Seven teams of students from across the UK will celebrate the official launch of their award-winning apps onto the market on 4 February in London.
The students, aged between 12 and 18, each won their categories at the national Apps for Good Awards in June 2015. Since then, the winning teams have been working with agency partners to professionally develop their concepts and launch the apps on Google Play.
Each of the winning teams completed the Apps for Good course during the 2014/15 academic year. The course, delivered by teachers, provides young people with the opportunity to turn bright ideas into technology products. At the end of the programme, teams are able to enter their apps into a nation-wide competition hosted by the organisation, with the opportunity to pitch to a panel of high-profile industry experts.
Colin Townsend, headteacher at Denbigh High School, says: “The Apps for Good course has really complimented our curriculum, passing on real-life industry skills to our students and building their confidence. We’re incredibly proud of the weKonnekt team for all they’ve achieved, and we’re really happy to see their efforts realised and launched on Google Play!”
This year’s winning apps include:
- My World of Atoms, an adventure game to help students master the periodic table
- MySoundClash, allows users to connect multiple phones to get a bigger sound
- Assemble Jobs, finds local jobs that fit around students’ schedules
- BOOKd, helps teens discover and share new books by creating book clubs with friends
- GardenKing, helps users identify the plants in their garden and learn how to care for them
- weKonnekt, connecting young carers with local resources and support
- One Click Politics, helps get young people tuned into politics.
Stuart Keen, Subject Leader for Computing at Dr Challoners Grammar School, says: “Throughout the process, I’ve watched the BOOKd team grow from strength-to-strength, accomplishing things I don’t think they even knew they were capable of! They’ve learnt how to work together as a team to come up with a really solid, believable concept. It’s a great example of just what students can achieve when provided with the right resources and support.”
Brian Matthews, Head of Computing at Latymer Upper School, says: “I’m incredibly proud of what the teams have achieved throughout the course. They came up with innovative ideas that they really believed in, and have worked extremely hard to bring these ideas to life. It’s really exciting to see the finished products launched on Google Play. Now to see what happens next!”
The event also sees Apps for Good celebrate its first five years in schools. Since first launching in 2010 at one school with 25 students, the course has been delivered to over 50,000 students in more than 1,000 schools across the UK and internationally.
Debbie Forster, co-CEO of Apps for Good, says: “Our aim is to help power a generation to change their world with technology. We are absolutely delighted to be launching these seven apps and are very proud of the students behind them; they are outstanding examples of what our young people can achieve. The students have worked extremely hard, moving through the full product development cycle, from concept to coding to launch. They have gained vital digital and multidisciplinary skills along the way, such as confidence in presenting, teamwork and collaboration, which will help them thrive in a tech-driven future.”