Celebrating Transition Year

It all started in September 1974……… 50 Years ago…

Transition Year was introduced as a pilot project in September 1974 by the then Minister of Education Richard Burke .During a speech at the Education Council for Secondary Schools, he expressed concern that “the education system was becoming too focused on grades and high-stakes assessments “. It was not until September 1994 that the programme was introduced mainstream.Transition Year was introduced here in Sacred Heart in 1986/1987.

For thirty years Teachers and Schools have learned a lot about devising and implementing successful TY programmes. In a system that tells students and their parents how important it is to achieve in their final exams ,TYs emphasis on exploring dreams , on learning how to work as part of a team , on thinking about one's identity ,on becoming an active citizen may seem contradictory but all evidence shows students thrive during TY. 

The NCCA conducted an independent longitudinal study on the performance of L.C. students and found that those who had experienced the T.Y.P.rogramme ‘were more likely to be educationally adventurous than those who had not……That is, they were more likely to retain subjects at Higher level and were also more likely to take up subjects which they had not taken before.’

“There is growing evidence that students who have taken the Transition Year Programme are more self-reliant learners when they enter Third Level education than their peers.Commission on the Points System, Final Report and Recommendations”

We are delighted to mark this milestone of Transition Year here at Sacred Heart Secondary School