Dear Parent/Guardian,

It is the time of year when students in Third Year are being asked to make subject choices for the next step in their education programme.

These are important decisions that need careful thought and discussion with your son/daughter. The information below is designed to assist you with these discussions and ensure that your son/daughter is making the best choices for him/her.

The information is divided into two sections,

1 -helpful guidance designed to aid the discussion regarding the best choice of subjects and

2 – guidance on how to input these choices to the school portal. Deadlines Current Third Year students entering Transition year – May 9th. 

It is of the utmost importance that all choices are made prior to this date in order to ensure that each student gets a free choice and therefore, the best opportunity to study subjects of their choosing.  After this deadline, the school will use the student’s preferences to create subject bands.

 Any student who misses the deadline or wishes to change their choice after the deadline will only be able to choose from the subject preference bands created and will therefore, have a more restricted choice.

Helpful guidance on how to choose subjects In order to assist you and your son/daughter to make the choices that best suit them the school’s Guidance Department have created the following short video clips and presentations.

We would encourage you to engage with this material with your son/daughter and discuss their preferences with them prior to submitting choices on the schools portal.

Click on the button below for an important powerpoint presentation on Subject Choice.

Click on the clip below for a Subject Choice Information Video


  • Further detailed information on third level courses and subject requirements is available on the Guidance section of the school website:

  • Click on the button below for a link to the Careers Section of the School website.

Online inputting procedures

  • Once your son/daughter has decided on their subject choices, these must be inputted on the school’s VSWare portal ahead of the deadline of May 9th.

Please complete the steps as outlined below. Steps to Follow

Step 1  You will receive a text from the school with a username and password

Step 2  Access the school website at skibbereencommunityschool.ie

Step 3  Click on VS Ware on the top right-hand corner. Log-in using the details received in the text. The system will then ask you to create your own password so that only you can access the site.

Step 4  Click on Student Options on the top left of your screen.  Complete each subject set by following the instructions given at the top of the screen. 

Please note: click into each preference box to access the relevant subject listing.  Proceed to input choices in order of preference.

Step 5  Log-out. You can log-in and change the choices as often as you like up to the deadline date. If you have students in more than one year group, please use the left and right arrows at the top left of the screen to change between them.

Anton O Mahony,

Principal Skibbereen Community School,

May 2022.