Write a commentJohn Devlin, Head Prefect of St. Colman’s College, has won the Rotary Club of Newry Youth Leadership Development Competition final
which was held in the Canal Court Hotel on Monday 9 November. The competition is organised in conjunction with the European Parliament Office in Dublin and runs annually.
There were four local young people in the final: John Devlin (St. Colman’s College), Jordan Magee (St. Mark’s High School), Ronan Kearney (Abbey Grammar) and Sarah Harper (St. Paul’s High School), having previously been selected as winners in their respective schools.
John won £100 for himself and £100 for St. Colman’s and now progresses to the Area Final in Belfast in December. Twenty four students from across the island of Ireland are chosen at the Area Finals to take part in a week-long Leader Development Programme (LDP) early next year, consisting of three days in Belfast and Dublin and then the remainder at The European Parliament in Strasbourg. There they will debate important EU issues with over 600 others from across the EU as part of the Euroscola Programme.
“John was selected from a group of excellent candidates from our local schools in our annual Leadership Competition organised by Rotary and the European Parliament Office. Congratulations to John on winning this prize and a prize for St. Colman’s. He is a credit to his himself, his family and his school,” commented Austin Fitzpatrick, President of Newry Rotary Club.
Donal McAlinden, Youth Opportunities Chairman for Newry Rotary Club added, “The competition is designed to help students prepare for a future career. Countless young people over the past fifteen years have benefited by participating and many have written glowing reports of how it has influenced their attitudes and their future development.” He also thanked all those involved in making the competition such a success.
