grade 5 teacher, commented, “At ISA, the importance of celebrating diversity and inclusion forms the basis of one of our core values and, as educators our focus is on shaping students into compassionate individuals, accepting of people from all backgrounds. We encourage our students to become multi-cultural, self-aware, and open-minded and this competition was the ideal platform to highlight the importance of the anti-racism message. We are very proud of Eric and Enrico for choosing to stand up for equality and are delighted their work has been recognised by Show Racism the Red Card.”