Salesian College Celbridge is a
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
catering for male students aged 12–19 around the
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
village of
Celbridge
Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...
.
History
The Salesian College, Celbridge was originally formed in 1981 in a disused primary school on the Hazeltatch Road, which is now the Church of Ireland Primary School. Fr. Tony McEvoy SDB was the first principal with four staff members and fifty-five students. In the summer of 1984, the school moved to a newly-built premises, where it remains today. The new school and sports grounds are situated on fifteen acres, and there have been a number of developments and extensions since then. As of 2019, the school has over 700 students and over 50 staff.
Subjects
Salesians offers
Junior Certificate
Junior Cycle ( ga, An tSraith Shóisearach ) is the first stage of the education programme for post-primary education within the Republic of Ireland. It is overseen by the State Examinations Commission of the Department of Education, the State ...
,
Transition Year
Transition Year (TY) ( ga, Idirbhliain) is an optional one-year school programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Certificate in Ireland. However, depending on school population and funding it may not be available, and in other sch ...
, and
Leaving Certificate
A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination.
For each leaving certifica ...
courses, as well as a unit for
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
youths. The school's classes have been mixed since 2004.
In the Leaving Certificate cycle, courses in biology, chemistry, and physics are offered. The Junior-cycle subject broadly defined as "Business Studies" is devolved into separate courses accounting, business and economics. Students may also pursue courses in art, construction, technical drawing or engineering. The
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme
The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) is a two-year optional Education Programme of the Irish Department of Education and Skills. LCVP was introduced in 1989. According to the Department of Education and Skills, the programme is ''de ...
, which aims to provide a more vocation-oriented education can also be taken by students of the College. The school also has
IT facilities.
Sport
Sports played at Salesians include soccer,
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
,
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
,
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
, badminton and
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
.
An annual road race, held each October, is a road race participated in by around 450 students. The Fr. Archer Cup, named after the late Fr. Charles Archer, a former teacher, is awarded to the winner.
Salesians won the U14 All-Ireland Soccer Final in 2006. The Salesians' senior soccer team advanced to the Senior Soccer All-Ireland final in 2008 in Buckley's Park in Kilkenny, but ultimately lost 2–1 to CBS of Sexton Street in Limerick. They reached the final again in 2010 when they lost to St. Marys, Galway, in the last minute of extra time.
The Salesian Senior football team reached the All-Ireland "B" semi finally in 2010, losing to Éire Óg in Carlow by 2 points.
The U16 football team reached the Leinster "B" Final against Moath CBS, where they lost by 2 goals the same year.
Staff
The school is no longer run by priests of the Salesian order. The principal is Brenda Kearns,
who took up the position on 17 August 2009 succeeding Fr. Dan Carroll. There are over 60 teachers in the school in total.
Each year in the school is given a 'Year Head' who is responsible for that year. It varies from year to year but the 'Year Head' of Transition Year is permanent.
Resource
The Resource Department (Centre) was set up in 2005 by Mark Ryan, a teacher in the school. It first started off in three rooms in the school. It was set up to help students with learning difficulties and disorders. A newer facility was later opened in August 2009 by the school Principal Brenda Kearns. There are currently about nine teachers in the Resource Department with seven Special Needs Assistants (SNAs).
Associations
A Parents' Association was established focusing on Salesian College in 1994. The Parents' Association is involved with producing a newsletter, in pastoral and remedial requirements.
The Salesian college student council, over the years, helped to raise money for a defibrillator, installed new basketball equipment and organised the first-ever student-led talent show. The student council has been inactive since 2014.
Notable past pupils
*
Damien Rice
Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success i ...
, singer and former member of the band
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
.
* All four members of
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Bell X1
The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Bel ...
* Members of "Juliets Rescue", formerly
Box Social
Box social is a term for a social event that was widely used in the early 1900s with varying definitions in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
American usage
In the U.S. state of Vermont the tradition is that women decorate a card ...
*
Devon Murray
Devon Michael Murray (born 28 October 1988) is an Irish actor, best known for playing Seamus Finnigan in the ''Harry Potter'' film series.
Early life and career
Devon Michael Murray was born on 28 October 1988 in County Kildare, Ireland. When ...
, actor
*
Karl Bermingham
Karl Bermingham (born 6 October 1985) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He began his career in the Premier League with Manchester City spending the first three years of his professional career, also having b ...
, striker for
Derry City FC
Derry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of league football in the Republic of Ireland, and is the League of Irela ...
*
Mark Kenneally, Olympic marathon runner
*
Daniel O'Reilly, footballer
References
{{Schools and colleges in County Kildare
Celbridge
Boys' schools in the Republic of Ireland
Salesian secondary schools
Secondary schools in County Kildare
Catholic secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland
1981 establishments in Ireland
Educational institutions established in 1981