Mayo students winners in Build a Bank Challenge

BALLINROBE Community School has won a top prize in the AIB Build a Bank Challenge.

Students from the Sacred Heart School in Westport and Ballinrobe Community School took part in the final of the 18th AIB Build A Bank Challenge, one of the longest running schools programmes for transition and fifth year students across Ireland.

Over 70 schools took part in the virtual final held through video conferencing, with each team presenting their project to a panel of judges.

Ballinrobe Community School were awarded Best Newcomer for their entry, the Buddy Bank.

St. Mary's Secondary School, Mallow, were awarded the title of national champions 2020 as well as €5,000 for their school.

The Buddy Bank was managed by six TY students – Alanna Tiernan, AJ Carpio, Aoife O’Connor, Leigh Murphy, Ronan Hughes and Sean Burke. The link teacher was Ms. Dwyer.

In a social media post, the school paid tribute to the team: 'These students did tremendous work with the school bank throughout the year, and this award is recognition for all the hard work they put in.'

The AIB Build a Bank Challenge is a year-long programme, giving students the opportunity to set up and run an operational bank within their school while exploring innovation, creativity and business management. The programme also encourages students to give back to their school and community, with participating teams engaging with their local communities and a variety of charities.

Normally, the year-long programme culminates at a national final in Dublin where students present their projects to the judging panel before the winners are announced at a prize giving ceremony. Due to current Covid-19 restrictions this was not possible this year, so AIB transformed the physical event into a web-based experience, allowing the students to present their Build A Bank projects through video conferencing.

*Pictured are members of the Buddy Bank team from Ballinrobe. Photo from the school Facebook page