Principal Jody Ó Gallchóir addressing a room of parents and students at St Bricin’s recent open night.

Belturbet secondary trending in the right direction

It’s been a remarkable six years for St Bricin’s in Belturbet. Faced with possible closure, the school and it’s community has rallied back to now having to cap the number of new students it can take in come September 2025 such is the level of interest.

“It’s been a big turnaround alright,” suggests Principal Jody Ó Gallchóir, who took over the running of the local secondary school in 2022.

Mr Ó Gallchóir is beaming as he welcomes new faces through the doors at a recent open night. The 2024-25 intake of new First Years was the largest in more than a decade, and the next looks set to even surpass that.

“We’re looking stronger. It’s not a done job yet, not until there are bums in seats. I think any school will tell you that. But we’re definitely trending in the right direction.”

The task at hand is in no small part helped by the recent opening of new modular accommodation to include six general classrooms, two Special Education Needs (SEN) classrooms and a general purpose facility.

On top of that, the Department of Education also sanctioned the purchase of the existing prefab classrooms. Not only does it provide more space, but it does away with an expensive rental overhead too.

Already that is starting to bring changes. Due to demand in certain subjects, St Bricin’s had to hire a second art teacher, a third Irish teacher and another home economics teacher.

He credits too the success of St Bricin’s two ASD specific and moderate learning classes and the pathways these create to mainstream learning.

Addressing the near 200 student hopefuls and their parents who visited St Bricin’s earlier this month, Mr Ó Gallchóir is effusive in his praise for his staff, for the role they play in not only providing a high level of education but also helping create an holistic and inclusive life learning environment.

“Books and what’s on the whiteboard is only part of the journey,” says Mr Ó Gallchóir, a native of Gort a’ Choirce in Northwest Donegal, and who last worked at a secondary school in Tallaght.

He stresses that St Bricin’s is keen to accommodate all, and more, if they can. Currently, there are nearly two dozen nationalities represented within the student body.

If there is a challenge it’s that, despite repeated applications, the school has thus far been refused DEIS status - something the principal deems “essential”. Being considered would mean more access to targeted supports as well as additional teachers, home school community liaison coordinators, grant funding and the School Completion Programme.

“We’ve had to increase our intake number from around 50 to over 70 for this coming September. It’s a big jump. Inevitably it’ll mean more teachers if we’re successful. It’s a sign of where we’re going that we have to forward plan. I know already, for next year, that we’re going to have a higher intake than last, and the same again the year after that.

“Again, I can see we will need to expand our ASD and moderate learning space. So the potential for us to expand is there certainly.

“That is something we’ll have to look at come Springtime, because if we don’t have something in place for September 2025, we know we will need to have it in place for 2026.”