Dear GCC Parents/Guardians & Students,
Cork ETB Awards 2026
The annual Cork ETB awards ceremony took place in Cork City Hall last Friday evening with a pre awards event gathering of GCC parents and students taking place in the Maldron Hotel, South Mall. The event acknowledges the outstanding academic achievements of students in Cork ETB schools and GCC had 25 students recognised.
Please click on the links below to view photos from the event.
Cork ETB Leaving Certificate Awards – Photos
Cork ETB Leaving Cert Awards 2026 – GCC Recipients
GCC Staff Development Day – Monday 16 March 2026
A reminder to parents and students that our GCC Staff Development day takes place next Monday 16 March and the school will be closed to all students. Below are the details of our programme of work. Many thanks to all our staff members who are leading elements of the programme and making presentations. The sharing of high-quality staff led CPD has been a consistent strength of the school over a long number of years which we will continue to promote.
| GCC Staff Development Day Schedule – Monday 16 March 2026 | |
| Time | Topic |
| 9.00 – 9.30 | Attendance |
| 9.30 – 10.00 | Pre – Results Analysis 2026 |
| 10.00 – 10.30 | Technology in Education – Interactive Screen Usage |
| 11.00 – 12.20 | Wellness Workshop – Kevin Clancy |
| 12.20 – 1.00 | Díograis 2026 |
| 1.45 – 3.00 | GCC Teaching & Learning Workshop – Senior Cycle Additional Assessments Components [AAC’s] |
| 3.00 – 3.50 | GCC Assessment Policy |
Oral Examinations in Irish and Modern Foreign Languages
Please click on the link below to view the arrangements for the upcoming orals taking place from Saturday 28 March to Thursday 2 April 2026:
S18_26 Oral Examinations in Irish and the Modern Foreign Languages
GCC 1st Year Vaccinations
Parents are asked to note that the HSE Vaccination team will be in GCC next Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 March when vaccinations for 1st Year students will take place. 1st Year students are permitted to wear their tracksuits on both days.
Please note there is no requirement for parents to be present for the vaccinations. You will be contacted by the HSE or the school office if your child feels unwell after the vaccination and needs to go home. We thank you in advance for your cooperation with this.
GCC Activities of the Week Monday 16 to Friday 20 March 2026
Please click on the link to view the Activities of the Week beginning Monday 16 to Friday 20 March 2026:
GCC Activities of the Week Monday 16 to Friday 20 March 2026
GCC Upcoming Calendar Events – March 2026
| Date | Event | Note |
| Monday 16 March | GCC Staff Development Day | School Closed |
| Tuesday 17 March | St Patrick’s Day | School Closed |
| Friday 27 March | Easter Holidays | |
| Saturday 28 March | Leaving Certificate Oral Exams | 28/3 – 2/4 |
GCC Board of Management Meeting Monday 2 March 2026 – Agreed Report
Please click on the link below to view the Agreed Report from the Glanmire Community College Board of Management meeting last Monday 2 March 2026.
Agreed Report – GCC BOM Meeting Monday 2 March 2026
GCC Draft Calendar 2026/2027
Parents are asked to note that we are currently constructing our calendar for the 2026/2027 school year. We hope to be able to share a final calendar with all in our school community in the run up to the Easter Break. Parents are asked to note that in June 2027, the bank holiday is falling very late on Monday 7 June with the Leaving Certificate not beginning until Wednesday 9 June. The knock-on effect of this is that the final term will be nine weeks in length. Normally, the longest term of the year is the first term from September to October. Therefore, in trying to piece together the calendar we were trying to spread any additional days that might be available in order to provide student and staff with well timed and meaningful breaks throughout the school year.
Online Marking Information Document 2026
Information on the subjects being marked online this year is available here. We have been asked by the Online Marking Section [State Examinations Commission] to bring this information to the attention of the teachers of the relevant subjects and of the candidates taking these subjects as it provides information about what to expect in the examinations.
GCC Feis Maitiu Winners 2026
We would like to extend our congratulations to the GCC school choirs who competed in Feis Maitiú on Wednesday. The Junior Choir and Group Choir both came in first place in their categories, and the Senior Choir came in second place in a competition that had outstanding choirs from schools all over the country. As always, our thanks to Ann Mannix for her incredible contribution to Music in GCC and the leadership and guidance she has given to the students not only this year but down through the years. Our thanks also to Emma Gibbons, Caitriona Kennedy and Marie McInerney for accompanying the students on the day.
GCC Junk Kouture Finalists
We want to wish Sinead Kiely and our Junk Couture team [Transition Year students Abimbola Fashade (Rang Clíona), Isobel Gaffney (Rang Clíona) and Niall O’Rourke (Rang Breifne)] all the best in the Irish Regional Finals of Junk Kouture taking place at the Helix in Dublin on Monday 9 March 2026. From over 1,000 entries nationwide, only 60 finalists were selected for each of the three finals, this an incredible achievement for our students.
