Two groups of Coláiste na Carraige students lead the way to the NFTE semi-finals

Two groups of business students from Coláiste na Carraige have won the Regional Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Finals and are through to the national semi-finals competing against schools from across Ireland next month. 

NFTE is a world recognised youth entrepreneurship education and development programme managed by Foróige. The student’s teacher, Thomas Johnston said he is extremely proud of his students who have worked tirelessly over the last number of weeks to win the regional finals. This is Mr Johnston’s first year of teaching business with TY students of Coláiste na Carraige.

The Colaiste na Carraige transition year students competed in two categories in the NFTE competition, one group competed in the innovation category and another group competed in the business category. 

The first group of Coláiste na Carraige students created an App which focuses on the well-being of students. However, Mr Johnston says the App can be used in a number of different environments. 

Mr Johnston said: “The students created TYT the abbreviation stands for Tell Your Thoughts, an App which could be utilised in schools, colleges or even the workplace.”

When used in the school environment, students would log onto the App every morning and be asked how they are feeling when entering each class. At this point, students can tell the app they are feeling fine or if they need to talk. If they select the latter, they have the option to communicate directly to the teacher to inform them of their feelings.

"This is really beneficial to students who may be getting bullied or suffering from their mental health. It creates a platform for students to speak up and seek help in confidence via the app, enabling students who may not normally feel comfortable speaking up about issues such as bullying or mental health"

Mr Johnston said that with this information the teacher is now informed and can take action to resolve the issues: "The App also keeps track of the students feelings over a period of time so parents and the school can recognise any patterns that may develop. This App can also be used in colleges or the workplace following the same model to track students and employees well-being."

The group that competed in the business category created a brand called Aspire.

Mr Johnston said: “They created a brand and what they wanted to do was be like Nike or Adidas but obviously they had to start small so they started with hats, given the weather it was a great starting product for them.”

The students sold over one hundred hats at their school in their first week of sales. Former Ireland Rugby Captain Rory Best was recently spotted sporting one of the student’s stylish hats. Donegal player Ryan McHugh and the Ireland and Everton Captain Séamus Coleman have also been endorsing their hats. 

The hats are produced locally in Killybegs and the generous-spirited students have also agreed to donate 10 percent of their profit to the Creeslough fund. They are trying to keep everything as local as they can. The students have plans to expand into other clothing lines in the near future.

If the students are successful next month in the national semi-finals, they will book their place in the national finals in Dublin in May. Furthermore, the winners of the National Award will travel to Kitsbuhel, Austria in September to represent Ireland at a European level.