Ursuline Secondary School in Blackrock hosted ‘U Factor’, its very own talent show, in recent days to raise funds for people affected by last year’s earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Thousands were killed and more were left homeless and displaced as a result of the devastating earthquakes in the two countries.

Students and staff at Ursuline Secondary School in Blackrock came together in recent days to raise funds for those impacted by the natural disasters.

The local school raised around €2,000 for the cause at its fundraising talent show, U Factor, which is now in its second year. The event was widely supported by staff, parents and other school communities in the local area.

Speaking to The Echo, school principal Patrick McBeth said: “This was our second year running a fundraising talent show. This year the girls raised €2,000 for the people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

“The students staged two performances, a matinée on Wednesday for 290 students from local primary schools, followed by the main event on Thursday evening. 

"It was great to see such a large turnout of parents, students and friends of the school,” he added. “Over 600 tickets were sold. Alongside our staff judges, we were fortunate to have Izzy Showbizzy from RedFM and Will Sliney from RTÉ as guest judges. Everyone was blown away by the quality of the performances.

Rebecca O’Reilly won the overall prize with a performance of ‘Anyone’ by Demi Lovato, while a group of staff had the crowd going crazy for their performance of ‘Stop Right Now’ by the Spice Girls. “The crowd went wild,” said Mr McBeth. 

“The girls could not believe their teachers were actually able to dance and sing.”

"School shows do wonders for the moral of a school and create great positivity and this show was no different,” he added. “Everyone pulled together to stage the show, but a special mention must go to Mrs Sliney and Ms O’Brien who prepared the girls so well for the event.”