Transition Year

Description

Kilkenny City Vocational School has designed its TY curriculum to be a dynamic programme, placing continuing emphasis on academic excellence and achievement.

The curriculum is designed using the ideal combination of teaching and learning strategies thus facilitating cross-curricular work, experiential learning and activity-based learning. This balance allows the student to become aware of their multiple intelligence's and encourages the development of a wide range of cognitive and emotional processes. The TY curriculum provides a broad and balanced education programme which is learning-led rather than exam-led. This encourages a variety in teaching and learning styles, thus developing life skills where students are led to the point where self-regulated learning takes place.

Our Transition Year Programme offers our students an opportunity to engage in independent, self-directed learning, to develop general, technical and academic skills, and to mature and develop without the pressure of an examination. Participation in Transition Year affords our students the prospect to sample a wide range of subject areas so they can make informed decisions about their future line of study.

Transition Year Subjects

Core Subjects are studied for the full academic year.

Taster Subjects are studied for terms, after which students will try a different option for the remainder of the year

Assessment:

• A combination of a credit system and school assessments is used to assess students
• A school report is also issued at Christmas and at Summer
• An end of year completion certificate is also awarded at the end of the academic year and graded as follows

.The following criteria are considered when deciding the grade for the end of year certificate

Standardised Testing

• We also carry out the following standardised testing on Transition Year students
• Cat 4 Test – Cognitive Abilities Test 4 – identifies students developed ability and likely academic potential. It identifies strengths and weaknesses across 4 areas – verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and spacial reasoning.
• PASS Test – Pupils attitudes to self and school -This explores student’s thoughts and feelings as potential obstacles to attainment.

Transition Year Highlights

• Work experience (3 one-week blocks)
• Junk Couture
• Enterprise competition
• SCIFEST
• Various leisure trips (for example: Tayto Park, Cool planet, Dunmore East activity centre, Castlecomer Zip lining, Ice skating, Go Quest and lots more).
• Educational Trips
• Historical trips around Ireland (national museum of Ireland, Glasnevin Cemetery, Seamus Heaney museum, Medieval mile museum, Kilkenny Castle).
• College Open Days
• Certified Professional Coffee Barista training
• Certified First Aid course
• Certified Sports Leadership Level 1 certificate
• Future Leaders GAA Programme
• Drugs Awareness Programme
• Self Defence (4 week training block)
• End of year trip to DELPHI (2 nights and 3 days of fun filled activities).

Huge thanks to @tonyjoreilly for coming to talk to our TYs and LCA group today. What an inspirational talk! He had our students captivated and hanging on to every word as he shared his own personal experience #inspirationaltalk #gamblingawareness #transitionyear