Opportunity for all ethic is epitomised by HUB success at Tipperary secondary school

 An exhibition charting the story of the CBS High School Clonmel is currently running at the Tipperary Museum of Hidden History in Clonmel.

This year the High School is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the school.

The below article is part of  the exhibition which will remain open until June 7.

One of the most significant educational developments in recent years at the High School has been the provision of an outstanding and much-lauded resource that provides a multi-disciplinary service to secondary school students with additional needs.

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125 years ago the founding fathers of CBS High School Clonmel spoke about providing opportunities for young men and nowhere is that more powerfully demonstrated than in the concept behind the phenomenal success story of The HUB.

Kick-started by the then principal Shay Bannon, it was originally named the ASD unit when it opened in 2009 with one student.

A year later the unit took up residence in a new state-of-the-art extension with four students.
There was rapid expansion, a redesign of the unit, and the appointment of ASD unit co-ordinator Paddy O’Gorman in 2013.

A mentoring system was introduced and an ASDmainstream integration group was established with students now spending most of their day in mainstream classes delivering meaningful and inclusive educational experiences.

Renamed The HUB in 2018, after a vote by all students in the school, the unit now caters to 30 students, 9 teachers, and 13 SNAs.

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Under the €8.5m extension now planned for the school, the HUB will almost double in size providing students with every opportunity to maximise their full potential.