Transition Year Student Pack 2026/2027

Regular school communications are sent to parents and guardians through the School App. Incoming parents and guardians will be invited to download the app in early August. 

If parents and guardians have queries or concerns, the first port of call is to contact the student’s Form Tutor by emailing info@alexandracollege.ie marked F.A.O. [Form Tutor]. Issues may be escalated to Year Head, Deputy Principal, or Principal if appropriate. We will share your daughter’s form tutor with you in August along with her timetable. 

The school day begins at 8:45 am each weekday. Classes finish at 3:48 pm on Monday - Thursday, and 2 pm on Friday.

Students are expected to stay on the campus until the end of the school day: 3:48 pm Monday to Thursday and 2 pm on Friday, unless formal permission has been given to leave early. 

If a student needs to leave the premises during the school day she must:

• have a written request for permission to leave the school premises from a parent or guardian addressed to the Form Tutor; or

• Have formal permission from the Principal or Deputy Principal. 

Under no circumstances may a student leave the campus without having first obtained permission. Students who absent themselves from the School premises without permission will incur an automatic after-school detention, and may be suspended from school.

Family holidays should not be planned for times during which the College is in session. Where a student is to miss school for a trip or holiday, a formal request to the Principal, in writing from the student’s parent or guardian is required at least 2 weeks in advance.

As far as possible, medical and other appointments should only be made for times outside of class or examination time.

All students must sign in or out at Reception if they are leaving the campus early or arriving late. Students will not be allowed to leave the campus without written permission from a parent or guardian.  

Students who are leaving the campus early may unlock their Yondr pouches at Reception after signing out.

We look forward to welcoming you to Res in August! In our Boarding Handbook you can find a checklist of what to bring, our policies and procedures, and more helpful information about life at Alex. 

BOARDING HANDBOOK 

We use UPay, a cashless lunch card system, in the College Dining Room. Returning students should keep using last year’s card, while new students will receive theirs at the start of term. Parents can top-up their child’s lunch card through our secure online system by credit or debit card. For more information on setting up a new fob and topping up, please see the Parent Hub.

Other than for Irish and Maths, students are assigned to mixed ability classes. If a student wants to move from one level to another in a particular subject or to change subjects, she must contact the Deputy Principal.

Students will not be permitted to change classes or ask to be in particular classes based on preference for one teacher or another. Students may only transfer from one level to another within a subject or from one subject to another with formal permission from the school and having followed the procedures in place.

Mobile phones and smartwatches cannot be used in the College during the school day. This is a decision that has been taken for the girls’ well-being. They will be required to lock their phones in their Yondr pouch and may not access it at all during the day. These pouches are supplied to students at the beginning of the school year. 

If a student arrives late, she must go to reception to sign in, and to Yondr her phone. The same applies if she needs to leave early: pouches will be unlocked at reception. After the school day is over, the girls can unlock their pouches. The locks are strictly timed. 

If a student infringes this phone policy, her phone will be confiscated immediately, and one of her parents/guardians will have to retrieve it in person from the College Reception at the end of the following school day.

No photographs or recording, either video or audio may be made on a phone or other device while on the school premises without express permission from a teacher. 

If a student uses a mobile phone inappropriately after school hours, by sending offensive messages or calls, the matter will be investigated under the School’s Anti-Bullying policy and appropriate sanctions will apply. It should be noted that it is a criminal offence to use a mobile phone to menace, harass or offend another person. 

Every student is supplied with a locker and one padlock. 

Each student is responsible for keeping all of her possessions other than hockey bags in the locker and for keeping her locker locked at all times. Any belongings left outside the locker will be confiscated and returned at the end of the school day. A bad report will be given for repeated breaches. 

Damp and wet gear should not be left in lockers overnight. 

A padlock may be cut open on the payment of a fee via the College payments portal and the issue of a replacement padlock at Reception.

Lockers may not be accessed between classes; students may only collect necessary books from the lockers before school, and during morning and lunch breaks.

Lockers are the property of the College and are to be treated with respect. Students who damage lockers must pay for the cost of the repair or replacement. 

At the end of the school year each student should empty her locker and leave it open for inspection.

No student is permitted to smoke or vape while:

• on the campus; 
• in the school environs;
• wearing the school uniform; or 
• she is together with a group of students who are recognisable as a group of students of the College. 

If any student breaches this provision, she will get detention for a first offence and suspension for any subsequent offences.

The possession, use, consumption, sharing or sale of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs or vaping equipment is forbidden at all times. Students are not permitted to be on school premises or attend any school activity while under the influence of alcohol and/or illegal drugs. The school will take disciplinary action up to and including expulsion for breaches of this provision. The school will inform the Gardaí as appropriate.