Davitt College
Life Channel Schools network launches at Davitt College
26, Jan 2009 - 18:26

The Life Channel is launching its groundbreaking school television network at Davitt College in Castlebar, the first Irish school to implement the satellite TV channel!

The VEC Committee broadly welcomes the bespoke network, to which over 1000 schools have signed up with since its launch by ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair in February 2007.

Underpinned in the UK by the DoH, DCSF, and with programmes designed to follow The Children’s Plan and ECM, The Life Channel’s innovative network gives schools and colleges the unique opportunity to communicate key messages of health and well-being directly to students, teachers and parents. Content shown in the Republic of Ireland will follow the appropriate, local equivalent of these organisations and departments.

"I am very happy with [The Life Channel’s] content," said Ioseph McGowan, Principal of Davitt College. "[The Life Channel] has fantastic programmes on issues like healthy eating, sex education and fitness. It is all very well-produced and informative."

Much of the content is produced in-house in response to teacher feedback and is also supplemented by appropriate third party programmes, including the COI.

Education professionals can download any programmes from The Life Channel website’s unique online portal to be shown on their interactive whiteboards. Helping teachers and students to become more ICT-competent, the network also allows schools to upload their own information and content onto the screens to be shown in-between The Life Channel’s programming.

"I would recommend The Life Channel to other schools," said Mark Jordan, ICT Coordinator at Davitt College. "It is a very effective way of communicating." The Life Channel plans to roll out the network across all schools in the Republic of Ireland over the next two years.

The Life Channel welcomes all members of the local community to attend the launch at Davitt College: Thursday, 29th January, at 6pm.