Ballyphehane girls’ school to welcome boys in September

PLANS to turn a local secondary school into a co-educational establishment later this year are continuing apace, according to the school’s principal.

Last year, Presentation Secondary School Ballyphehane announced plans to welcome boys to the school for the first time from September 2024.

Speaking to The Echo in recent days, principal Barry O’Shea said: “Co-ed planning is proceeding apace here at Pres Ballyphehane.

“We are tremendously proud of our history, tradition and past achievements but equally committed to embracing educational reform and change as we work together to strive for excellence and to serve our community.

“Our undertaking to serve our community and embrace reform has led us to opening our doors to boys from September 2024.

“The decision to change our status from an all girls school to a mixed school is driven by a deep commitment to foster an inclusive learning environment,” he stated further.

“We are responding to the evolving needs and demands of a rapidly changing world.”

An extensive consultation process on the future development of Pres Ballyphehane was conducted early in 2023 and all the findings from parents, students, staff and surrounding community informed management that Presentation Secondary School Ballyphehane will best serve the needs of all its stakeholders by becoming a co-educational school, the principal explained.

“By opening our doors to boys and girls, we aim to create a vibrant community where young minds can learn, collaborate, and grow together.

“We look forward to a future where we will continue to develop and nurture the individual student with attention and care, empowering each one to develop their talents, abilities and skills to become the best person they can be.

“Children who join us at Pres Ballyphehane benefit from a caring supportive atmosphere where we focus on knowing students personally,” he added.

“Each first year student will be allocated a ‘cara’ or a friend, a fifth year student who will help first years settle in and show them around and be a continued support throughout the year.

“The school also has a trained counsellor for students who need to talk through difficulties and problems and a dedicated parents support teacher or HSCL who will work closely with all parents to ensure that each student achieves their full potential.”

Mr O’Shea stated the schools’ facilities and resources are second to none, as is the excellent teaching team.

“This team delivers a wide ranging and varied curriculum designed to support the individual learning style and needs of each student,” he said.

“This student centred approach has resulted in outstanding Leaving Cert results over many years.

“In 2023, 79% of our students progressed to university. These results are well above the national average and reflect the quality of teaching and learning found here in Ballyphehane.

“A rounded education is provided to each of our students,” he added.

“While academic endeavour will remain at the school’s core, we also hope that our students contribute to the life of the school beyond the classroom.

“We offer a wide range of extra and co- curricular activities. We excel at sports and have won multiple Cork, Munster and All-Ireland titles in a variety of sports including basketball, athletics, Gaelic football, soccer, rugby, table-tennis and badminton.

“Our school also excels in the arts, visual as well as performing. We have produced numerous plays and musicals and our multi award winning choir has performed before presidents and royalty.

“We look forward to adding to and further developing this extra curricular provision with the inclusion of boys from September onwards.”