The motto at St Dominic’s is “Believe, Word Hard and Achieve”. The Ballyfermot, Dublin, school works extraordinary hard to support its pupils to live by that maxim but, in an area of severe socio-economic disadvantage, they first have to overcome more than their fair share of challenges.
That is why there was particular cause for celebration last September when Leaving Cert candidate Mary De Silva achieved the the school’s highest-ever CAO score of 601 points.
It’s not the only barrier that St Dominic’s smashed: for the first time, four of its sixth years received offers for Trinity College Dublin, and in courses that are the preserve of the top Leaving Cert performers: Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy and Law.