Meán Scoil Mhuire ranked as Longford's leading feeder school for progression to third level education

The feeder school list for 2024 has been announced. The list shows the percentage of students in each school sitting their leaving cert and moving on to third level education.

Of the Longford schools included in the list, Meán Scoil Mhuire secured the county’s top spot, with 94% of its 78 leaving cert students going on to third-level education.

Siobhán Cullen, principal of Meán Scoil Mhuire told the Longford Leader she was delighted with the news.

“I’m looking at the Independent now,” she explained over the phone, “It’s a testament to the hard work and the dedication and commitment of the staff here.”

“The league tables indicate the work in relation to teaching and learning that goes on in the school.

“We’re delighted to have placed number one in County Longford.”

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Meán Scoil Mhuire is an all-girls school located in Longford town, this year’s numbers are a massive increase in the 2023 list which saw only 68% of their 84 leavers move on to higher education.

“In terms of what I’m looking at here, as the new principal, it’s certainly an increase on last year.

“Even with Storm Darragh, we had a school closure day here on Monday morning.

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“But, our online remote teaching and learning plan kicked in straight away and all the staff could link in with their students.

“It’s very important to always have a contingency plan in place for events that are out of our control.

“For me as a new principal, it was great on Monday that the remote teaching and learning plan kicked in.”

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Siobhán and the rest of the staff in Meán Scoil Mhuire take great pride in the students and the school itself.

“We have a great cohort of girls and we have a wide range of programmes like the Junior Cycle and the Transition Year Programme.

“It’s a very innovative, very engaging and enjoyable programme for the girls and includes components like work experience.

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“It can make all the difference for them in terms of their career choices and subject choices for their fifth year.”

The school also offers a choice between the Leaving Certificate and Leaving Cert Applied.

Siobhán also took the time to address the recent news of the amalgamation that has been agreed between Meán Scoil Mhuire and St Mel’s College.

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“The approximate date that has been given, we’re looking at September 2027.

“However, that’s depending on suitable accommodation being provided so there’s a lot going on there in the background.

“Both myself and the principal of St Mel’s, we’re engaging with the department in relation to what the project might look like,” concluded Siobhán.