These are exciting times for English in Coachford College! The new leaving certificate course has presented teachers with far more diverse opportunities to engage students with the magic of literature, while placing an equal emphasis on continued development of language skills. Meanwhile, the anticipated revamping of the junior certificate english course is looked forward to with anticipation.

Currently in senior cycle, students study a main text (this year is MacBeth) and a group of comparative texts. The possibility in this latter section are startling, ranging from Peter Weir's movie "Witness" to Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" to Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa" and beyond! The poetry course has also expanded and charged with old reliables like Hopkins and Yeats still coming under scrutiny, but being joined by newer poets such as Loughley, Larkin and Heaney. In the language part of the course, a greater emphasis is now placed on genre and how this impacts on students' styles of writing, making for some entertaining and focused writing assignments.

Our Transition Year programme seeks to acknowledge these changes in the Senior Cycle and provides a bridge from the more straightforward world of the junior certificate to the complexities of the leaving. The comparative study is covered along with an introduction to the language of cinematic texts but perhaps the aspect of the year that some students enjoy most are the oral presentations they are asked to give on the subject of their choice.

Junior cycle seeks to give younger studetns a real taste for the language and a love of literature. Our new and constantly developing library is used extensively by these students (as it is by Transition years) and provides the latest in teenage and young adult fiction. Philip Pullman, Joan Lingard, Rosmary Sutcliffe and Marita Coulon-MacKenna-they're all there to enjoy (along with that great literary giant Roy Keane) and modern fiction are all examined in Junior Cycle. "Romeo and Juliet" in particular is a hit with our students although whether its due to the magnificant Shakespearean language or Leonardo di Caprio's interpretation of the character is a difficult point to decide upon (we like to think it's a bit of both).

The English Department in Coachford College is conscious of the central role language plays in any young person's development. Consequently we are committed to making the study of English an exciting and interesting enterprise while incorporating the necessary mechanics of writing into our approach.