Valerie welcomes IT competition finalists Palfrey Junior School to Westminster

On Tuesday 28 June Valerie was delighted to welcome Class 10 pupils  from Palfrey Junior School to the Houses of Parliament.

Last month, ICT coordinator at Palfrey Junior School , Alan Carter told Valerie that Palfrey Juniors’ Class 10 had won the West Midlands Regional final of the Make IT Happy competition. Staff and student representatives were invited to the Houses of Parliament for the awards ceremony on 28 June.

The five lucky students, accompanied by Mr Carter and Headteacher Gary Thornton, enjoyed a trip on the London Eye before crossing the river to the ceremony in the Members’ Dining Room at the Houses of Parliament.  Palfrey Junior School was one of twelve schools in the final.  The school was presented with a cheque for £1,200; the students received goody bags and had the chance to meet John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons. 

Valerie said:
“It is brilliant to see the way that the pupils at Palfrey Juniors are using information technology in such a creative way.   I am absolutely thrilled that they have won the West Midlands region of makeIThappy. Both Alan Carter the ICT Coordinator and Class 10  should be extremely proud of their achievement winning the West Midlands Regional Final and one of twelve in the whole country. The entry is stunning and I would urge you to take a look.  ”

You can view the school’s entry here.

Earlier this year Valerie contacted the schools in Walsall South to let them know about the makeIThappy competition. makeIThappy is organised by the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (PITCOM) in partnership with e-skills UK (the sector skills council for Business and Information Technology) and supported by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Nominet Trust.

The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Pass IT On’. Schools were challenged to show how they have used technology to connect school children with others in their community – whether that is down the corridor, around the town, across the UK or halfway around the world.