Guidance refers to a range of learning experiences provided in a developmental sequence, designed to assist students to make choices about their lives and to make transitions consequent on these choices. These choices may be categorised into three separate but interlinked areas:
Personal and Social – This area empowers students to make decisions, solve problems, change behaviour and resolve issues in their lives, through
- individual counselling
- group counselling
- supervised peer counselling
- referral to a counsellor or other outside agency.
If you would like to request a meeting with a member of our Guidance team , please complete our Referral Form and a member of our team will be in touch
Educational – Recognising students different learning abilities and their inherent talents. Each student is encouraged to optimise her learning skills. This involves:
- helping students with choices as in subjects, courses and levels
- aiding motivation and management learning
- showing students how to use available resources, study skills and exam techniques
- demonstrating how to use computer aided research.
Career / Vocational – Helping students to identify career / vocational goals by developing their self-analysis skills and being able to obtain and manage career information. This involves:
- having an understanding of the pathways into higher education
- making and carrying out appropriate life choices and plans
- practising interview techniques, CV writing and cover letters
- identifing their strengths and weakness from the results of various interest and aptitude tests
- making students aware of employment opportunities
Senior Cycle 2024-25
Subject Choice Information Evening takes place on Thursday 18 January at 8.00 pm in the Concert Hall.
Subject Preference Forms for current TY students must be completed on VSWARE and should be submitted not later than Thursday 25 January
Note: Current Form 3 students intending to move directly into Form 5 will be facilitated with an opportunity to sit the Career Profiling and Aptitude Test (Cost €40) and to submit their subject preferences when the date for submission of TY Applications has expired (22 February). The subject choice algorithms will not be finalised until all student have submitted their Subject Preferences
A copy of the presentations about Subject Choice and Aptitude testing and a brief guide to Leaving Certificate Subjects can be accessed below:
VSWARE Subject Choice Cheat Sheet
Form 1 Subject Sampling
At the start of Form 1 all students have the opportunity to sample our six Optional Subjects which are:
- Business
- French
- German
- Home Economics
- Music
- Visual Art
Students will study three students during them month of September and a further three subjects during the month of October before submitting subject choice preferences prior to the mid-term break.
Students will be assigned their three optional subject for Junior Cycle on return from October mid-term.
Every effort will be made to accommodate individual preferences, subject to available space and teaching resources
Where a subject is oversubscribed, students who submitted a higher preference for a specific subject will be accommodated first
French and German are both available although not compulsory. Students should consider their career/college preferences before ruling out a modern language - details of college courses currently requiring a modern foreign language are available here