Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD last Friday officially opened the new extension at Coláiste Treasa Secondary School, Kanturk, in the presence of the Board of Management, staff, students, dignitaries and friends of the school. The school’s new addition, the creation of which was supported by patrons Cork Education and Training Board (Cork ETB), cost almost €1 million to construct and includes two state-of-the-art science laboratories, as well as a home economics room. The extension is yet another stepping stone in Coláiste Treasa’s journey and marks how far the school has come since its humble beginnings in 1938, when four class-rooms played host to approximately 60 students. In more recent years, there has been a much stronger demand on the school’s services, with well over 500 students now enrolled. This eagerly-anticipated new extension will comfortably accommodate the significant growth in the student population at Coláiste Treasa.
Science is one of the core subjects at the school, with the suite of science subjects – chemistry, biology and physics – among the most popular and chosen subjects by students. This strong link to the sciences was highlighted in 2015 with the fantastic win by Transition Year students Eimear Murphy and Ian O’Sullivan, who beat 1,200 students to be crowned overall winners at the 51st BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition with their Social and Behavioural Sciences project, titled ‘Alcohol Consumption: Does the Apple Fall From the Tree.’ The link was highlighted even further when Coláiste Treasa was awarded Best School in the Republic of Ireland in recognition of their numerous student winners across various categories at the 2017 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. Leading the posse were Michael Sheehan and Jack Murphy, both 4th year students at Coláiste Treasa, who won the Best Group Award, and were overall runners-up for their project entitled ‘Prey Availability for Hen Harriers in Managed Farmland.’ The latest additions to the school’s Science Department will enable students to continue to learn and flourish in an environment that promotes education to the highest level.
The current Home Economics room at Coláiste Treasa was also part of the school’s original four classrooms dating back to 1938, and now offers existing and upcoming students a new and upgraded facility.
Speaking at the official opening of the school’s new extension, Cork Education and Training Board Chief Executive Ted Owens commented, “It gives us great pleasure to witness the opening of this fantastic extension, following months of hard work and collaboration with Coláiste Treasa. This school of talented students and inspiring teaching staff deserve facilities to enable them to continue to reach their full potential and strive academically, so we were delighted to be a part of this important project and we look forward to following the achievements of all who will now benefit from it.”
Also commending the new building, along with the successful collaboration between Cork ETB and Coláiste Treasa, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Cork North West Michael Creed TD said, “I believe that this new impressive and important extension facility will allow the students of Coláiste Treasa to continue to thrive in such a modern and enlightening environ-ment, while the staff here will no doubt also benefit hugely from such improved amenities. The finished product that we see here today is as a result of team work between Coláiste Treasa and Cork Education and Training Board. Congratulations to all involved and I know that those who will benefit from the school’s new facilities will see that its construction was extremely worthwhile.”