On this week’s episode we're out and about with thanks, as always, to KCETB. First stop is Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny who moved into a brand-new building in September last. Pupils and staff give us a sense of what’s involved in such a move, and share how they’ve settled in. Then we’re off to Mayfair Library to take a tour of their beautiful building and learn more about their many resources, and services, that support local learning.

We’ve reached the halfway point of Learning Local. In episode five, we meet Orla Reddy, Guidance Co-ordinator with the County Kilkenny Adult Guidance Service, who talks us through the career, education and guidance supports available locally.

We also hear from local student Grace Clune, who has been working on a social innovation project, exploring how well we recognise AI. She shares her research findings, along with practical tips for spotting AI-generated content.

David Forde, Principal of Carlow Institute of Further Education, gives an overview of the wide range of courses on offer, and shares details of their upcoming Open Day.

Supported by Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board; visit KCETB.ie

On episode four of Learning Local, we head back to Paulstown, to Grounded in Nature Forest School, to continue our exploration of outdoor learning.

And we turn our focus to the world of apprenticeships — the programmes that blend hands-on training with classroom study. KCETB held their annual Apprenticeship Expo in Carlow last Thursday at Carlow Institute of Further Education. Learning Local was there to meet the businesses, educators, and job seekers in attendance, and to explore the wonderful career possibilities available through apprenticeship programmes.

For more information on apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeship.ie or www.KCETB.ie.

Learning Local, our education series, with thanks to Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board, continues with episode three of ten.

On this evening's programme, we pay a visit to a local forest school to find out more about outdoor learning. 

We highlight some upcoming local learning events and key dates. 

And we chat to the principal of Kilkenny's biggest primary school, St. Canice's, to find out what the main topics of conversation are in primary schools today.  

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.