Thurles school students presented with Certified Irish Angus calves at National Ploughing Championships

At a special event at today’s National Ploughing Championships, TikTok influencer and RTÉ Broadcaster Mary-Claire Fitzpatrick revealed the five secondary schools that have been selected as finalists in this year’s Certified Irish Angus schools’ competition. 

Kaitlyn Ryan, Gráinne Callanan, Evie Smyth and Rebekah Smith from Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles were among the students from schools in Meath, Dublin, Cork, Tipperary and Westmeath, who met the Irish Angus-Cross calves they will rear for the first time at the event. 

The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition, run by Certified Irish Angus and its processor partners, ABP and Kepak, aims to encourage second level students to gain an understanding about the considerable care and attention that is required to produce and market the highest quality beef for consumers. After the National Ploughing Championships, the students will take the calves home where they will rear them for 18-months as part of this unique competition. 

The five schools were narrowed down from 140 entries after a competitive, multi-stage interview process earlier this year. In addition to rearing the calves, the schools will complete a project focusing on a different aspect of farming, the food chain and sustainability.  The Ursuline girls will explore the theme ‘Health and Safety on Beef Farms’ which will investigate how a farmer’s physical and mental health can be impacted, both positively and negatively, by their way of life. 

The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition aims to allow students to apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to a real-life setting. Each of the finalists will receive the financial benefit involved in the selling of the animals to the processors on completion of the project. The winning students also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.