What do students think of Transition year?

SAOIRSE KENNY loved Transition Year. She helped coordinate art classes for disabled children from St Joseph's Special School. The same children still come in for classes and she drops by for a chat.

"If any of us are sick, we get cards as well as Valentine and Christmas cards. It's an ongoing thing." She also co-wrote a script for a competition organised by the Galway Youth Theatre. The first prize was a professional production of the play.

"All of the year went to see it and it was really interesting to see other people's interpretations of it." Through the Rotary Club competition, Saoirse went to the European Parliament. "We sat in the MEPs' seats and voted, using the cards."

MARC BOLGER found the high point of the year was the social outreach programme organised by the school chaplain Father Terry Howard, SJ. He worked with disabled children in the swimming pool.

KALI DE BLACA says that the thought of working with deaf students from St Joseph's special school scared her at first but she enjoyed it so much in the end that she would like to learn sign language. Sian Williams, who is currently in Transition Year, says that she goes up to St Joseph's at lunch-time and plays basketball and soccer with the children.

BEIBHINN O'CONNOR did Transition Year three years ago. She went to France for four months and was also very involved in debating. The mental health debates gave her an insight into topics such as depression, suicide and education.

"It's a year out," she says.

"In a year you grow up so much. I think it's worth it. So many people are too young starting in college.

FIONA McMORROW is currently doing Transition Year. She enjoyed the recent trials for public speaking and debating as well as the day trip to Inis Mor.

"So far it's really good. I'm enjoying the social outreach, looking forward to public speaking and doing different subjects such as technical graphics, music and public speaking which we only did in first year."

TOMAS KEYS makes the point that students who were streamed into three forms are now broken into four different groups. "It gave us a chance to meet people from the Irish stream."

All of the students agreed that Transition Year was an excellent innovation. The only drawback was the fact of having to spend an extra year in school.