Le Chéile Secondary School, Ballincollig

We are delighted to share the Summer 2026 edition of the Le Chéile Chronicle - Volume 5: Issue 2! 🌞

As another incredibly successful academic year comes to a close, this edition celebrates the many achievements, experiences, events, trips, performances, sporting successes, and memorable moments that made 2025/26 such a special year for our school community 🏫

From national achievements in debating, climbing, frisbee, choir, and Mathematics Olympiad competitions, to the culmination of the Creative Schools Programme (24-26), TY adventures, wellbeing initiatives, drama, music, and student leadership - there is so much to celebrate at Le Chéile Secondary School, Ballincollig 👏

A huge thank you to all students, staff, parents, and contributors who helped make this year such a success. We hope our wider community enjoys reading and reflecting on another fantastic year at Le Chéile 🙏

Le Chéile Chronicle 2026 Summer Edition - Volume 5: Issue 2! — Le Chéile Secondary School Ballincollig Explore the Summer 2026 edition of the Le Chéile Chronicle , celebrating student achievements, national successes, school events, trips, sport, music, drama, and community life at Le Chéile Secondary School, Ballincollig!

Yesterday, we proudly celebrated the graduation of our wonderful Third Year students at Le Chéile Secondary School as they marked the end of their Junior Cycle journey 🎓✨

The occasion was a special opportunity to reflect on the friendships, memories, achievements, and growth that have shaped this year group over the past three years. We are incredibly proud of all they have accomplished and the resilience, kindness, and spirit they have shown throughout their time in Le Chéile.

A sincere thank you to all of their teachers whose dedication, encouragement, and hard work have supported the students every step of the way and helped guide them to this important milestone.

We also extend our heartfelt thanks to Acting Year Head Ms. Daly and Year Head Ms. Barry-Murphy for their unwavering pastoral care, guidance, and continued support of the students throughout their Junior Cycle years ❤️

As the Class of 2026 now prepares to begin their State Examinations next Wednesday, we wish each and every student the very best of luck. We have every confidence that their hard work and preparation will stand to them in the weeks ahead 📚🍀

Best wishes to all of our Third Year students as they begin this next chapter! 📚 


🎓✨ Transition Year Graduation 2026 ✨🎓

We were proud to host our Transition Year Graduation Ceremony on Tuesday 19th May, celebrating another fantastic year of achievement, growth, and unforgettable experiences for our TY students. 🌟

Throughout the year, students embraced every opportunity the programme had to offer - from volunteering for Darkness into Light, participating in the Apple Experience, Poetry Workshops, Feis Maitiu, our TY Drama performance, Creative Schools initiatives, student leadership, and a wide variety of sporting activities. 👏

A huge congratulations to all of our individual award recipients:
🏆 Andrei Edkov – TY Student of the Year
🏆 Eneko Senor Casado – International Student of the Year
🏆 Nina Kershaw – TY Hidden Hero Award
🏆 Natalia Prysiazhniuk – TY Academic Excellence Award
🏆 Yaz Bouketta – Spirit of TY Award
🏆 Charlie Gould – Rising Star Award
🏆 Umar Iqbal – TY Principal’s Award
🏆 Jewel E Amayanevbo – TY Sportsperson of the Year
🏆 Oliwia Krason – Overall Senior Sportsperson of the Year

Each student also received their Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement and Certificate of completion from the TY Programme from Principal Ms Barrett in recognition of their hard work and dedication throughout the year.

Well done to all of our TY students - we are incredibly proud of everything you have achieved and look forward to seeing what comes next! 👏

🌟 Le Chéile Annual Awards Ceremony 2026 🌟

Last Thursday, we proudly celebrated the incredible achievements, leadership, talent and spirit of our students at our Annual Awards Ceremony.

Among the many awards presented were Academic Achievement Awards for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Year students, while Maeve Hennessy was recognised for achieving the Highest Junior Certificate Results 2025 👏 Congratulations also to our Student of the Year recipients: Isabella Pereppadan Jijo (1st Year), Leia Dineen (2nd Year), Grace & Keira Delaney (3rd Year), Gabi Nawrocka (5th Year), and Kaci O’Connor (LCA).

Sporting excellence was also celebrated, with Emma Buckley, Cathal Barrett and Darragh Fenton recognised as Junior Cycle Sportspersons of the Year, Clara Riveria receiving the Overall Junior Cycle Sportsperson Award, Derrick March named Senior Cycle Sportsperson of the Year, and Oliwia Krason awarded Overall Senior Cycle Sportsperson of the Year 🏆

Principal’s Awards were presented to Erin Herbert & Nazar Shevchenko (1st Year), Emma Buckley & Abel Varghese (2nd Year), Lucas Okonkwo & Pavitra Bimali (3rd Year), and Muhammad Abbass & Fernanda Inga Medina (5th Year) in recognition of their outstanding contribution to school life. Congratulations also to House Fox on winning this year’s House Cup, to Seoda Welch on receiving the Le Chéile Spirit Award - epitomising our school motto of Welcome-Wisdom-Witness 🤝📚🕊️, and to our newly announced Head Student Jayden Doyle and Deputy Head Student Connor Knapp - congratulations 🙌🏼

Our Awards ceremony was a wonderful celebration of the talent, dedication, kindness and community spirit that exists throughout Le Chéile Secondary School. Congratulations to all students recognised - we are incredibly proud of each and every one of you and it is always a pleasure to celebrate your achievements 👏 🏅

As we reflect on an unforgettable Darkness into Light Ballincollig 2026, we are so proud of the incredible community spirit shown at the first ever walk hosted by Chéile Secondary School, Ballincollig 💛

Celebrating the 10th Darkness Into Light event in Ballincollig 3 weeks ago, the morning was filled with hope, support, and solidarity as our community came together in aid of Pieta House and the essential work they do.

