Ratoath College – a full school at last…

Shannon Fagan (3rd Year), Eric Lawless (6th year), Councillor Nick Killian, Mary Wallace TD.

…as they welcome their first ever Leaving Certificate Exam Students but also say goodbye!

Ratoath College welcomes their first ever Leaving Certificate exam students as they prepare to become the first ever graduates of this new school.

The first home of Ratoath College was on the third floor of Fairyhouse Racecourse.  During the two years they spent there, teaching and learning was inspired by the beautiful views and amazing surroundings. Weekly trips on a bus to Dunshaughlin Community College gave teachers and students the opportunity to use practical rooms which were not available at the racecourse.  Teachers and students at Ratoath College left Fairyhouse on June 1^st 2007 accompanied by the Garda Mounted Unit and the Garda Band.  Their slogan said it all: “Fairyhouse forever in our hearts, Jamestown forever in our future”

They arrived in Jamestown to a wonderful new building designed by Mc Garry/Ní Eanaigh Architects.  As you walk the building today it is hard not to notice the colours around the building, the windows into the classrooms, the skylights and pillars in the open areas, designs teachers and students appreciate on a daily basis.

Today, Ratoath College witnesses their first ever Leaving Certificate students and wish them the very best the future can bring.  The small intimate school has grown from 66 students to 615 students in five short years.  It has developed into a large secondary school and that growth and expansion is set to continue into the future.  Máire Ní Bhróithe (Principal) and a small teaching staff have also witnessed the school increase and develop immensely over the past five years.  “I believe that with our fantastic students, our dedicated and innovative staff and the supportive parents of Ratoath that our school community will grow from strength to strength” Máire Ní Bhróithe.  However, these first ever Leaving Certificate exam students will always be the first year group to experience a school on a racecourse, the first to go to China, the first to experience the new building in Jamestown, the first to walk the catwalk at their fabulous fashion show and the first group of Ratoath teenagers to have the opportunity to sit the Leaving Certificate in their own town.

What these Leaving Certificate students at Ratoath College achieved over the last five years never fails to amaze.  Right from the start, students have applied themselves with eagerness and an enthusiasm that is breathtaking in terms of the quality of what they have contributed but also the range and vast mix of different initiatives, projects, sports and other activities they have launched themselves into without fear or reservation.  The reputation they have already established for themselves and the school has been truly remarkable in such a short time.  With student numbers growing each year, this theme has continued to be developed and now all students at Ratoath College can be very proud of the effort and contribution they make in making Ratoath College the very special place it has become.