Pictures: Cork's North Presentation hosts open night

NORTH Presentation Secondary School held a very successful open evening recently as they outlined their plans for their new era as a co-educational school from next September which also includes a new mission statement, new subjects, new school uniform and crest.

A large crowd attended the open night in the Farranree secondary school which featured an address from their principal Adrian Gibbs who said the school is looking forward to the future. 

“We are not afraid of change. How you taught somebody in 1970 is not how education works in 2022 when we are preparing teenagers to go into the future. We are proud of our past, but we are not stuck in it. The three things we focused on at our open night were challenge, choice, and change. We are now a fully inclusive school because we are co-educational from September 2023. We will be able to take boys and girls into every year group from first year straight through to sixth year,” he said.

The secondary school principal said from September 2023, they will also have three special classes, after receiving the go-ahead from the Department of Education. “We have had three special classes sanctioned for our school which is brilliant news. 

The three special classes will mean there is space for 18 new students in September 2023. We wanted to ensure our special classes could take both boys and girls. It is fantastic news for local students and families.

“There is a lot of change and a lot of excitement,” admitted Mr Gibbs ahead of the change to a co-educational school. 

“We started this process two years ago when we were looking at our community. We didn’t want to rush this. This isn’t a girl’s school that is suddenly taking in boys. This is something that teachers, staff, parents, and students were all involved in. A lot of the impetus came from the desire from parents to have a son and daughter in the same school.

“Our school has a long tradition in Farranree. A good few of our teachers went to school here. It wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly. We had the support of the NCSE, support and funding from the Department of Education because what we are doing is in line with Government policy. 

"We are trying to create a fully inclusive school. This is happening nationwide, and we don’t want to be left behind. It is very exciting,” he added.

The principal said going co-educational will also enable them to provide more subjects for the students. “We now have funding from the Department of Education to extra subjects such as woodwork, technical graphics, and engineering. We now can offer physics, chemistry, and technical subjects because we don’t believe girls and boys should be pigeonholed into just having a limited choice. They should have the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects.

“There are also facilities to go with the investment from the Department. It is something very valuable for this community. Another important thing that is happening is we are rebranding our school. We are updating our mission statement to be more relevant to the times we live in. In September 2023, there will be a new name for the school. It is a new era,” he added.