St Aloysius’ College, Carrigtwohill recently held their Leaving Cert graduation ceremony for 126 sixth-year students.

Their school principal Seán Twomey said the graduation ceremony was “an emotional event” as the students bade a fond farewell to their teachers and their secondary school.

“We had 126 students graduate. They have been with us for six years and they have been through two school closures and a pandemic. It was lovely to see all their faces and their smiles on a really nice day in their lives,” he said.

The ceremony in the all-girls secondary school included presentations, speeches, and photographs being taken against a musical backdrop. Mr Twomey paid tribute to the current sixth-year students who have excelled from both an academic and sporting perspective.

“The ceremony went very well. 420 people were present for the ceremony which comprised students, family members, and staff members. We had two speeches from our head girls Vanessa Phillips and Jane Palmer. There was great excitement as the girls also voted for the Student of the Year award which was won by Jane Palmer.

“We held a ceremony before the main ceremony where we presented the various sports awards to the students on their own. Several students have excelled in national and international sporting events. I thanked the students for all their time during their six years before they advanced to the main graduation ceremony.

“They got a huge ovation on their arrival into the hall from all the invited guests. There were more speeches here. We then went for pictures out in the garden after the ceremony before we brought everyone back into the school for refreshments,” he added.

“We have fantastic students and hopefully now they will get the results to get into the courses that they want at third level,” said Mr Twomey ahead of his students starting their Leaving Cert exams on Wednesday, June 8.

“A few of the students have already gained scholarships to third-level colleges overseas. One student is going to Notre Dame on an academic scholarship. Another is going to Ohio, while two students are going to the UK. The rest of the students will be hoping to get the points they need to get into their preferred course,” he added.

Mr Twomey said he is proud of this year’s Leaving Certificate class.

“The girls are super. They excel from both an academic and sports perspective, but the most important thing is they are all well-rounded, nice, and genuine people. I am proud of the way they turned out.”

Mr Twomey said last week in the Carrigtwohill secondary school was also emotional as a few staff retired.

“It has been an emotional week. We said goodbye to the Leaving Cert students, and we had a couple of staff retirements. We also said goodbye to our chaplain and our guidance counsellor. All week long there were lots of flowers and chocolates floating around the school with people saying thanks and bidding a fond farewell to each other.”