Mulroy College and Youthreach Gortahork have been awarded for their commitment to fostering LGBTQ+ inclusion for their students.
They were awarded with the Belong To LGBTQ+ Quality Mark, recognising their work over the last 18 months in creating an inclusive environment.
The initiative was developed by Belong To in 2022.
That same year, a School Climate Survey by Columbia University revealed that 76% of LGBTQ+ young people in Donegal and across Ireland do not feel safe in post-primary schools.
The Quality Mark initiative draws on best practice to create an environment where students feel safe and welcome regardless of who they are, and over 100 schools and Youthreach centres nationwide have began adopting the programme.
Both Mulroy College and Youthreach Gortahork were presented with their Quality Mark awards at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dublin recently.
A total of 44 schools were given the award at the event, hosted by social media influencer and TV presenter James Kavanagh.
The 44 schools presented with their LGBTQ+ Quality Mark represent 17 counties and 26,000 post primary school students across the country.
Speaking about the awards today, Moninne Griffith, CEO of Belong To, said:
“Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia remain a significant challenge for LGBTQ+ students in Donegal and across the country. The School Climate Survey 2022 conducted by Columbia University has shown that in Ireland, compared to the general youth population, LGBTQ+ students are four times more likely to suffer verbal harassment and five times more likely to be physically harassed. It’s no surprise then that 76% of LGBTQ+ second-level students feel unsafe at school.”
“It is in this context that we say how proud we are at Belong To to have been working with this brilliant cohort of schools and Youthreach centres to make positive change and create safe spaces. Across the board, every principal, coordinator, teacher and staff member has shown a huge level of commitment to fostering a truly inclusive environment in their school and to supporting all students in their care. I want to congratulate all for the actions that they have taken throughout the process and hope that they feel extremely proud to stand with the students and young people from their school or centre today, knowing what a huge impact their work has had and will continue to have on the lives of so many Donegal young people.”
Also speaking today at the event was Scatha Ni Fheargail, Teacher at Mulroy College who commented:
“Mulroy College is delighted to receive this award. It is the culmination of many years of work in building a community in which the ETB philosophy of respecting and celebrating diversity in our students is paramount.”
Applications to take part in the LGBTQ+ Quality Mark initiative for the 2025/2026 academic year are now open to schools and Youthreach centres and full details and application forms are available on the Belong To website at: www.belongto.org.