The event created so many powerful moments - and thankfully many of them were captured so brilliantly by TY student Vika Kasatkina. Their photography perfectly showcased the atmosphere of the morning, from the quiet sunrise moments to the warmth and connection shared throughout the walk 📸 💛

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who played a part in making the event such a meaningful success.

What a truly special morning for our community following the first ever Darkness into Light Ballincollig walk hosted at Le Chéile Secondary School, Ballincollig 3 weeks ago today 💛 It was incredible to see so many people come together to mark the 10th Darkness Into Light event in Ballincollig while raising vital funds and awareness for Pieta House.

From the sea of yellow to the quiet moments of reflection as darkness turned to dawn, the spirit of community was evident throughout the morning. Thank you to every person who walked, volunteered, supported, donated, and helped make the event such a success.

A special word of thanks and recognition to TY student Nina Kershaw, whose outstanding photography beautifully captured the emotion, atmosphere, and togetherness of the event. Through the lens, Nina documented moments that will stay with our community long after the morning itself 💛📸

Le Chéile’s first Transition Year Drama - Law and Order : Fairytale Unit🕵🏼‍♂️ Students brought to life the tale of Detective Humpty Dumpty and Cinderella as they interrogated whimsical witnesses to uncover who, if not B.B wolf, caused the destruction of the homes of the 3 little pigs🐷🐺 They put on an incredible performance for primary school students and members of our student body last Thursday in the Carrig Centre. Their characterisation and comedic timing was second to none and they left their audiences in stitches🎭 A huge thank you to their teachers Ms Cahill, Ms O Leary and Mr Brennan for all of their work - Ms Grant for creating such a fantastic backdrop to bring the play to life and Mr Harrington for putting it up! Thank you to Bill + Ray in the Carrig Centre for facilitating the show - we really appreciate it!

Nine of our Transition Year students contributed poems to the “2026 Unfinished Book of Poetry” which was launched by the Lord Mayor at Cork City Library last week 📚 It is a great honour to be published and congratulations must go to all the students who took part in nine workshops between November and February this academic year. Thanks must go to the assisting poet mentor Molly Twomey who created an island of constructive and creative calm in those morning writing sessions in Ballincollig Library. Thank you also to Mr Brennan for encouraging and accompanying our students on these fruitful workshops since November 👏 Many of the poems will also feature in the public parks of Cork in June - so keep your eyes peeled 👀

Congratulations to all our athletes at Le Chéile who performed at the South Munster Track and Field Champs recently. 31 students made up our largest Track and Field squad yet and performed fantastically in their events over two days! 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♂️ It was a great experience for our students to be competing in such a prestigious event 👏 A special mention to Ibrahim Mohammed who qualified for the 100m semi finals and Fiachra Barrett who finished 3rd in his 200m heat. Well done to all who represented the school so well - the future of Athletics is bright at Le Chéile! 🙌

As another incredible school year here at Le Chéile draws to a close, we want to take a moment to celebrate some outstanding National-level achievements from our students from this past term alone 🙌🏼🇮🇪�

🗣️ Huge congratulations also to Aisling Murphy, Keira Delaney and Grace Delaney who reached the All-Ireland Finals of the National Junior Mace Debates in UCD. Competing amongst some of the country’s finest young debaters, the girls represented Le Chéile with intelligence, confidence and passion throughout the competition. A special mention to Aisling, who achieved an outstanding Top 10 Speaker finish nationally 🌟

🥉 Our Girls Climbing Team proudly represented Le Chéile at the Irish Schools Climbing Grand Finals in Dublin, securing an incredible 3rd Place finish and bringing home bronze medals after qualifying as Cork Champions earlier in the year! Emma, Hanna, Kiera and Grace performed brilliantly across a series of challenging climbs and speed events to stand proudly on the national podium 👏🏻�
🥏 We also celebrate our Junior Ultimate Frisbee team, who finished 8th in Ireland at the All-Ireland Finals after a fantastic day of competition and improvement game after game. The students were a credit to the school throughout the tournament, with exciting years ahead for this talented group. A special thank you to TY student and Ireland international player Oliwia Krason for her coaching and encouragement on the day 👏�

We are immensely proud of every student involved in these achievements. To compete - and succeed - on a National stage across such a wide variety of activities is a testament to the talent, commitment and school spirit within our Le Chéile community! ❤️ �