Transition Year

Transition Year is an optional one-year programme available to all students after the Junior Cert and before they start the Leaving Cert cycle. TY aims to help students make the transition from a highly structured environment to one where they are expected to take greater personal responsibility for their own decision making and development of skills. This is achieved in Ardscoil Rís by offering a broad and varied programme free from the pressure of Certificate Examinations.

The programme is split into four layers: Core modules (e.g. English, Maths, etc.), Leaving Cert Sampling Modules (e.g. Geography, Biology, Business, etc.), TY Specific Modules (e.g. Art, Speech & Drama, etc.), and TY Calendar Events. Over the course of the year, students engage in over 30 modules ranging from English to Maths, from Biology to History, and from Tour Guiding to Photography. We regularly change and update the modules on offer to maintain a fresh and relevant programme each year. On top of their modules, students engage in many extra activities and events such as First Aid training, film production, life skills, trips around Dublin, museum and gallery visits and many other activities that help them to develop their interpersonal and communication skills.

Each student has exclusive access to a Chromebook for the duration of the programme, which will aid in developing their digital literacy skills throughout the year. Each student will build their own website as their portfolio, which showcases their work and achievements in TY. We use a credit system to reward hard work and to help the students to set goals and aim for their best at all times.

TY is also a time for your son to engage in many extra initiatives such as the Gaisce President’s Award, national competitions such as the Young Scientist and the Model UN at Dublin Castle, work experience opportunities, and in-house activities such as the Students’ Council or the Year Book Committee.

For further information, you can see the parents’ presentation on TY for here: