Citywise Fast Track dreams of students

By Mary Dennehy

AWARDS were presented this week to more than 80 young people who are engaging in extra-curricular activities to support their dreams of progressing onto further education.

On Tuesday, awards were presented to more than 80 primary and secondary school students who participate in the Fast Track programme at Citywise education centre in Jobstown.

Based on Fortunestown Way, Citywise encourages young people to develop their talents, in education, sports and other social interests and clubs – with the education centre raising the aspirations of young people growing up in underserved communities and opening up possibilities for further education.

Citywise manager John Keogh told The Echo how the young people awarded hail from across a wide range of after-school programmes, including engineering, robotics, maths and inventor clubs, with all of the young participants striving to progress onto further education.

John said: “The awards evening was really positive and all of the achievements of these young people were recognised.

“We also had a number of graduates back who, now in UCD and Trinity College, spoke of their journey to college and who also continue to be a part of the learning at Citywise and are now leaders and mentors and positive role models for the younger ones.”

Across of all of its programmes, Citywise, which provides after-school and out-of-school support, has around 350 young students – with the education centre currently fundraising for a dedicated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) building, which they hope to open next year.

Receiving no state funding, John stressed how the success of Citywise is down to its students, past and present, the local community and its corporate sponsors, such as Bank of America (BAML), Sage, Saleforce, SAP and Adobe – who were all present at the awards evening on Tuesday.

For further information, or to offer support, visit www.citywise.ie.