You can follow Tide Tamer on Instagram at: @tide.tamergcc. The students began developing their design after completing their Junior Cert last Summer. They gathered fishing nets and tackle washed ashore in Cork Harbour, collected rubbish from the shoreline, and incorporated the reclaimed plastic into their dress design.
GCC Solar Panels
In our January update, we informed parents that the school intended to spend up to €50k on the installation of solar panels in our B Block building. We are delighted to update parents that the installation work was completed this week and the panels are now fully operational [Please see drone picture below]. The final cost of the project inclusive of VAT was just over €61k but the school will receive a grant from the SEAI in the region of €15k bringing the cost to the school back to about €45k.
We hope this investment in our school infrastructure will be self financing in the long term and will help alleviate some of the cost of our electricity bills which are more than €5k per month on average. This project also ensures that GCC continues to provide a sustainable and high quality learning environment. This would not be possible without the voluntary contributions of parents to the school for which we are very grateful. The annual parent contribution to our GCC Student Development Fund is €300 [€350 for TY students] with a €100 reduction per sibling. This amount is agreed with our GCC Parents Council and our GCC Board of Management.
Cork ETB Erasmus Plus & European Engagement
Throughout the year Cork ETB facilitates visits from teachers and staff from abroad who come on job shadowing mobilities and to attend training courses in their subject specialisms. On Tuesday morning GCC was delighted to welcome Marta Carrasco de la Cruz and Nuria Moreno Cavero from IES Alfonso VIII High school in Cuenca, Spain. CETB hopes to develop foundations for future partnerships and mobilities and the opportunity to work on a collaborative basis with our European counterparts. We would like to thank all our teachers and students who facilitated the visit and gave our visitors the opportunity to see the many strengths of our school.
GCC Ski Trip 2028 – Application Form
Glanmire Community College is planning to organize a Transition Year Ski Trip to Italy or Austria in late January/early February 2028. The estimated cost of the ski trip will be in the region of €1600 to €1700 per student. Details of what this includes are outlined in the application link below. Parents and students are asked to note that:
- Places are limited to 54 students maximum and if your application is successful two non-refundable deposits are required to confirm your place
- We are not able to book a place on the ski trips we organise for any student who has not paid two deposits in full
- Only students who have paid the GCC student activity fee in full will be allowed to travel.
- Students are not permitted to participate in both the Ski Trip and the TY European City Tour.
- Please click on the link below to view the application form for our annual GCC Ski Trip in 2028. Our thanks to Ski Tour organiser Mr Aidan Rees for leading this key event in our GCC school calendar.
GCC Ski Trip 2028 Application Form
ESRI Report – School Absence leads to poorer Education, Wellbeing as Adult
Please click on the link below to view an article on the RTE website this week outlining the findings of an ESRI report which has found that school absence leads to lower educational qualifications and poorer wellbeing in early adulthood.
https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2026/0226/1560475-school-esri-study/
Mental Health Resources – Togetherall
The school is sharing information with parents and students about Togetherall, a free, online, anonymous peer-to-peer mental health support platform for young people aged 16 to 30. Please click on the links below for further details:
Ireland_Health_Signpost to Togetherall_Overview
Partner Pack – Togetherall peer-to-peer mental health support platform for ages 16 to 30[58]
While this may be a helpful additional support we ask parents and student to note the following:
• Togetherall is not a crisis service and does not replace professional mental health care, school supports, or emergency services
• Users interact anonymously with a wide age range (16–30)
• Some discussions may involve sensitive or distressing topics, despite moderation
• Due to anonymity, parental oversight is limited
We encourage families to discuss online supports together and to use this as part of a broader network of support.
Standardised School Year – CC2018/2026
Please click on the link to view the Circular 18/2026 which provides information to stakeholders on the standardisation of the school year in respect of primary and post-primary schools for the years 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29.
Standardised School Year Circular 0018_2026
GCC School Office
A reminder to parents that our GCC school office opening hours are 9:00am to 2:45pm, Monday to Thursday and 9.00am to 12.30pm on Friday. This is to allow our clerical staff sufficient time to complete essential administrative duties and to help reduce the volume of queries at the office hatch during peak times.
We encourage parents to email the school where possible rather than phone. Email communication allows us to manage queries more efficiently and ensures that your concerns are directed to the appropriate staff member.
With over 1,140 students in our care, it may take a number of days before we are able to respond to queries. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to support all students and families as effectively as possible. We thank all our GCC parents for your continued cooperation and support.
