Junior Cycle

The Junior Cycle Workshop Programme

The Junior Cycle Workshop Programme (JCWP) was developed by TU Dublin in consultation with DEIS schools and is an early intervention programme to demystify Higher Education (HE) for junior cycle students. It gives students the opportunity to experience university activities through hands on, age-appropriate workshops on campus.

Through the JCWP, TU Dublin seeks to instill a sense of belonging in HE for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and expose young people to potential new areas of interest such as design, science, engineering, music, and technology.

TU Dublin began delivering the JCWP to four local DEIS linked secondary schools in the Grangegorman area in 2016. Through continuing philanthropic support, the JCWP was expanded to 13 schools in Central Dublin in the period 2018-20.  Further funding from basis.point has enabled it to become more embedded in schools and the scope, range, and content of the workshops to be enhanced.

Workshops are offered to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students, some aligned to national Awareness Weeks e.g., Maths Week, Design Week, Science Week or College Awareness Week. Teachers select workshops that best match students' interests and capabilities. The programme aims is to support young people in DEIS schools to gain more knowledge of higher education, to become familiar with a university campus and to make informed choices about their futures.

The Sports for Life and Wellbeing Programme, supported by basis.point and Dublin City Council, complements the JCWP by helping first-year secondary students adjust to the transition from primary to secondary school. Delivered over four weeks, it introduces students to a range of sports that highlight the health benefits of physical activity while also developing resilience, confidence, teamwork, and other key social and emotional skills. By building these attributes early, the programme prepares students to face challenges and embrace opportunities throughout their educational journey.

Students also have the opportunity to take part in the newly introduced online study skills workshops. In this model, sessions are delivered virtually by an external facilitator and divided into two 45-minute blocks with a week in between, giving students time to practice and reinforce what they have learned. This approach helps equip students with the essential skills needed to support their learning.