We start episode two of Learning Local in Transition Year - an optional one-year programme taken after the Junior Cycle. Two local fifth-year students, Caoimhe Fitzgerald and Annabel Coonan, find out what their classmates, Amelia Wemyss, Elise Dooley, Kathy Phelan and Orla Greene, made of their Transition Year experience.

We also hear from the TY coordinator in Loreto, Marguerite Kehoe, who shares her insights into the benefits of TY.

We meet three Youthreach students, Rosie Ryan, Emily O’Brien Dunne and Abbie McDonald who share with us, the challenges they faced during their time at school, and how Youthreach helped them to move forward with their education.

We also speak to Michelle Murphy and Ann Marie Curley, Youthreach co-ordinators in Kilkenny and Carlow, who talk us through what the service offers, to whom, and how it can be accessed.

Learning Local is supported by Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board.

On the first episode of Learning Local on KCLR with thanks to Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board

• We hear from Waterford-native Dr. Lindsay Malone, who took up her role as Chief Executive of the Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board in late 2025. Dr. Malone discusses her own journey through education, along with some of the services offered through KCETB.
• Linda Murray of Beoga Nutrition joins the conversation to discuss nutrition in education, exploring the hot school meals programme and whether it's helping or hindering parents, fuelling your learning through college and more.
• And Eoin Houlihan, career guidance counsellor at The Carlow Academy discusses upcoming CAO dates and preparing for the mock exams this season.

Hear Learning Local live on KCLR each Wednesday evening for 10 weeks from 14 January, 2026, with thanks to Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board, each week exploring real issues in education with practical advice and tips along the way.