Transition Year - Curriculum Online
TY (Transition Year) is a one-year course taken by some students before they proceed to Leaving Cert. The purpose of this Course, is to offer a broad and integrated programme where the students study a wide range of subjects not on offer in the Leaving Cert Programme.
The programme provides for the development of personal and social skills. It encourages both activity based (doing projects) and self-directed learning both inside and outside the classroom. This is a year where the students are given the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects not on offer in the Leaving Cert. Programme.
Work experience, drama, art, mini-company, film studies and computer studies are among some of the subjects studied. In a Transition year programme you will take responsibility for your own learning. Students are given the freedom to acquire new skills and to evaluate life in ways that is just not possible in a system dominated by examinations.
My Time in Transition Year
We started the year on a high with a trip to Tramore for surfing and a hike. We were split into two large groups to take part in the surfing and the hike at different times. It was one of the best trips of the year because we got lots of time to surf, and the hike was really enjoyable. We learned a lot about the history of Tramore and the surrounding area, which was quite interesting. On the way back, we stopped and got food.
Later, we headed to Carlingford. We had to be there for 6:00 AM, split into groups, and got on the bus. After the long journey, we took roll call and walked to the yard where they took our phones. We did fun activities like footgolf and the trampoline park before getting our rooms to shower and change. The next day, we did a 10k walk which was fun, then headed back home on the bus.
Before we got our Junior Cert results, we were split into groups of six for a table quiz competition between all the TY classes. There were ten rounds with different categories. We did the quiz from 9:00 to 11:00 and got our results after break. On Thursday, we went to play footgolf in Edenderry in groups of four. We had great fun and stopped in Applegreen on the way back.
We went on a trip to an ice skating rink in Swords. It was very enjoyable; everyone had a great time and a good laugh. We also went to the Odeon in Whitewater to watch Die Hard. It was a good action film and a great experience. Finally, we visited the Science Explorium, which was cool. We learned a lot about science and did cool experiments and activities. All together, it was a fun and enjoyable activity week.
Activity Week 3 was packed with variety, starting at The Chocolate Garden of Ireland where we learned about ingredients and made our own chocolate horses. We had a great day at the Castlecomer skywalk, which left everyone "wrecked" but happy, and found our campus tour of Maynooth University very beneficial. Back at school, we did workshops including Irish acting with disguises and a team-building "gold" game, while some visited Newbridge Silverware. The week ended with one of our best days in TY at Causey Farm, where we delivered a sheep, crawled through tunnels, made pizzas, and went bog jumping.
We had three different weeks of work experience throughout the year—in October, February, and April. This gave us a chance to experience different jobs and help us decide what to do for 5th year.
We’ve all had a good year, with highlights like work experience and all of the activity weeks. It’s been a great experience and an opportunity to make new friends. Now, we’re all looking forward to going to Barcelona to wrap up the year!
By Fionn Conroy, Kevin Gallagher, Zach McGrogan, Harry Cummins, Josh McKenna, Derrin Cronin, Tadhg Bowen, Rónán Lacey, Shane Matthews, Nirmal Antony, Ethan Coghlan, Oisin Farrell and Liam Farrell
TY Calendar for '26/'27