Pupils at St Malachy’s Primary School in Kilclief have created a hugely impressive project looking at the NHS through the eyes of the younger members of our society.
Downpatrick area Councillor Colin McGrath (SDLP) has recently commended the excellent work of the P5-7 students from St Malachy’s Primary School who were involved in a ‘Science Fair’ in their school recently.
Having visited the school, Councillor McGrath said: “The effort and work of the students and staff from St Malachy’s Primary School was tremendous. They have obviously undertaken lots of research on the NHS and the local health services and put much effort into their displays.
“The Heath Fair detailed the work of the NHS very well, the many disciplines of the medical profession and has let adults see the health service from a child’s perspective.”
Teacher Michael McGarrity, who spearheaded the project with his P5-7 class, said: “In order to support National Science Week we decided to get our pupils looking at the the NHS from their perspective. They were very enthusiastic about this and we set about setting up individual stalls for them to work on covering the different areas of health cover.
“Everyone uses the NHS, from the cradle to the grave. The pupils have provided a comprehensive understanding of the NHS and the project has been an outstanding educational success.
“Recently we had a representative from the trade union UNITE in to speak to the pupils, and a representative from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, and we also had a haematologist in too giving a talk. Overall this has been a very worthwhile project and it has really caught the imagination of the pupils.”
Cllr McGrath added: “The work of the students under the leadership of their teacher Mr Michael McGarrity was incredibly impressive and I hope to be able to secure some space for the children to display their work at the local hospital at some point in the future.
“Such initiatives are excellent and are creative ways to develop STEM teaching in our local schools and engage children in experiential learning – which is always fun.
“I congratulate the children on their work and effort and commend the staff on such an innovative, project-based approach to learning.”
