Students develop award-winning app to support young people in the LGBTQ+ community.
A team of students from Stratford Girls’ Grammar School in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, have won an award at the prestigious national Apps for Good Awards, held on June 23 at the Barbican in London.
The Stratford Girls’ Grammar School students’ app, ‘I’m Okay’, won the Information category, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, following an intensive pitching process to a panel of judges comprised of industry leaders and high profile figures.
‘I’m Okay’ is designed to provide support and advice to young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
The national Apps for Good Awards celebrate the next generation of problem solvers and digital creators: students who have created an app that tackle an everyday problem or issue they are passionate about.
The app creation and award-win marks the completion of the Apps for Good course by the students involved. Provided free of charge to transform the way technology is taught in schools, the Apps for Good course is designed to empower students aged 10-18 to seize the opportunities of our digital age and create solutions to the problems they care about, using technology. Apps for Good, a registered charity, provides the course content, training and connections to expert volunteers and then lets teachers do what they are best at – inspiring and guiding young people.
The Stratford Girls’ Grammar School students will now work with a development agency to launch their app onto the market in January 2015, with the support of Apps for Good and category sponsor, Thomson Reuters.
Emily Bowes, student, Stratford Girls’ Grammar School said: “I’m extremely glad we won, though I’m not sure it’s completely hit me yet! The competition was a wonderful experience and winning was just amazing. I’m very happy with the result.”
Simon Reid, head of computing at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School, was also named Teacher of the Year at the Awards ceremony.
Simon said: “I’m incredibly proud to have won this award. Not only for myself; but also on behalf of the incredible students I work with, who make my job so worthwhile and rewarding.”
Debbie Forster, UK managing director of Apps for Good, commented: “The competition this year has been fierce; for their app to stand out above the rest is testament to their hard work, creativity and innovation through technology, but also to the valuable skills they have developed such as problem solving, team work and communication. For us, this is fantastic as this is the whole idea behind the Apps for Good course: to teach not only the fundamentals of coding and literacy, but also these transferable life skills which will set them up for success in the 21st century. We can’t wait to see the finished app get launched on to the market in January!”
Bob Schukai, head of Advanced Product Innovation at category sponsor, Thomson Reuters, said: Their app, ‘I’m Okay’, really stood out for its innovative design and creative solutions, and we are excited to work with the team to bring the app to market. At Thomson Reuters, we value developing technologies, talent, and innovative thinking, which is why we are so proud to sponsor the Information category and to continue to support this amazing organisation.”
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