St Malachy’s College is leading the way in digital technology, preparing and skilling our pupils for careers which are not even invented yet!
The College has been successful in attracting major investment from the Belfast Charitable Trust and The James Kane Foundation to fund a new Creative Digital Technology Hub in St Malachy’s. Here you will find expert staff enabling not only our students but other staff and pupils from the North Belfast Area Learning Community to learn in new ways which will skill them for a multitude of careers in the future. The Hub houses a gaming arena, robotics room and breakout areas. The physical look is designed to excite and stimulate both pupils and staff. The hardware and software are state of the art, and include high spec gaming computers, lego robots and VR machines. Industry and the economy are in great need of a workforce which is adept at using digital technology. In St Malachy’s we will ensure that our students will use this vehicle to continue to be first class problem solvers, creative innovators, effective team players, strong leaders, outstanding managers of information and excellent communicators. Coding, artificial intelligence, robotics, gaming, augmented and virtual reality will be a feature on the curriculum menu! We are confident that our latest Creative hub and the impact it makes will lead to an even bigger building project in the near future. You must come and visit the Hub!
DIGITAL SKILLS
Digital Skills is a newly developed subject at Key Stage 3, which is offered once per week. With global technological advancement, the need for young people to develop and improve their digital skills has never been greater. The digital skills sector now forms the backbone across numerous industries, including financial services, ICT and Creative Industries. In our brand new Digital Hub, students at Key Stage 3 will learn the skills that enable them to take part in digital aspects of society using Google Workspace Skills and will gain their own digital skills passports. They will learn to create their own technology by learning to code using LEGO robots, Minecraft and Game Design, and they will learn to digitally draw and animate using a range of softwares. They will also have the opportunity to design 3D worlds and check them out with our VR headset technology. This technology is also used to enhance the teaching and learning across other subjects within the College. Developing these skills at an early age helps students in all aspects when choosing GCSEs and A-Levels. They will, however, prepare students directly for Computing-based GCSEs and A-Levels.
