South East Correspondent
Mount Sion CBS Secondary School in Waterford city has become the first school in the country to be designated a School of Sanctuary.
The award was made to the school after an assessment process in recent weeks, undertaken by the Places of Sanctuary Ireland charity, and following years of welcoming students from many nationalities through the doors of the landmark institution.
Mount Sion was founded in 1802 by Edmund Rice as a place of education for boys from Waterford but today finds itself home, in an educational sense, to 37 different nationalities. We ve been working towards becoming a school of sanctuary for the last three years, English language co-ordinator Narrell Byrne said.