Transition year: A year when teenagers can transition to adulthood

Ruth, a 17-year-old from Roscommon, feels comfortable saying yes to opportunities, something she believes is a result of transition year.

“After TY, I felt more ready to put myself forward, to say, ‘Yes, I’m able to do that’. I had that bit of confidence and self-belief. In TY, you had to put yourself forward all the time, put your hand up to do a job, whether helping the janitor empty the bins or write an article for the school magazine.”

Lawlor says it is important to take up the opportunity to do TY, which is optional.

“Around age 16, children change from being concrete, very black-and-white thinkers to more reflective, abstract thinkers. They can assimilate information and come up with their own opinions on it and why.

“Students are growing anyway at this stage, and TY gives them innumerable opportunities to grow. They can develop social skills, people skills, community skills, as well as resilience, openness, patience, adaptability, co-operation and team work.”

Opportunity to network

Ruth finished the programme in the summer of 2023 and is now in her Leaving Cert year. Her all-girls school has an option to skip TY. “Only about 10% did.”

She recalls looking forward to it as a “sort of break after Junior Cert”. She found it “more freeing”, choosing subject options she liked. “There were fun modules, like ballroom dancing, Russian, and driving safety. And there were classes for girls who wanted to write for the school magazine, as well as Junk Kouture and BT Young Scientist.

“I really liked the end-of-year trip to Lake Garda. We went to Milan, Venice, Verona, and a theme park. We had freedom to explore on our own; the school trusted us, they’d give us a time and location.”

Ruth was in first year when the pandemic struck. “Growing up during covid, we weren’t allowed to mix with other classes during lunchtime. At the start of TY, they changed around the classes. I was with girls I wouldn’t have talked with before. You got to know people on a different level.

“It also strengthened relationships you’d had prior to TY; we weren’t in a high-pressure academic environment, so we could have the craic together.”

Lawlor says TY provides great opportunities to network with companies taking apprenticeships. “Companies look at students’ CVs to see what their work ethic is like. If a student goes from third to fifth year, they’re not going to have a lot of work ethic to show a potential employer.”

Ruth’s two work-experience blocks saw her spend a week each in a primary healthcare centre, a café, her local primary school, and UNICEF. “The work experience does help you figure out what you like and don’t like,” she says. “My favourite was with Unicef. We were learning about different issues: Gender equality, racism, immigration. It made me think more from other people’s perspectives. And we did go to work; I felt proud of what we did.”

A year of growth

Dr Katriona O’Sullivan, associate professor at Maynooth University’s Department of Psychology and author of the memoir Poor, is excited about her 16-year-old son’s TY this year. “I’m really looking forward to a more relaxed year — Junior Cert was stressful. Tadhg’s school has a really good, structured TY programme. They have such varied topics, like Mandarin and ‘how to run a business’. The work experience will be great for him and there’s a focus on entrepreneurial skills.

“The independence-learning, and learning in different ways. I’m hoping he’ll have a year of growth personally. There’ll be loads of speakers coming in; he’ll get to experience a lot.”

But O’Sullivan has broader concerns about TY. Some schools, for example, select “the good kids” to do it. “You have to be well-behaved enough to get into TY, which I think is unfair. I think TY is perfect for children who find the usual classroom difficult. The idea that kids should be stopped doing it, who struggle with mainstream, seems to go against the point of TY.”

After posting about this on X, formally known as Twitter, during the summer, she says many shared experiences of children not getting into TY. “I feel it should be mandatory for all kids.”

She also has concerns about the cost of the programme. When she discovered the price tag on her son’s trip abroad was about €800, she rang the school. “I said, ‘what if kids can’t afford this’?”

O’Sullivan is not worried that TY students will lose their study focus. “There’s no rush for them to grow up. What’s the harm in having a bit of a different experience between 15 and 16? Why should they be under pressure for six years?

“In TY, they’re still learning about themselves, about what they love, what they don’t love. Education isn’t about filling someone up with facts: It’s about lighting a fire.”

More employable

In Lawlor’s experience, students love the freedom of TY, the choices available. “A lot love the work experience, the trips, the freedom to move.”

According to the NCCA, there is reliable evidence that students who do TY perform substantially better in the Leaving Certificate than their peers who skip it.

Lawlor says employers and colleges find students who’ve done TY cope better with the demands of third-level and of work. 

They’re more employable.

She has heard students complain they did nothing in TY. “They did: They just weren’t aware of what they learned. They do a lot of self-direction in TY, which they may not [realise].

“And in September of fifth year, teachers are able to spot those who’ve done the programme; there are huge differences in maturity.”

What can parents do to encourage children to embrace TY? Lawlor suggests:

• Encourage them to open their mind; join the musical even if they’re not at all interested in songs and dance. There’ll be a role for them; maybe they’ll love getting involved in set design. Everybody’s personality has a place.
• Let your child grow. Be patient. The ‘dossing’, the boredom, is where growth happens. If they’re acting out or making wrong decisions, that’s the time to step in.
• TY gives students time to rest, pause, and transition. I’ve seen students who haven’t done TY burn out by November of Leaving Cert year. They haven’t rested or paused. They very often don’t know what they want to do.

Ruth says it is inaccurate to think of TY as a doss year. “It’s a different pace of learning, but you do still work. And you’re in a controlled environment. Parents shouldn’t worry about their child falling off the rails.”

Transitioning into fifth year didn’t pose too big a challenge, she says. “We did a small bit of the Leaving Cert course in TY… and yes, I did feel I had to work harder, but it has been OK. I’ve settled well into the flow of academic work.”

She is “definitely glad” to have done TY.

She recommends anyone starting out to apply themselves, to take all opportunities offered. “You get out of it what you put in.”