The Exchange House Youth Service, for the seventh year, has started back our Stay-in-School Programme and we arevery pleasedto announce that the programme sis now in 14 schools in the Dublin area, working with 159 individual Traveller students.

The Stay-in-School Programme was established with three main goals:

1. to support young Traveller students to transfer of from primary level education to secondary level
2. to support young Traveller students complete state examinations
3. to work with young Traveller students to maintain high rates of attendance and good behaviour at school

The transfer rate of students from primary to secondary level, is continually improving and, although this work brings up challenges for us and can create a few bumps along the way, it continues to be a great success. The current transfer rate is 97% of the young Traveller students that we support.

100% of the young Traveller students that we work with, who are of State Examination age, are preparing for those exams in 2013. And many of the young Traveller students, with whom we worked with in the past, received the Exchange House National Educational Award this November. We hope they will be role models for the current Traveller students.

The attendance rate of young Traveller students continues to be a challenge for the programme, as the current success rate ofstands at 85%.It is hoped by continuing to work arduously with the students, their parents, their teachers and principals and the School Completion Officers that this rate will increase throughout the coming academic year.

If any school is interested in receiving more information about our Stay-in-School Programme please contact the Exchange House Youth Service Team Leader, William McDonagh on 01 872 1094

Exchange House's Youth Service