Offaly student beats 30,000 others in major Microsoft test

An Offaly student has beaten 30,000 other students from across the world in a major Microsoft test.

Colaiste Choilm student Sam Bracken has been congratulated for getting the better of over 30,000 others in a major international IT competition.

Sam made it through to the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) UK and Ireland Championship Final 2021.

The Microsoft Office Specialist Championship is a global competition that tests students’ skills on Microsoft Office applications, and it is operated and sponsored in the UK and Ireland by Prodigy Learning.

The event saw Sam invited to take a MOS Certification Examination in ‘Microsoft Word’ on September 10.

Sam’s achievement was made even more remarkable because he was one of only 30 finalists, beating over 30,000 entries across the UK and Ireland.

Due to the difficulties resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and the current travel restrictions, the 2021 Championship Final was held virtually using the ‘Certiport Exams from Home’ solution.

Sam performed really well getting a score of 88%.

While this was not enough to win, it is still a very impressive score.

Jim Enright (school coordinator of ICT) said that “from the large number of entries around Ireland and the UK, it is a fantastic achievement for Sam to come top of the class among those who can use Microsoft Office tools effectively.”