A short course that started in Colaiste Abbain, Adamstown, Co. Wexford as part of the junior cycle in 2019, is allowing students to delve into the world of agriculture and self-sufficiency.
The school, which keeps hens, ducks, guinea fowl, rabbits, goats and sheep, developed its own short course to meet the growing needs of the local community and students in the school.
The idea came from teacher, Dean O’Connor’s learning support class. Dean is from a farming background, and wanted to bring his interest in farming into the classroom to help him further engage with students.
The course aims to give students an appreciation of the natural environment, and to explore potential future careers, such as agri-tourism, farming, horticulture and the food industry.
There are cross-curricular links with subjects like home economics and business studies.
“We are one of the first schools in Ireland to offer this course. We came on board in 2019 after it was approved by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Department of Education, and it has just grown from strength-to-strength,” said Dean.
“Currently, we have about 51% of junior cycle students studying agriculture in the school, and it instils a passion for agriculture, farming and appreciating the environment for the students in the school.
“Without farmers, there’s no food and that’s a big topic at the minute,” he said.
The course focuses “a lot on sustainability and the students learn about the different farming enterprises. We look at farm safety, self-sufficiency, and we tie in with growing our own produce”, Dean added.
“We focus also on the agri-business side of things, so it’s a very full-on hands-on short course in agriculture for the students. It’s been brilliant,” said Dean.
Thomas McDonald who lives on his grandad’s dairy farm in Adamstown is one of the students enjoying the course.
An advantage of the course for him, was that he was able to focus on his love of agriculture rather than learning languages, which doesn’t interest him.
Dean said that Thomas was very good at the hands-on activities, such as dairy farming, and praised the local community for its support in allowing the students to have practical farming experience.
Among those who have links with the course, are brothers Gavin and Stuart Rothwell, who host farm visits throughout the year. Recently, they facilitated second year agricultural students in getting an insight into lambing.
Rory Kelly recalled attending a calf sale at Enniscorthy mart and visiting Kavanagh Meats
Student, Darragh O’Shea said the subjects are very interesting, and that he “loves being outside with the animals and learning how to care for them”.