THE Principal of Holy Cross Boys' Primary School in Ardoyne has published a book which he hopes will encourage others to introduce philosophy into the school curriculum.

Thanks to the success of the award-winning Young Plato documentary – which featured the school – philosophy teaching at Holy Cross has gained worldwide fame.

Now, Principal Kevin McArevey has published a new book, 'Think Think Respond: Philosophy in Holy Cross Boys' detailing just how philosophy teaching works at the school.

"If it wasn’t for this book, there probably wouldn’t have been Young Plato," explained Kevin. "I started writing this book eight years ago in Africa.

"It was written to track the journey of philosophy since I became principal until Young Plato. It details what philosophy is, why we brought it into school and what the children do with it.

"I wanted to use children to educate adults through philosophical themes such as loneliness, anger, bullying and death. These issues are very important to our lives every day.

"I am fighting against screentime and the digital age and want to bring back conversation, especially around their family table.

"I want to change the thinking in this area. I want to change their mindset that allows them to say no and challenge.

"Think Think Respond is the title of the book. It is all about how the kids respond to a question rather than jump in straight away.

"The boys absolutely love it. They are not afraid to speak and everybody has an opinion. We are not afraid to have any conversation in this school."

Kevin now hopes that other schools introduce philosophy to reap social and educational benefits for their pupils.

"I think philosophy should be a core tenet of education in every school. I hope the book will inspire other schools to introduce it," he added. "Our results have come on so much since we introduced philosophical thinking. I must commend our great team of teaching staff who have really embraced it too.

"Our philosophy in this school centres on improving mental health and wellbeing. I agreed to Young Plato because we have lost too many lives in this area to suicide and drugs. I hope the book is like a blueprint to how to bring philosophy into a school."

'Think Think Respond: Philosophy in Holy Cross Boys' by Kevin McArevey is available at Holy Cross, priced at £20, with all proceeds going back into the school.