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News | 10 Aug 2020

Anti-bullying app wins Digital Creators’ Challenge

Read Academy Primary School in Ilford, Essex, has won the Digital Creators’ Challenge, a Vodafone competition that tasked UK schools with developing an app that benefits the local community.

With just shy of 100 schools and about 1,350 students participating, Read Academy came out on top with their app ‘Project B’, which aims to tackle bullying by offering users a safe space to share their experiences and seek help and advice.

Project B also features a ‘Therapy Room’ that enables users to book an appointment with their school counsellor. And a feature called ‘My Mirror’ activates your front camera and encourages self-reflection through a series of positive self-affirmation filters.

Mariam Surti, a pupil at Read Academy Primary School, said: “My favourite part of the Challenge was working as a team with my friends to build up the idea and brainstorm different features.”

Maria Bores, Teacher at Read Academy primary school, said: “Winning meant a lot for our pupils; it boosted their self-confidence and gave them a more ‘I can do this’ attitude.”

I hope that it will help lots of people around the UK

Izar Bores, aged 9, Read Academy Primary School

Vishal Dixit, Wholesale and Strategy Director at Vodafone UK, was one of the competition judges.

“The judges were really impressed with the video presentation and felt it was very user friendly and simple,” he told the competition winners.

“It was a thoroughly researched and informed app, whose cause clearly means a lot to the team.”

The features were “carefully considered”, he said, and the inclusion of an online forum function was a welcome addition.

“And it’s great that you’ve considered the accessibility of the app, making it free to use for those living in poverty.”

Read Academy Primary School won two categories in the competition: ‘Overall Winner’ and ‘Best Use of Tech’. To have a look at a prototype of the app, click here.

Izar Bores, 9, who was part of the winning team at Read Academy, said: “Winning the competition made me happy because of how much effort was put in and how people will be able to use our app to help cope with bullying.”

Gryffe High School in Houston, Renfrewshire, won the ‘Community Impact’ award for their app, DyslexIcan. The app is aimed at supporting students who have dyslexia, including a feature that scans large pieces of text and reads them out so users can understand the spelling and pronunciation of words.

Read more about the Vodafone Foundation competition here: