A £1 million prize fund to reward young people and experienced innovators with bold ideas with the potential to transform education and learning in the UK is calling for applicants based and living in Northern Ireland.
The Big Education Challenge, offering a £1 million prize fund, is led by Big Change, a charity that catalyses change in education by supporting new initiatives that set up young people to thrive in life, not just exams. The challenge is open to young people and more experienced innovators and will seek to use the lived experience of innovators, including young people themselves, to transform education and learning.
Like the rest of the UK, the Northern Ireland education system faces challenges, including underfunding, underachievement in some sectors, and social and economic division. According to a recent UN report, highlighting a range of issues faced by children and young people, there is widespread regression in children's rights in Northern Ireland compared to when the UN committee examined them six years ago.
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CEO of Newry-headquartered Around Noon and ambassador for the Big Education Challenge, Gareth Chambers commented: “This is an excellent opportunity for the young people and experienced innovators of Northern Ireland to share their bold ideas, be listened to and make a difference to the future of education.
I would encourage anyone who believes that they have what it takes to make a difference to apply to this fantastic opportunity. It’s clear that our current UK education system is not working for everyone and too many young people are being left behind and who better to catalyse and accelerate change in education than those who have experienced it most recently.”
Holly Branson, Trustee and Founder of Big Change said: “The current UK education system is too exam-focused and I strongly believe that the lack of diversity in the curriculum narrows the mind. The exam-based, ‘one size fits all’ approach, does not work for too many young people and those who support them. It does not support diversity and individuality, and teenagers’ wellbeing too often comes at the cost of doing well in high-stakes exams.
It’s so important that we work towards transformation of education – to a system where individuality is not only permitted, but valued as part of success. Young people themselves must be given the power to change a system that’s not working - this is exactly what the Big Education Challenge hopes to achieve.”
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The Big Education Challenge is made up of two prizes:
The challenge will support bold new ideas that help young people to thrive and prepare for their futures. These may include ways to make learning more inclusive, relevant and joyful; new projects that give more agency over education to young people and teachers; ways to integrate learning and assessment; and involving the wider community in supporting education and learning.
Entries must be submitted by midnight on the 22nd of February 2023. Finalists for both prizes will be announced at the beginning of April 2023.
Source: Written from press release
