An after-school homework club designed to encourage young members of the Travelling community to stay in education was among the winners in the education category of The Irish Times Living Dublin Awards yesterday.
The homework club, which won in the post-primary category, was set up by Tallaght Travellers Community Development Project to help redress the high level of early school leavers among the Traveller community. Parents of Traveller children attending schools in the Tallaght area are actively involved in the club, while a qualified secondary school teacher provides support to help students fulfil their potential in the Junior and Leaving Cert exams.
Among the other schools commended in the category were Francis Street CBS, for a project aimed at improving teachers' and pupils' computer skills.
In the primary education category, the Quality of Life in Dublin's North Inner City to Others project won the first prize. The project was set up by teacher Áine Caffrey and involved an exchange programme between Rutland Street National School in Dublin and a 22-pupil school in Sligo.