Castlepollard Community College

Our group of school prefects have been selected and are on hand to help students around the school. The prefects have a particular responsibility to the First Year students to help guide them through the first few months of their time in Castlepollard Community College. Their green jumpers, different to the navy ones in the school uniform, make them easily identifiable. The group of students also meet weekly with school management to discuss student issues, and are essential to the student voice in the school. Well done to all who were selected and best of luck with your studies this year.

Class of 2020 – Where are they now?

We caught up with two students from the class of 2020 who have recently started their studies at third level. Here is what they had to say about their time in Castlepollard Community College:

Rachel Wheatley’s year, like that of every other Leaving Cert student, was cut short as she prepared to take her Leaving Cert exams for the second time. Rachel had decided to repeat her year in a school in Mullingar but after a short while returned to Castlepollard Community College to achieve her goals.

When asked about this decision, Rachel cited the smaller class sizes, more time with teachers and a strong IT platform in each of her classes, which gave her the stability she needed to get the most from her year.

“Teachers here have always been really easy to talk to when you’re stuck or when you need clarity with something. It helps that you have more time with teachers,” Rachel said when asked about the advantages of studying in Castlepollard Community College. Rachel studied all of her subjects at higher level so she had a busy year. Inspired by her favourite teacher, Ms Casey, Rachel set her sights on a science degree in the University of Limerick. With the release of the CAO offers, Rachel was overjoyed to be offered a place on the Bachelor of Science with Teacher Education (Biology and Chemistry).

Everyone here at Castlepollard Community College is delighted for Rachel. Well done and best of luck with your degree.

Evan Farrelly was part of our class of 2020 who experienced the uncertain summer over lockdown. Evan now has that clarity he was looking for having been recently offered a place in his chosen course by the CAO.

Speaking about his time in Castlepollard Community College, Evan mentioned that a strong grounding in IT gave him the independence he needed to manage his work.

“Having the iPad in during out Junior Cert years was good for organisation and study. Even in Senior Cycle, using OneNote, particularly in biology with Ms Brady, helped because we had all our notes organised in folders, but they were all in the one place,” Evan said when asked about the advantages of having a strong understanding of IT in Castlepollard Community College.

It is not surprising that Evan mentioned his biology class as that was his the area he wanted to go into at third level. As mentioned, Evan earned a place on his first choice course in DCU, and he has now started his degree in Education with a focus on PE and Biology. It was a highly sought after course, and everyone at CCC would like to congratulate Evan on achieving his goals after his time in the school. Best of luck on your move to the other side of the classroom!