Students work on Cool FM media bus

The Magherafelt Learning Partnership (MLP) is a learning community consisting of Kilronan Special School, Magherafelt High School, Rainey Endowed School, Sperrin Integrated College, St Mary’s Grammar School, St Pius X College and the Northern Regional College. The MLP School Transport & Safety Group (ST&SG) decided to run an Internet Safety Poster competition for Year 8 pupils across the partnership. Some 600 pupils were invited to design a poster with the title “Tell me about it”.

Pupils were advised to look up internet sites such as BBC Webwise and Dr Barnardos as well as asking their teachers questions. The poster could be designed on the computer or drawn freehand.

Schools submitted their 20 best posters as judged by their Art/ICT teachers and these were forwarded to a central judging panel consisting of Constable Lindsay Cunningham, PSNI, and Mr Michael McCrory, Magherafelt District Council.

This panel selected the best 11 posters from each school giving a total of 55 pupils successfully through to the next stage. These pupils were subdivided into 4 groups of 13/14 and each group was given the opportunity to work on the COOL FM bus for an hour and fifteen minutes, the bus having visited Magherafelt for the day on Monday 11th February.

During the day, COOL FM staff identified the best 3 pupils from each school who would visit COOL FM studios in Belfast for a full day on Tuesday 26th February 2013 to design a radio advert on Internet Safety.

This advert would subsequently be uploaded to all MLP school websites for the benefit each school’s learning community.

The MLP School Transport & Safety Group would like to express it thanks to the Policing & Community Safety Partnership and the PSNI for sponsoring the competition and to COOL FM for making their bus available for the day in Magherafelt.