Dear GCC Parents/Guardians & Students,

GCC School Attendance

We recently shared an ESRI report with parents through our weekly update, highlighting the significant impact of school absence and how it leads to lower educational qualifications and poorer wellbeing in early adulthood. Attendance was also discussed at our recent GCC Parents Council meeting on Monday 2 March.

Please click on the link to view an important letter we wish to share in relation to attendance and the responsibility of parents to ensure their child/children are consistently attending and updating the school through the agreed procedures:

GCC Attendance Letter to Parents and Guardians

GCC Wellbeing Week

We would like to thank Ms Laura Nagle and all the team of teachers and students for their enthusiasm, teamwork and creativity in making our Wellbeing Week such a tremendous success. It was wonderful to see our school community come together to celebrate kindness, connection, and wellbeing. Your positive spirit, willingness to get involved and commitment to supporting one another truly brought the week to life. Please click on the link to view some pictures and videos of the week. Well done to all involved!    

GCC Wellbeing Week

GCC Stand Up Week (Monday 23 – Friday 27 March)

• the Pride flag will be raised on the school flagpole as a visible sign of inclusion and support.
• Ally badges will be available to all members of the school community who would like to wear one.
• Artwork celebrating and representing the LGBTQ+  community will be displayed throughout the school.
• The student Misneach committee will deliver a presentation to all Junior Cycle classes on the meaning and importance of Stand Up Week.
• All junior cycle classes will take part in a door decorating activity based on this year’s theme, encouraging creativity and reflection on what it means to stand up for one another. These will be judged on Friday 27 March, with a prize awarded to the winning classes.
• We will also hold a non-uniform day on Friday 27th, when students are invited to wear a colour from the Pride flag as a simple way of showing support.  We ask that everyone dress appropriately and embrace the positive spirit of the day as we come together to celebrate our community here in GCC. Please note that shorts are not permitted.

GCC Studyclix Licence

As parents are aware, GCC purchased a studyclix subscription for all students and teachers at the beginning of the year. Engagement remains extremely strong, with students accessing over 19,000 sessions since August.

Studyclix are upgrading their platform by introducing a new suite of resources, including pre-exams for all subjects, enhanced support for AACs, and additional Boost content across many subjects. These resources will be added to our teacher account on a trial basis until the end of the year.

GCC Students present at EU Active Citizen Programme

Congratulations to GCC Transition Year students Sarah Kate Nally and Ailsa Canty who were recently invited to speak at a launch of key events for the EU Active Citizen Programme in Cork and Dublin. Both students were invited by Dr. Emmanuelle Schon-Quinlivan, a senior lecturer in European politics in UCC who Sarah invited to GCC last year to speak with all third year students. The girls spoke at events in University College Cork and in Europe House, Dublin to an audience of teachers and invited guests where they reflected on the programme’s impact on young people and the importance of students’ understanding of the European Union in their world today. 

GCC Activities of the Week Monday 23 to Friday 27 March 2026

Please click on the link to view the GCC Activities of the Week beginning Monday 23 to Friday 27 March 2026: 

GCC Activities of the Week Monday 23 to Friday 27 March 2026

GCC Upcoming Calendar Events – March/April 2026

Cork ETB Awards 2026  

The annual Cork ETB awards ceremony took place in Cork City Hall on Friday 6 March 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

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 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 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

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.

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.

We hope you have a nice weekend.

GCC Senior Management

Ronan McCarthy (Principal)

Seamus Kennefick (Deputy Principal)

Caroline Byrne (Deputy Principal)

Patrick O’Mahony (Deputy Principal)