THE staff, pupils and wider community of St Kevin’s Primary School have been celebrating after picking up two awards at the Families First NI Education Awards for being the best School in Belfast and the Best Overall School in the North.
The Families First NI Education Awards recognise and honour schools who go that extra mile to provide support to families and children in their care. These awards highlight the special provisions that these educators have provided, to support families through difficult periods of their lives.
St Kevin’s was presented with these awards at a special ceremony in Titanic Belfast after being nominated by several parents for its "outstanding pastoral care and dedication to each child and their families".
Many schools were nominated for this prestigious award so the staff of St Kevin’s were thrilled to be selected as finalists. The whole community were given the opportunity to express why they thought that St Kevin’s should be the overall winners.
The judges were very impressed and named St Kevin’s Primary School joint winners of the Best School in Belfast and Overall Best School in Northern Ireland.
Principal Fiona Keegan said she was "overwhelmed and filled with great pride" when she read the wonderful comments.
She continued: "We are proud to be a hub of support and solace for our children and their families. We reach out beyond the school gates to listen, nurture, encourage and celebrate. It is our privilege to serve this wonderful community and we are truly humbled to have won these awards."
Fiona thanked everyone who took the time to leave a comment and all who work tirelessly to provide for the children in St Kevin’s.
"We enjoy excellent relationships with our families and I am very blessed to have a highly skilled, dedicated and inspirational staff who go above and beyond every day for the children in their care, particularly throughout the pandemic.
"I would also like to thank my supportive principal colleagues in West Belfast, in particular Mr O’Doherty (St Clare’s PS) and Mrs Boyd (Holy Trinity PS) who worked together to ensure that our schools remained open every day of lockdown.
"Celebrations will continue into June as this award belongs to every single member of our special community. We have all known it but now it’s official – St Kevin’s is simply the best!"
