The Abbey’s Big Idea!

The Big Idea, supported by Invest Northern Ireland, is a national competition to find and fund innovative young people. The programme challenges young people from all over Northern Ireland to come up with creative business solutions to improve their place of learning, business or local community in some way.

The Big Idea for secondary schools and colleges aims to find and fund young students who have creative and innovative ideas that will impact on their school, college or community in a positive way. Mark Millar, Ryan Walsh, Scott Gray and James Dickson, led by their teacher Mark Rodgers investigated how they could positively influence their local community; they have come up with the ‘Little Linker’. They have designed and made this device, that not only encourages a healthier lifestyle but also helps keep young children safe on the roads by allowing them to walk in groups holding onto the ‘The Little Linker’, this product is bright and illuminated and plays music. However, if one of the children let go the music stops, therefore alerting the accompanying parent or teacher.

The pupils from the Abbey have won the regional final and £1000 for their school, plus prizes of £100 each. The four boys will be given their award on the 18th November in a celebrity event in the Culloden Hotel in Antrim. The boys and Mr Rodgers are also through to the national final where they could be awarded with a further £5000 for their school and the chance to go to New York at the invite of the city’s mayor on the 8th December.