Dear Parents and Students,

GCC WSE-MLL March 2025 

We would like to thank all our staff and students for their positive contribution to our WSE-MLL this week. It was particularly satisfying to see the collective efforts of everyone in our school community to ensure the inspectorate team saw all that is best about GCC. It was wonderful to see the team work in showcasing our strengths but also reinforcing our shared vision of providing a top-quality educational experience for our students. We look forward to the feedback from the inspection team and the opportunity to implement the findings and recommendations from the inspection. These will provide the direction for the school to ensure that GCC continues to thrive and be a dynamic and successful centre of learning into the future.

Thursday 3 April – Feedback Meetings

• Feedback meeting with GCC school management @ 11am
• Feedback meeting with GCC school staff @ 2.30pm*
• Feedback meeting GCC Board of Management @ 4.30pm

*Please note the feedback meeting with GCC school staff will necessitate an early school closure on Thursday 3 April. Classes will finish for all students @ 1.10pm on the day.

GCC European City Tour to Barcelona 

Our first group of Transition Year students head off to Barcelona tomorrow Saturday 29 March and will return next Wednesday 2 April. Our second Tour group departs on Saturday week 5 April and returns on Wednesday 9 April [Please click on the links below for further details]. We would like to thank our TY Coordinator Ms Imelda Manning and all our team of teachers for facilitating this memorable experience for all the students involved and we wish everyone travelling a safe and enjoyable trip.

Tourplan 1

Tourplan 2

GCC Ski Trip 2027

Please click on the link to view the application form for the GCC Ski Trip in 2027. Parents are asked to note the following please:

• Places are limited and if your application is successful two non-refundable deposits are required to confirm your place.
• We are not able to book a place on the ski trips we organise for any student who has not paid two deposits in full.
• Only students who have paid the GCC student activity fee in full will be allowed to travel.
• Students are not permitted to participate in both the GCC Ski Trip and the TY European City Tour.

GCC Ski Trip 2027 – Application Form

This will be the 4th GCC Ski trip since Covid and we are grateful to Mr Aidan Rees and the team of teachers for providing this wonderful opportunity for our students.

GCC Student Council

Please click on the link to view minutes of the most recent Student Council meeting which included the launch of the Student Council Anti-Vaping campaign for the school community. 

GCC Student Council Meeting Minutes 18 March 2025

Senior Cycle Redevelopment Information Note

Please click on the link to view the latest Senior Cycle Redevelopment Information Note from the Department of Education. This is the tenth edition in a series of Department of Education Senior Cycle Redevelopment information notes. These notes provide updates to school communities on the roll-out of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme.

Senior Cycle Redevelopment Information Note 10

GCC Autism Appreciation Week 2025

Please click on the link below to view the schedule for GCC Autism Appreciation Week 2025 which takes place next week from Monday 31 March to Friday 4 April. There are activities on each day to celebrate autism and raise awareness. On Friday morning at tutorial, Class Teachers were requested to present a slideshow with the schedule and show the ‘Amazing Things Happen video also’. The link to the video is also available below.

GCC Autism Appreciation Week 2025

Amazing Things Happen Video

GCC Activities of the Week Monday 31 March to Friday 4 April 2025

Please click on the link below to view the activities for next week Monday 31 March to Friday 4 April 2025.

GCC Activities of the Week Monday 31 March – Friday 4 April 2025

GCC Upcoming Calendar Events – March/April 2025

GCC Eco Expo 2025

The TY students held a Green Schools day called the Eco Expo, in the Multi Purpose Room for the 1st  and 2nd Year students. They had a series of games and activities to introduce many of our teams and what they have been working on throughout the year. This project was held by TY students Faye, Rebecca, Precious, Polly, Megan Cathal, Ruaidhri & Adam. It was a great success!

This week four groups attended the semi finals of the young environmentalist competition in the Eco Dens in Cork Waterworks. Today they had a chance to showcase what they have been working on these past few months. Well done to all involved! [Written by The Eco Expo Team]

Please click on the link to view some pictures of the day:

GCC Eco Expo 2025

National Voter Registration Day

Parents and senior cycle students are asked to note that there is a national campaign running encouraging everyone to register to vote. We have a presidential election in the Autumn of 2025 and National Voter Registration Day will take place on Wednesday 30 April.

Only Irish citizens over 18 can vote in a presidential election but anyone living in Ireland can vote in local election so it would be good to get those students registered too. Students aged 16 or 17 can pre-register to vote and their name will be added to the register when they turn 18. Our TY students could do this. It should only take a few minutes online if students have their PPSNs and Eircode.

Check the Register

Schoolbooks Grant Guidance for Post-Primary Schools 2025/26

Buying schoolbooks and classroom resources can be a costly expense for parents/guardians. In 2024 schools were provided with funding to buy schoolbooks and core classroom resources for students in Junior Cycle. From 2025 the Post-primary Schoolbooks Scheme will provide funding to schools to buy items for all students up to Senior Cycle. Please click on the links below for an explanation of how the scheme is run and provides answers to some frequently asked questions.

Letter from Minister to parents of students in Post-Primary Schools 202526

Post-primary Schoolbooks Scheme 2025_26 A guide for Parents Guardians

Spotlight on GCC Alumni – March 2025

In our continuing focus on the stories of some of our GCC graduates, please click on the link below to view the latest contribution from 2006 GCC graduate Dr Kathyrn Fahy. Kathyrn has a PhD in Physiotherapy with a specialisation in Sports Physiotherapy and Shoulder rehabilitation and has worked with both national and international athletes from the Women’s National team (Football) qualifying for their first ever world cup, to Thomas Barr and the relay team with their first ever world and European medals. 

However, her greatest achievement was a fine day in Croke park last July when Clare and Cork played out one of the best All-Ireland Hurling Finals in the history of the GAA and Kathyrn stood proudly on the winning side as physio to the Clare team alongside her amazing medical team Michelle and Shane. Kathyrn is just a few short weeks into a new journey in Doha working as a specialist physiotherapist in the world leading specialised sports and orthopedic hospital.  Please click on the link below to read more:  

Dr Kathyrn Fahy – GCC Alumni 2006 

GCC Cat 4 Assessments

Important information in relation to the Leaving Certificate Oral Examinations 2025

Please click on the link below to view Circular S88/24 which contains important information in relation to the Leaving Certificate Oral examinations 2025.

6th Year students and parents are asked to note that the Oral examinations in Irish and the Modern Foreign Languages in 2025 will be delivered by SEC appointed examiners in schools in the early part of the Easter holiday period from Saturday 12 April to Thursday 17 April inclusive.

Important information in relation to the Leaving Certificate Oral Examinations 2025

GCC School Gym

Parents and students are reminded that our GCC school gym is open Monday to Friday before school for 4th, 5th and 6th year students. Students can use the gym upstairs in the PE Hall every day from 8:00am until 8:45am and it will be fully supervised. Thanks you to our GCC teachers for providing this wellbeing opportunity to students.

We hope you have a nice weekend.

GCC Senior Management [Ronan McCarthy (Principal), Patrick O’Mahony (Deputy Principal) Caroline Byrne (Deputy Principal), Seamus Kennefick (Deputy Principal)]