Romeo, Juliet and...Snap Chat. Omagh High School and Sacred Heart College Shared Education Project

Year 8 pupils from Omagh High School and Sacred Heart College have been having fun working together on their Shared Education project. A Rural Centre for Shared Education initiative, facilitated by the Pushkin Trust and funded by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, the schools explored the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in relation to their lives and the topic of diversity.

Students created their own images and phrases via photos, drawings, captions and other media including text messages and Snap Chat. The outcome will be a booklet outlining their ideas, bringing the story of Romeo and Juliet into the modern day in a fun and creative way.

Omagh High School and Sacred Heart College are two of the six schools which will be moving to the Strule Shared Education Campus. The ground breaking, ambitious project is on schedule to be fully operational by September 2020. Shared Education at Strule offers a pioneering approach to delivering education in the region, bringing together pupils from local schools of both traditions with representation from the controlled, maintained and voluntary school sectors.

This is the second year Omagh High and Sacred Heart have participated in the Shared Education project. Last March, Year 9 and 10 students created the ‘Young Minds, New Features’ publication. This featured a range of photos and superb, though provoking poems written by the pupils, expressing their hopes and fears; and the challenges and opportunities presented by the Strule Shared Education Campus.

Cyanne Gwynne , teacher at Omagh High School said “Thanks to the Rural Centre for Shared Education for the opportunity to take part in the project. This was a fun few days - the workshops allowed pupils from both schools to get to know each other in a creative, informal setting. It was lovely to see the friendships form as the children got to know each other.” Amy Leah Maude, teacher at Sacred Heart College added “I thought the project was a huge success - the students really enjoyed taking part and working together. As a result the students have made new friends, created memories and are looking forward to moving to the new campus.”

Catherine Ward from the Rural Centre for Shared Education commented “Congratulations to both schools. Their hard work has clearly paid off on what was a number of unique, fun filled workshops. Thanks to the Pushkin Trust for their facilitation and to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council for funding. In particular it was great to see not only the pupils but also the teachers and staff working and building relationships ahead of moving to the Shared Campus, where working together will become the daily norm. Hopefully there will be more Shared Education projects like this with Strule campus schools in the future.”