St Aidan’s Cootehill awarded at 2026 Young Social Innovators Awards
'St Aidan's Sensory Vibes' awarded for personalised sensory board for school's autism room
St Aidan’s Comprehensive School Cootehill have been recognised for a project placing student voice at the heart of sensory design at the 2026 Young Social Innovators (YSI) Awards that took place on Tuesday, May 12 in the Aviva Stadium.
Students from St Aidan’s won the Test, Learn, Grow Award for ‘St Aidan's Sensory Vibes’. The team designed and built a sensory board for their school's autism room, shaped directly by the students who use it, and created smaller personalised boards for individual desks.
The winners were celebrated at the ceremony, attended by special guest Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Jerry Buttimer TD, and the event was emceed by content creator and teacher John Sharpson for the occasion. The competing teams represented counties from across the island of Ireland.
Minister Jerry Buttimer TD was “genuinely moved” by what he witnessed from the young people involved.
“These are not just school projects,” he said.
“They are blueprints for a better Ireland, built by the generation that will lead it.”
The annual YSI Awards celebrate excellence in youth-led social innovation, recognising secondary school students whose projects are driving real change in communities across Ireland. This year's finalists were shortlisted from hundreds of teams who took part in the YSI Activate Programme in their schools, with projects spanning a wide range of social issues aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
According to Roger Warnock, CEO of Young Social Innovators, the young people who take part in the awards continue to raise the bar each year.
“The breadth of issues tackled, the depth of research behind each project, and the sheer determination to create lasting impact are a testament to what young people are capable of when they are given the tools, the space, and the belief,” he said.