“We now find that by limiting the places, the students who are into it are really the ones who benefit most out of it,” adds Ms McCrudden.


TRANSITION TIMES TY


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Transition Year now in 75% of all Secondary Schools


As with St Kevin’s, most TY programmes include the hugely popular Mini-Company module, which is even bringing commercial success to some.


Thr three innovative teenagers at St Clare’s Comprehensive Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim are on the way up with their award-winning fun game called Squeazy, and a follow-up mobile phone App, based on simple science experiment.


TY students in Davis College in Mallow won a Young Social Innovators’ Award three years ago with their Forget Me Not campaign to remember Ireland’s missing persons.


The 2013 Young Social Innovators’ award went to TY students at Eureka Secondary School in Kells Co Meath for their organ donor education programme for teenagers.


“YOGA! I’m not doing yoga!”


This might be the typical response you’d expect from a teenage boy yet it is proving to be one of the most popular modules in the Transition Year programme in one all-boys school in North Dublin.


Transition Year (TY) is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, and after a slow start, is now available to approximately 30,000 students in over 560 second level schools.


What’s on offer today is far more varied too with modules ranging from Skin Care and Blogging, to Self Defense, Driving Instruction, Web Design and Community Work.


With a qualified yogi on the staff, St Kevin’s College in Finglas decided to include the meditation and relaxation practice as a TY module.


“It has gone down incredibly well with all of the students,” explains Edelle McCrudden, TY


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Corodinator at the 500-student school.


“Some of the lads who are into their sport find it helps really well with their flexibility and movement. With others, it helps them relax and chill out a little.”


The current TY group at St Kevin’s got off to a fun start last month with an overnight bonding trip to the Lilliput Adventure Centre in Westmeath.


The school has been running Transition Year (TY) since 1997, but switched from the compulsory to an optional model four years ago. This year, 56 boys, representing approximately half the cohort, were interviewed for 48 places.


“Everyone would admit that what you put into TY you get out of it and what we found was that those students who didn’t wish to do it but were forced to do it just didn’t enjoy themselves and this made it that bit more challenging for other students and teachers.


The importance of computer literacy today has been recognised by Universities and Institutes of Technology through a range of programmes for Transition Year students. At Dublin City University ComputeTY introduces teens to Web Design, Programming and the extremely popular, App Development.


Last year, a group of 50 transition year students at Salerno Secondary School in Galway became the first in country to complete the Young Minds Online course on cyber safety and reported afterwards that it had changed they way they behaved online.


“At the end of the course, most teenagers admitted that they had updated their privacy settings, were more cognisant


of their language online in case it offended another and considered what they posted online in terms of their online reputation,” explains Young Minds Online innovator, Joanne Sweeney Burke who developed the course with her teenage daughter, Sophie.


A new online version of Young Minds on Line is now being provided for TY through www. webiket.com.


Despite only introducing TY at Salerno Secondary School three years ago, the benefits are already visible across the entire school community, according to its coordinator, Katie Sullivan.


“At an individual level they have acquired a lot more skills.


“They seem to be a lot more confident going into the senior cycle. We definitely notice a difference between the students who have done TY and those who haven’t.”


Uptake of the optional programme has also risen from half the students in the first year of TY to almost 75 per cent this year. Across the board, the benefits of Transition Year seem manifold.


Research by the ESRI indicates that those who take the programme achieve higher points in their Leaving Certificate and more tend to go onto third level education.


Edelle McCrudden from St Kevin’s, sums it up best.


“Becoming an independent learner is one of the best benefits they can take from it. People who chose Transition Year, end up with more interpersonal skills. They get on with people easier and they have better communication with adults.”


Anita Guidera


Young Social Innovators Award Winners 2014 Cólaiste Muire, Ennis Co. Clare


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