Kilkenny school to become coeducational

A day in the life of a school? Yes, it's an unusual one this week as I speak to the principal and students at the CBS Primary School, as exciting times lie ahead for them.

CBS Primary School is situated in the heart of Kilkenny City. The current school building first opened its doors in 1953 and prior to this shared a site with the CBS Secondary School.  

Currently, the school caters for boys from second class to sixth class. However, this school year will mark the last year of their current structure, while making history with a brand-new era.

Not only will the school continue to welcome boys into second class, but it will also begin to enrol girls and boys starting in Junior Infants - the beginning of the school’s coeducational journey.

Their dedicated and caring staff are committed to providing a safe and happy environment where all their pupils can reach their full potential. Their aim is to prepare every student in the school for further education and lifelong learning.

Boys (l-r) Grzegorz Duda, Michael Wall, Milo Buckeridge and JJ Cahill with Mr. Niall Bergin - the Principal of the CBS Primary School

To get to the heart of the matter, I interviewed four current CSB boys for their reaction to the new dawning of the school.

JJ Cahill is a sixth class pupil and his teacher is Ms. Minogue. JJ loves sport and he is a member of the school Gaelic Football team who are looking forward to a semi-final over the coming days.

Grzegorz Duda is also a sixth class pupil, and his teacher is Ms. Brennan. Grzegorz is a member of the Student Council in the school and loves playing the ukulele.

Michael Wall is in fifth class and Michael’s teacher’s name is Ms. Cantwell. Michael is a renowned Irish dancer and even competed in Blackpool last month winning many trophies! He is also a member of the Gaelic panel.

Milo Buckeridge is in fourth class and his teacher’s name is Mrs. Ryan. Another sport enthusiast, Milo was a member of the school U11 hurling team last year.

Finally, I also spoke to Mr. Niall Bergin - the Principal of the CBS Primary School. He is a past pupil of the school like Mr. Cunniffe and Mr. Leahy. Mr. Bergin joined the staff in 2006 and he became Principal in September 2018. He started as Principal on the same day JJ and Grzegorz started in 2nd Class.

So let’s get started…

Niall, the CBS Primary School will be making history next September. What exactly is happening?

That’s right Siobhan. Next September will be a watershed moment in the life of CBS Primary School. For the first time ever, we will welcome Junior Infant girls and boys into our school. We are currently an all-boys school starting in second class. The school is busier than ever at the moment preparing for our new school and the future.

Opening of the CBS Primary School , September 1953

The school will celebrate its 70th anniversary next year. Can you give us some history of Kilkenny’s CBS Primary School?

The school is a proud member of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST). We work hard to ensure that we are building on the vision of our founder, Blessed Edmund Rice, year on year.

The school boasts a rich tradition of academic and sporting achievement. We aim to meet the needs of all our pupils, and we are proud to provide a wide range of extra-curricular activities. This gives every child the opportunity to develop their areas of interest.

We have strong community links in the area. Our pupils love to see coaches from various sporting backgrounds call to our school to coach them. Currently, we have a GAA coach, Philly Campion (Dicksboro), rugby coach, Noel Devlin (Leinster rugby), and Music Generation tutors, Paul and Mark, working in our school.

Speaking of ERST, we are delighted to have a close relationship with CBS Secondary School with the vast majority of our boys continuing their educational journey there.

For a great school you surely had your share of famous past students?

We are extremely proud of all of our pupils both past and present. It is fantastic for the boys in our school to have positive role models who walked the corridors, sat in the classrooms and graced our pitch.

Right now, we have young boys dreaming of being current All Star and Young Hurler of the Year, Mikey Butler. It wasn’t that long ago when Mikey was donning the famed maroon and gold of our school.

You come from a strong hurling background yourself, this must have a positive impact on sports and GAA in the school?

My love for sport was fostered in this very school a long time ago! Hurling has always been my passion and still is to this day.

I’ve nothing but happy memories of playing sports in our field during the school day and after school on various different teams. This is something I’m indebted to the school for.

Sport has obvious health benefits for children but in a world that is becoming ever more challenging, I see the importance sport and teams play in terms of mental health, self esteem and the development of children both from a social and emotional perspective.

Our staff are committed to providing a wide range of sporting opportunities to our pupils. A lot of the principles that apply to sport apply to school life too. In many ways the school community is like a GAA community.

We are very fortunate to have such a strong and committed Board of Management, Parents’ Association, parental body, and school staff working in unison.

As a past pupil of the school, how has education evolved?

School life has changed considerably since I was a pupil in the school. Huge advancements have been made in technology. We aim to have every pupil adequately equipped from an ICT perspective for the world they are facing.

Each classroom in our school has an interactive panel and pupils have access to chrome books and iPads readily available. Our staff are committed to fostering a love of lifelong learning with our pupils.

The pupil voice is an integral part of school nowadays. In CBS we strive to give our students a meaningful role in the development of our school. We have several initiatives where students take a leading role in shaping our school, such as our Student Council and committees including Amber Flag, Active School, Green School to mention a few.

To the Boys –

How do you feel about girls coming into the school to make it a co-educational school?

Grzegorz – It will be a big change for the better! It will be interesting to hear different opinions and perspectives.

JJ – Everyone is excited for the change. There is a great buzz around the school. Firstly, having junior infants and then having both boys and girls. It seems more natural to have boys and girls learning together like the way men and women work together in their jobs.

Michael - It is really positive for the school. We will get to talk to more people.

Milo – It will make the school even better and we can make new friends.

What's your favourite part about school?

JJ – I really like the atmosphere in the school. Everyone knows each other. I also really like the extra-curricular activities the school has on offer.

Michael – All of the pupils are given lots of opportunities to try different things such as Art, Music, sport.

Milo – I love our field. It is really big, and we are lucky to have it. You can meet with pupils from other classes out there for lunch time.

Grzegorz – I love the Music Generation and Accelerated Reading programmes. I really like Maths and it is great when we celebrate Maths Week. We get a chance to interact with pupils from different classes in our PE hall for the Maths quiz.

CBS Primary School will host their opening night on Wednesday, November 23 at 7.30pm. For more information please www.cbsprimarykilkenny.ie or contact the school on 056 7761739.