Breaking new ground

No mercy is shown when a courtroom drama is played out in Rosary College by Transition Year students. The trial is part of an innovative programme which aims to increase student awareness of the role of the Garda in society. The poor defendant had to bear the brunt of the students' youthful idealism.

"The jury was quite tough," says a smiling Paul Gahan, a Garda juvenile liaison officer. "I'd have thought they should have let the person off but they definitely wanted to convict."

On Gahan's regular visits to the school, he meets students to discuss civic and social issues. Already the programme has been extended to include some of the other classes in the school.

"A lot of their perceptions would be that policemen move them on," he says. "They didn't understand that there was a law for loitering. We talk about where the laws come from, about a bill, about the Dail."

There is plenty of innovation at this large second-level girls' school in Crumlin, on the south-western side of Dublin city. Joyce Kavanagh is attracting her own share of interest. She is the first lay principal in the history of the school which was founded by the Sisters of Charity 30 years ago. She started her new job at the beginning of this school-year.

Nodding, she agrees that it's a challenging and exciting time for her. The school on Armagh Road is well on course for entry into the next century. With pep in her step, on a whistle-stop tour of the building, Kavanagh points to areas in the school that she plans to develop.

"I'm looking for grants from the Department to refurbish the school. It does need it. A lot of the original fittings and fixtures are still here. I also want to upgrade the computer facilities - we have 12 computers at the moment."

Kavanagh is very pleased to have been given the opportunity to come to Rosary College. "The staff are extremely supportive. That has eased the transition for me. And also the girls are great. I came from a senior and PLC school to a mainstream school. And also I have come from a mixed school into an all-girls' school. There's a difference."

She has already instigated a plan which she hopes will develop into a recognised module at senior cycle where Transition Year students begin to learn about road safety and how to drive. "I'd imagine that once it takes off a number of other schools will take it up," she says. The programme has already got the backing of the Guardian PMPA Group, and the Irish School of Motoring has promised support.

Another aspect of her approach is the central role that she wants parents to play at Rosary College. They have been involved at every stage in the development of the school's code of behaviour, which she expects to introduce next September. "I didn't want to impose something on to the students or the parents."

Our tour continues as a shrill whistle sounds from the PE hall. A class of students are honing their sporting prowess. The basketball and netball teams have been winning plaudits for a number of years. Along the wall are a number of coveted All-Ireland and Leinster trophies.

Science is also creating a buzz. Last week Lorraine Quinn (15) was the talk of the school after her participation in the ESAT Young Scientist Competition - her entry on the impact of plastics on eco-systems had pride of place in the school's entrance hall.

Quinn's class were out to see her at the RDS and a lot of friends called by as well. Science teacher Fergal O'Neill is as pleased as punch with her. Lots of other girls "are clamouring to get involved" in next year's competition, he says.

There are 400 girls at Rosary College. Joan Molanphy, who has taught there for the past 20 years, has been working as home school liaison teacher for the past two years. "It's very challenging," she says. "You have less contact with the students because you deal with the adults in the children's lives."

About 60 per cent of her work involves visiting parents - to make them more aware of the school and to encourage them to work in partnership with the school.