Transition Year

Transition Year is a one year programme taken after the completion of Junior Cycle and before the Leaving Certificate Programme. Transition Year is offered to all third year students who wish to follow a three year senior cycle programme.

Transition Year places a heavy emphasis on experiential learning . The emphasis is on developing skills rather than on simply remembering facts. Such skills stand to people for life.

The purpose of the Transition Year Programme is to promote maturity and personal growth and development. Students are encouraged to become self-directed learners through the development of general, technical and academic skills. Students are encouraged to develop work-related skills. Students are provided with opportunities to develop communication skills, self-confidence and a sense of responsibility. Socially, students develop their ‘people’ skills and more awareness of the world outside school.

What about Exams?

Assessment is an integral part of any worthwhile learning programme and for that reason Transition Year students will sit Christmas and Summer house examinations with all other year groups.

However, Transition Year is also an opportunity to move beyond the focus of end-of-year summative assessment. The emphasis is instead placed on varied and on-going assessment with students themselves becoming involved in diagnosing their own learning strengths and weaknesses. Project work, portfolio work and exhibitions of students’ work are also encouraged.

TY Facts

•  Students who do TY secure much better grades in the Leaving Cert exam than those who do not
• Students who do TY secure up to 8% more in the Leaving Cert across a range of subjects than those who did not do TY. The trend is particularly marked in English and maths
• The central recommendation of the report is that TY should be made available in every school in the State